Autism Focus Presentation

This morning I got up at 4.30am. As I needed to get to work and avoid the traffic gridlock, I had some breakfast and left for work at 5.45am. I am currently house sitting through an agency called Simply Sitting. Here I am looking after an old cat. Hopefully the cat and house sit wont be long the way where the cat which was sadly sick died and all the neighbours and the elderly lady blamed me for the cat's death? Well to cut a long post short which I am doing on my IPad, I thought I would talk about today's speech which I made at . Here I spoke about my own experiences of surviving at school. I was going to attend in my uniform to show members of the audience that I had a job but was advised not to. I joked with a member of staff which the staff member thought was funny that I had my "Clark Kent suit minus the hat". Anyhow I got to the conference and spoke about my school experiences which were not pleasant ones and I managed to sell a couple of books as well. I was asked if I had friends at school which my reply was no. I think back to high school where I had the potential for some friends but the school system knew nothing at the time and did not really know how to intervene. I also mentioned the work of Damian Santomauro who is Aspie and currently studying the second year of his PhD. The link to Damian's website can be found via my own website on the home page I also spoke about the need for a PhD into understanding the schooling process for conditioning children into adults and why Aspies tend to struggle and have difficulty fitting in. I also mentioned that I currently work and would like to see a great deal more being done so society can better understand Autism. As my speech and presentation when longer than 20mins, there is a possibility of another presentation to allow me time to take questions and answers. I spoke about how both Australia and New Zealand seem to also use the more medical medications approach in dealing with Autism more so than one based on therapy. On the whole it was good to speak at the conference and I hope to speak at more soon.

The controllers

As a person I often feel cut down or held back in society. Every time I may try and suggest ideas, or even think, I either am told that this is impossible or people become very defensive. It often occurs that people lose or perhaps become tunnel visioned and lazy when it comes to being controlled. For instance certain factors may even corrode a person's ability to think which I think may be one of the underlying mechanisms of socialism. A means of supposedly making everyone equal and yet preventing initiative from going forth. I think complacency often creates a mood of ignorance in that any person who may exist beyond the so call norm are either feared, held back or mistrusted. In other words people can become non thinkers if they exist within a mindset of being non intellectually curious. In observing Australia for instance it seems that some innovaters are perhaps foreign born or go beyond Australian shores to advance their own careers, thoughts, lifestyles or professions. Simply just thinking and acting outside the box is something that confronts some form of hostility. Often criticism can also confront responses which may be reactive more so than implemented. When you want to think you are either suspicious or treated wearily. I believe that one of Australia's underlying difficulties is its geographic isolation and its absence of borders compared to Europe or even the United States. People in Australia seem to exhibit an insular mindset which is often also removed. When the term 'multicultural' is used the first thing that springs to mind is different forms of food to some people. However isn't multiculturalism a means of allowing different nationalities to also broaden a narrow focused mindset. For Australia opening its doors has some good points, however I cannot understand that as well as other nationalities that more Europeans do not live in Australia. I don't fully want to comment on the White Australia policy but it seems that it reflected a c19th attitude of the time and it may have encountered critics within its evolutionary phase. It seems that colonial Australia is largely forgotten for how difficult was it for colonists and their use of Indigeneous peoples who despite their many attributes were often employed as trackers. Have you ever wondered why aborigines wrote and shared so many stories about the Australian landscape? Just visit the vast interior and you may understand why? If you have seen the movie 2001 you may understand what I mean. Large and unknown. If people want to feel happy in life then exchanging thought and implementing it can be rewarding. How do people survive in monasteries when all they may possess is a robe and a bible? I was told recently that I have been wicked and I don't know why? Is being wicked devoting a great deal of your life in trying to help others? Also being told I am selfish as I may not grasp a thought process the way another person can and being confused when admonished in struggling to do so? My concerns are that people are not thinking as much as they should and often seem to jump at any comment that may offend them. How much do you let yourself be controlled and do you think that thought and wisdom may shad light on your own place in the world?

The future is it a positive outlook?

I read somewhere that Australians are getting richer but in being richer they have a desire for more and to be 'happy'.  What concerns me the most is the path that society is heading down.  I will begin firstly by my own observations into the governance of Australia.   On Tuesday I turned on the television to watch "Question Time in the House of Representatives".  I was apalled at what it appeared to me to be a circus.  A motion of no confidence was moved against the Gillard Government which was defeated.  It disappoints me to think that people who should be going to parliament to serve and represent the people who elect them, instead see the people in parliament serving only themselves.  I tend to think that the current political situation in Australia is not primarily the fault of those who serve but more so the attitude of people who vote for them.  If you go to a polling booth and see people with an attitude 'I really don't give a stuff" or "why waste my time in voting" then you are going to endure the results.  If people despise the government that now is in power, then do they really have themselves to blame?  Compulsory voting to me seems a drastic measure to encourage people to vote.  It sends the wrong message because people seem to have more contempt to vote than to actually exercise their vote properly.

