Imagine the utilisation of intellectual capital

With so many people with unique or more succinctly specialised abilities, what can be done to better utilise these more so than overlook them? Well the answer seems to begin with a focus on an unconventional means which needs to be incorporated within a means that can provide quality outcome.  From my interactions with many global Aspies, I find many without employment and struggling to or more so trying not to focus on the exploits or discrimination of the monetary system.  I often wonder to myself why the harnessing of intellectual capital as one adult described it cannot be used more so than a focus on obtaining money?

The monetary system tends to work against many or most Aspies as it relies on a sense of slavery or more so salesmanship in order to obtain it.  This quite simply is the means of social skills within a social structure which for many Aspies is just simply an overwhelming and draining exercise.  To apply for a job could for instance be seen like considering the purchase of a car with the interview being some kind of organised deal where the employer needs to be won over by salesmanship tactics of the interviewee, in this case being the Aspie.  Quite simply the more the experience and implementation of social skills can be employed, the more likely the person being interviewed can sell themselves within some lottery salesmanship to the potential employer. 

For many Aspies or if not all, the very nature of having to sell one self to obtain employment is simply overwhelming.  We struggle with day to day interaction and having to employ this within an interview means just seems both overwhelming and impossible. Instead of the Aspie feeling a sense of rejection within the interview process, shouldn't there be more of a question mark added to the very concept of the monetary system itself.  There are many Aspies who have or share no interest in a consumerist culture.  Quite simply money is only to be spent where it is absolute necessary but more so a focus is on a specialist interest or trying to figure out or make sense of this world.

My way of thinking is often difficult to comprehend but when you think and function differently to others, then why are you forced or criticised if you are unable to conform to so called standards?  Quite simply conformity seems both stressful and depression inducing.  Why have it at all?  The solution is to see Autism as not a fault or flaw but more so an attribute.  I often see a connection between productivity and efficiency more so than a rejection and push onto welfare.  We have people existing on welfare with the so called label of being disabled or impaired when really the system itself fails to focus on the attributes and qualities that could allow for a diverse means of thinking and quality.  I am in contact with adults from around the world who are delving into the harnessing of our attributes and I think it is about time that conformity and negativity change into more productivity and performance!  Let us get the ball rolling and underway!

The conventions versus the non conventions

Just imagine what it is like when you have a brain that thinks, processes and responds differently to that of others.  The entire process of consciousness is what you are accustomed to but your way of thinking is beyond your control.  By this I mean that the person possessing the unique mind just tries to exist as best as possible.  Sadly others do not always understand and when you try to defend your own persona which you have lived with for the entirety of your life, you are often told to change, lighten up or even stop being repetitive etc. When you try to defend yourself, you either confront misunderstanding or you are told that you just put yourself down and that you are negative.  People don't realise that the mind of many Aspies is literal.  By this I mean what is seen is what comes out without any mental filter.  To change one's ways cannot simply be done with the stroke of a magic wand or so called good fairy.  For the me the world is a confusing place and I often don't always understand the various thoughts, processes and comments which others make.  This is not intentional, it is just the way my mind works.  When conventional tactics are forced onto me, I find them confusing as they are foreign to me and a real struggle.  I find reading and comprehension the most challenging unless I can capitalise my obsession on the chosen prose or information to read.  Fiction novels for some are away to escape but for me they are a means of words which often have little meaning as quite often the social cues are simply all so overwhelming. 

As my eyes have always been weak, I have found that my ears have needed to compensate and for this, my hearing is ultra sensitive.  The sound of a hand dryer in a bathroom sends me into agony as well as creaky doors in a bathroom but I have to use all mechanisms which I can possibly find to deal with this.  For some there is a natural block but for me, it is a forced one.  When I see people, I see them visually but my eyes have difficulty sensing the nuisances which exist all over their body and more so in their face.  I can see sadness, laughter and also another sense which is energy surrounding the person.  You may think that such comments are odd but there are certain clear characteristics of toxicity in some people that can simply overwhelm. 

Throughout my life, I am told that I need to change but surely if I would have forced this, I would have done it years ago?  In fact in my early 20's I tried very hard but to no avail.  It just seems that when I become older that inevitably the world knocks me down.  I know also that I am not alone.  I work hard at friendships. Even a mere 30 minutes of spending with a friend is something I warmly relish but I feel frustrated but have learn to accept that my reciprocation is not always that of someone who is so called 'normal'.  I am thankful that I can communicate but whereas people can easily say words that come from their mouths, for me the words don't always run freely unless of course they relate to my interest. However over time, my interests being my natural means of communication were enough apparently to drive people to boredom.  So after being knocked down once again, I started to reinvent my natural defence which was the only way to me. This was a means of shutting down altogether this so called annoying aspect.  Even today I have been told I am repetitive, a broken record, I must stay calm and need to change.  Such comments are all a reappearance of what I was once told.  I have also been told that I am hard on myself when with my way of thinking, I am simply expressing how I think and feel. I am slowly reading a book by Nick Vujicic called "Life Without Limits".  On reading this book, I think of the struggles that Nick confronted and not to sound selfish or disrespectful of Nick, he is blessed with a very intelligent brain.  Despite him missing both arms and legs, he has learnt to adapt and for anyone with the label of having a disability, he is one to admire. If you are a person with Autism however, the disability is in our mind and in social communication.  People don't see this as I believe many see disability as physical or less so mental.  When I for instance am surrounded by people or with other people, I find that words, thoughts, and communication simply struggles to flow.  I find myself using vast amounts of mental energy to try and train my thoughts to those of others and furthermore often offend them when saying things which are immediately apparent to what is on my mind.  What's more is that when I try to defend myself or my way of thinking, I am given ample opportunity within the very situation to explain or try to understand how I offended.  Often it is just simply impossible or limited opportunities seem to avail themselves. 

