To support marginalised people 14+ with an average or above IQ with Autism, ADHD, Dyspraxia, Tourette's Syndrome, mostly with mental ill health, and their carers to find a sustainable lifestyle.
Poster Lifeworks Co-occurring Difficulties Autistic Spectrum
Safeguarding-Adults-Policy-LW-Sep-2019.pdf
The following are other people’s views which are to be considered, agreed or disagreed with at will.
Suggested Reading Co-occurring Difficulties
Suggested Reading links and Videos
the-national-strategy-for-autistic-children-young-people-and-adults-2021-to-2026
When most writers talk about the Autistic Spectrum (AS), they are talking about shades of autism from Kanner to Savant. This is because they only see the tip of the iceberg. It uses a traditional historical based medical model where labels rule even today. Where you have to reference what you think to someone else’s work even if its flawed and can be so narrow.
When Lifeworks Staffordshire CEO talks about AS it’s from a purest view from a person being on the inside looking out and holding a MA in AS and a global view not fragmented by being the average human. She has worked across the board for 30 years and has seen over 600 clients. She knows and doesn’t need someone to tell her for example if I speak French then I recognise other French speakers no matter their accent.
Lifeworks Staffordshire consider the spectrum to hold other conditions due to the high rate of co-occurrence such as ADHD, Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Tourette’s syndrome as examples.
We also see the high rate of secondary mental ill health which occurs along -side AS, as a result of the problems we have fitting into a society that doesn’t get us on a daily basis.
The average AS person thinks differently and are seen often as odd and when in fact, we are often disabled by family and society who don’t see us as the true minority group we are.
We can be gifted, talented and unique. We share common attributes such as fairness, a sense of loyalty and some can be pure innocence whilst others can manipulate and rule.
Most average AS women wear masks to fit in whilst some men do others are visible by their actions. Each faction has a purpose that society hasn’t recognised and or appreciated.
Where would the world be without us?
As an AS person I do not see gender, male or female, I see people, they are the same to me and are treated as such. This means that gender isn’t important to me and some none AS people find that hard even today.
I know this because throughout my life historically from the 70’s men have found me difficult as I do not conform to the stereotypical woman. I have always considered myself as an equal to them and adopted behaviours which they have found very hard even though they practiced them themselves.
Some AS people can be transgender and transition to their preference, this is quite common.
This can then transfer into the sphere of sexuality in that an AS person may have no preference and will fall in love with a person regardless of their gender.
It can also mean that the AS person doesn’t realise what gender they are, and they can be very confused when it comes to sexuality.
Some are A sexual and prefer to not have a sexual relationship of any kind.
Some will prefer same gender relationships.
The only differences really from an average person is the way they see gender.
How would you cope if your thoughts were not joined to your feelings? So, you don’t consciously know what you are feeling at a particular time. Whilst emotions can run deep in you, you don’t know the depth because for you as an AS person, they are sub conscious. You have no measure to use and don’t realise where you sit on the scale even if you actually recognise the emotion you are experiencing.
Example: Anxiety
This is common in AS people most just don’t know how high theirs is including me. I discovered actually in my 50’s that it is quite high and that I can even smile whilst feeling intense anxiety.
One clue is to look for physical symptoms, like sweating, shaking, tenseness of muscles but you have to have this awareness, whereas in the average person they just know because their thoughts are joined interwoven with their feelings.
Some AS people have very limited understanding and will always have, whilst others can learn and build a knowledge base.
That’s why some people with ADHD have no fear, are great risk takers and very spontaneous. Whilst some people with Autism are very wary, everything must be controlled and planned.
This is unless its animalistic/instinctive such as in a sexual context.
It can take time for the average AS person to realise what they may have felt at the time.