I think that most Australians cannot be changed unless there is no beer in the fridge and no Rugby on the tv. More so than actually thinking and demonstrating an interest in the governance of their country, the focus instead seems to be on sport.  There is no where else in the world where people watch sport more so than in Australia.  There is a Rugby League industry which has perhaps strong ties to the Australian Labor Party.  Perhaps more Labor voters watch Rugby League than other sports?  When visiting overseas some Australians provide a very poor example of representing their country.  Perhaps this youtube video may provide an example?   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfNYHBwqxxY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I don't despise people who drink but it is concerning if people are drinking to hide mental illness.  What ramifications does this have on society?  When I visited New Zealand recently, I noticed the many and ubiquitious New Zealand flags around the country.  Upon return to Australia, I noticed the unfriendliness at Brisbane International Airport and the few if non existent Australian flags that could not be seen.  Are Australians losing pride in their nation?  What actually is going on?  When I look at Australia now I start to feel in myself a loss or lack of pride in being Australian.  People just don't seem to talk to anyone else and sadly neigbhourhoods have become insular and have lost a sense of community.  I came home yesterday to find an ambulance outside the front of our house to find that my mother had rang the ambulance after hitting her head against the wall of the house.  Besides the two ambulance officers, my father and the sound of the heart rate machine. I wondered to myself, who else actually knows about this?  Where are the neighbours?  Where are other members of the family?  Do people really care?  I have been told that I am selfish but really are the shoes on the other foot?  Also if you ask people or try and offer them help here you often encounter responses 'No I'm right' or weird looks upon people's faces that you actually bothered to reach out and help.  I just feel at times repugnant and I am not comfortable with going a long with this look after yourself only nonsense.  Also this macho and ego attitude that is found mostly in Australian men and some women also is annoying.  I am glad personally that there are other cultures.

I follow closely what is happening in New Zealand and I think personally that New Zealand is a country that a lot of Australians overlook.  New Zealand is growing and it will only be a matter of time before it outdoes Australia.  I just hope that New Zealand don't close their doors to Australians visiting.  I am not entirely sure what this Gillard government has in mind but personally I am afraid of the future of Australia.  I feel that within the parliament that some behaviour is clearly unacceptable and out of all Constitutional Monarchies, that Australia is probably the worst in terms of parliamentary standards.  I also have fears about the defence budget being cut because defence of any nation is important.  I have no desire to enter Australian politics as I think it is a dirty game and I feel at times that I am fast losing my connections with this country.  In all honesty I do not feel proud in being Australian anymore.  I think Australia has become a very selfish, and insular culture.  I also am concerned about the decline in Christianity here and the so called sense of mateship.  These are my feelings at the moment. I do commend the Gillard Government though on funding the Disability Insurance Scheme but how it will be funded in the future remains a question. 

I am not making excuses

When I try to socialise with people which I find extremely vexing I just find I am unable to connect with them as my wiring is different. I can usually start with a common and rehearsed greeting but I really don't know where to go from there. For instance if I have the confidence to attend an event I usually am aware that some form of social interaction is involved but I am unaware largely of what people may be thinking or saying when I exchange words with them if indeed they go beyond a sentence or a paragraph. In case you may not notice I am very literal in my description? Making friends and connecting is a challenge and I have sometimes being accused of wanting someone to hold my hand which I have worked out is not something to take literally unless I have a girlfriend or wife. Attending something is daunting but for an Aspie even more so as communication is not something that comes naturally. What the non Autistic population takes for granted is something that we have to struggle darn hard with! It affects us with trying to form a social circle that may increase our chances of getting a job and all the things that go with it. Aspies have a big deficit therefore with being able to interact with the world socially and more importantly understand those with different wiring compared to our own. Within our own lives personal boundaries and for Asperger women apprising dangers may not always be apparent. Within Brisbane I just find people hostile and events on the weekend are virtually non existent unless you like sport or enjoy going to th pub. There are no support groups for adults either as there seems to be nothing central. I have tried numerous times to form an adult group but to no avail. I ask the question why? Is it the people in Brisbane? Is there no support, services or infrastructure? The list goes on. Weekends are the worst in terms of social isolation and a lack of cultural activities. I often feel that people think I make excuses or feel sorry for myself but this is not the way I see it. I just do not know or understand your language and why you may be offended or hostile or even critical with the way I respond or interpret your so called everyday language. Again my internal wiring is different to your own and you need to try and make adjustments more so than try and conform or even blame. I do not need to be bullied either because you may react through shear ignorance to the way I am. I am proud to be Aspie and if others don't like this they have to try hard to understand better because what you are wanting is like asking the blind to not use Braille, the death to not use sign language and the mute not to write. Yes I am saying that we have a deficit in social skills and you have to try and help those of us who may not understand your language. We may be recluse but that does not mean we are lepers so I am not making excuses and I hope you can better understand?