I have touched on conformity in my videos on YouTube and in some blog posts but often there are some attempts to force me to think and act like other people when simply my mind just cannot comprehend this very process of thinking.  It is foreign to me and I don't understand it.  It can hurt others but they can also hurt me when they say I have no feelings and lack empathy.  I have experienced pain in my life over the 40 years I have existed on God's earth and furthermore I have also had to endure bullying and being told I would never do this or that. 

Quite simply conventions are necessary in our world but some mustard so to speak  has to be cut on certain situations.  I by no means tolerate rudeness in Autistic people as quite often dysfunctional behaviour may need some minor corrections, but provision needs to be made to assist us to learn and furthermore provide a light between all groups of people.  I am Autistic but I can speak and have been told I am good looking and the list goes on. Really the latter doesn't interest me but it would be good to be understood by the opposite sex better and furthermore a better means of understanding and accepting diversity.  Just because I look 'normal' does not mean that I think like a controlled person also.  I can never understand in psychology the term 'controlled'.  I have heard Dr Tony Attwood use it a fair bit and wonder who is the controller?  The different mindset often feels like I for one need an interpreter to relate to the language which is foreign to me.  So please stop telling me I need to ligthen up, or find a lighter side as I could ask you in return to understand mental exhaustion, and not being able to interpret so called 'normal' interaction!

I hope you can understand the gist of what I am saying.

Letter from Tony Abbott's Office concerning the NDIS

This morning I received an email from Dr Tony Abbott's Office concerning the NDIS.  Please find below

This morning I received the following message from Tony Abbott concerning the NDIS

Dear Garry

Thank you for your email supporting the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Before the last election, the Coalition strongly supported the Productivity Commission inquiry and pledged to take its recommendations seriously. Since the election, we have fully supported the Disability Care and Sup...port report recommendations and pledged to work constructively with the Government to implement them as soon as possible.

The Coalition supports the Commonwealth funding that the Government announced as part of the 2012 Federal Budget and the subsequent commitment to the establishment of launch sites in the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. However, we are concerned that there are still key barriers to the implementation of a full national scheme which need to be addressed.

The disparity between the Prime Minister’s words and her actions is disappointing. The Commission recommended that $3.9 billion be allocated to the NDIS from 2012-13 to 2015-16. However, the Government has only been prepared to commit $1 billion, which is a $2.9 billion shortfall.

This announcement was a significant step away from the Productivity Commission’s recommendation that the Commonwealth Government be the single funder of the NDIS (on top of what the States and Commonwealth currently spend on disability); and that the NDIS should be financed from general government revenue.

The Commonwealth may have agreements with individual jurisdictions on launch site funding but is yet to reach agreement with the States and Territories on how the NDIS will be funded in the long-term. Critically, there is no indication about when this might be reached.

We are also concerned that the Commonwealth Government is yet to make a commitment on the implementation schedule for the NDIS. The Coalition thinks that the Productivity Commission’s timetable for the establishment of the NDIS would be achievable with prudent financial management.

The Coalition has called for the establishment of a joint parliamentary committee to oversee the establishment and implementation of the NDIS. The Coalition believes that such a committee would be a good way to progress the NDIS, especially by working through key issues like the Scheme’s funding model and implementation timetable.

To this end, I have written five times to the Prime Minister regarding the establishment of a joint select committee of the Parliament co-chaired by the Government and the Opposition and comprising Members and Senators with a vested interest in making it work. To date, the Prime Minister has rejected my suggestion for a joint committee. You may also be aware that in June the Coalition moved a motion in the Senate for the establishment of the joint parliamentary committee. Unfortunately, it was defeated.

The Coalition will continue to place this issue above politics and is prepared to work with State and Commonwealth governments towards a better deal for people with a disability.

The NDIS is a once-in-a-generation reform that will unfold over the life of several parliaments that will be nothing short of a new deal for people with disabilities and their carers. We have to get this right.

I have attached a copy of a speech that I made on Friday 13 April 2012 with a corresponding media release, as well as a copy of my first letter to the Prime Minister for your information.
 
In 2013, there will a Federal election. All elections are important but we believe this election will be one of the most important in generations. There will be a clear choice between the Coalition and the Labor Party – a clear choice between the Coalition’s positive plans for Australia and Labor’s continued incompetence and untrustworthiness, a clear choice between the Coalition’s plans to help families and small business cope with the rising cost of living and Labor’s new and increased taxes.
 
If you would like to read more about the Coalition’s vision for Australia, you may be interested in my recently released book ‘A Strong Australia’. This book brings together the major speeches I delivered in 2012 and the over 50 major policies and initiatives that have been announced since the last election. ‘A Strong Australia’ sets out the Coalition’s plans to build a strong and prosperous economy and a safe and secure Australia. The e-book is available free of charge in formats suitable for iPad, iPhone, Kindle or Kobo e-reader, or as a PDF. To access the book, please visit www.liberal.org.au/strong-australia.
 
I also encourage you to maintain contact with the Shadow Minister for Disabilities, Carers and the Voluntary Sector, Senator Mitch Fifield who is an excellent advocate for people with a disability. Senator Fifield can be contacted via e-mail at senator.fifield@aph.gov.au or at his electorate office on (03) 9584 2455.