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Tania 🇿🇦 Autistic Strategies Network

10 Nov, 14 tweets, 3 min read

Someone I know in the autism industry told me they are going to be selling this social skills programme called Bridges. I had some criticisms on the surface, which I gave them, but I also want to be #AskingAutistics what your experiences have been of this. bridgessocial.com/for-profession…

Here are some of the things I said to them...

Regarding point 1, there is HEAVY criticism of that assumption in the autism world out there at the moment. Point 1 (Baron-Cohen approach) views the deficit as vesting in the autistic person alone.

The latest thinking is that this if we address just that, we will NOT be creating an optimal scenario, but rather end up with gaslighting the autistic person's perceptions.

Some relevant reading:

leader.pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/le…

@myceliorum

And this, from the late Mel Baggs (@myceliorum):

ballastexistenz.wordpress.com/2016/05/01/don…

Regarding point 2: This assumption is also being heavily challenged.

@jornbettin

Just yesterday, for example, @jornbettin explained how his organisation encourages companies to free up the autistic employees for big picture systems thinking, so that the other people who are better at managing individual tasks can focus on that (I am paraphrasing).

The Myers-Briggs/Keirsey/Jung model actually does a good job of at least opening psychologists' ideas to the reality that many autistic people are natural big-picture thinkers, even if they focus on detail to be able to cope with the overwhelm.

Vernon Smith and Greta Thunberg are famous examples of this.

Richard Mills is at least actively engaged in discussion with autistic people; but...

...many of the UK researchers (even the autistic ones) are not yet incorporating the very important input of nonspeakers/unreliable speakers in their work,so the assumptions do not include the movement perspective. thinkingautismguide.com/2019/01/elizab…

In other words, it seems to me that not only are two of the three assumptions underlying the approach OFF THE MARK, but there are actually some assumptions MISSING. Is it possible that the programme is good in practice anyway, even if the foundation is sloped and built on sand?

I guess this could be possible, just like sometimes in medical settings a substance is helpful even if science has a wrong understanding of the mechanism.

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We didn't finish.

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