My thoughts and comments

Yesterday rallies for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) occurred around Australia.  Despite the limited coverage of the event, it is encouraging to see people out in force keen to do something about disability issues in Australia.  My biggest concerns regarding the NDIS are that either it will be funded poorly, too much money may go to administrative people who do little, or nothing will happen at all.  In my own opinion I do not like nor support the Gillard Government's Carbon Tax.  My main reason being that it will severely cripple business and people who are already struggling to get by in their everyday lives.  I believe the tax has been poorly thought out and more importantly it will do nothing to assist the environment more so creating a bureaucracy and a tax which Australia and Australians do not need.  It will also allow for the creation of a welfare state and people will lose the incentive to work or produce as the taxes will either be too high or people just wont be able to afford to get ahead in their lives.  I have discussed the issue of welfare before.  It is important to have welfare but it is not wise to give it to those who will simply rely too heavily on it and not make any contribution to productivity.  I also fear that business and investment opportunities that could benefit Australia will go to New Zealand and other countries.  I think the Carbon Tax will also increase the cost of living and make Australia a no go in terms of travel or investment.  Finally I question how much of the carbon tax may help to assist funding the NDIS?

Recently I discussed Australians attitudes or understanding of politics to a person I know who works within the electoral commission.  This person informed me which I found quite alarming, that when most Australians go to vote they don't even know what level of government they are voting for and have no idea of political parties, policies or candidates.  This begs the question as to why Australia imposes compulsory voting when votes are either wasted, nor the concept of voting understood at all?  Political parties in Australia fail in many ways to encourage people to nuture their own political beliefs and rather than educate and inform, instead there seems to be more complacency and a disinterest in the political process.  What concerns me with Australian politics is that more so than criticise policy and attack disastrous or poor decisions, politicians in Australia either exchange blows, mud sling or head kick rivals.  Such behaviour I guess does not look good on the world stage.  I wont go into the current situation at all but I question the concept of compulsory voting and wonder whether it would be wiser to have voluntary voting but more of an involvement of the citizens in political discussions and affairs of their country?

Australia as we know from the history books was discovered by Lieutenant James Cook on the Endeavour in 1770. I don't think Cook had any intention at the time of seeing Australia as somewhere to colonise but more so discover on his political charts for the United Kingdom.  At the time of Cook's discovery of Australia, the United Kingdom were on the brink of being involved in the American War of Independence.  From my understanding it was made evident that with the loss of America that it was suggested that New Holland, renamed New South Wales under now Captain Cook could be a place to send England's worst criminals and those involved in petty crime.  So it was in 1788 that the first colonists arrived into Port Jackson now Sydney and I will leave the rest to here for now.  I often wonder about the deep down pscyhe of Australian people.  Ned Kelly to many was a hero but really wasn't he a colonial thug?  Also there is a worshiping of sport  and a dislike of those who are different.  I remember once visiting the Great Ocean Road in Victoria to where I encountered Australia's often poor service industry in tourism.  Having arrived in Warnambool I checked into a model and was treated rudely.  Instead of being greeted with hospitality, I instead was criticised with comments when I reaffirmed the price of the motel with 'you're lucky with what you got" and also more or less being treated abruptly with asking about the breakfast order.  I thought to myself I am paying a service here and I am not interested in knowing whether you have had a bad day or not I just expect some professional service.  How often do you encounter professional service when you contact an organisation or a travel destination? Are people properly trained and go out of their way to make you feel welcome?  It seems that very little emphasis is placed on it today.

My attitudes to disability in Australia are that people more or less find you an obstacle if you require help or assistance.  I see around me very poor wheel chair access or no wheel chair access or support for the disabled.  I wonder how a person with a wheel chair actually gets around or whether they just have to lumber themselves into a maxi tax and try their best to go out into the community?  I also hear stories of struggling families and carers who are managing or just about imploding with stress and fatigue to assist a person with a disability obtain a reasonable quality of life?  I also ask the question about mental health in Australia and wonder how many people resort to alcohol as a means of hiding serious or other mental health issues?  Surely something needs to be done!  I just find that despite my efforts and energy into trying to get things happening that I am often held back or unable to channel my energies in ways to assist people and make for a better world.  Yes I may sound like I am whinging but why not stand up for what you believe in?  Why not make the world a better place?  Why not have a community that understands more so than isolates you?  These are my thoughts and I thought I would share them.  I also believe that Autism needs to go a long way so that people understand it better.