Open Letter to Barack Obama in The Advocate

[Guest guest]

Yesterday, while I was at my local library, I read the LGBT magazine

The Advocate and in the December 16th issue, there was an article

that have 26 open letters from the LGBT community. Some of you may

think why I am bringing up an LGBT article to an autism/autistic

group, the reason why is because one of those letters is written by

Tammet. The letter is enlclosed below along with links.

Dear President Obama,

The 2008 election has reminded people around the world of some of

America's best qualities: the exploration of different ideas and

alternative points of view, the call for optimism, the respect for

and celebration of unity in diversity, and the belief that everyone,

no matter their background, should have the opportunity to freely

contribute their talents in the service of others.

Not so long ago it would have seemed unthinkable that a woman or a

black man might run for or be elected to the presidency of the United

States of America. Society seemed to believe that its biggest

thoughts and best ideas came only from a certain kind of mind—one

embodied by a single gender, color, and creed. America has moved on,

in part because of the growing realization that talent comes in all

shapes and forms.

All of this matters because our world today is more complex and more

interconnected than ever before, promising unprecedented challenges

and opportunities for all of us in the years to come. Solving such

problems will call for ways of thinking, perceiving, and imagining

that are different from the ways that created them.

Statistics suggest that there are more than a million Americans

living today, as I do, with Asperger's syndrome or other forms of

mild, high-functioning autism. Though many have heard of the

difficulties these conditions can pose, few are as aware of the many

strengths that can also accompany them, including high intelligence,

boundless curiosity, detail-rich perception, and original problem-

solving skills.

Frustratingly, many Americans with high-functioning autism lack the

means to participate in society as they would wish or are otherwise

able to. Programs that support college and university students with

high-functioning autism remain rare, and employment opportunities are

extremely limited.

Helping these individuals to realize their potential will reinforce

America's reputation as an inclusive nation that draws without

prejudice on the abilities of all its citizens. It will as well give

hope to the young boy or girl with Asperger's living somewhere in the

United States today, who may just one day like yourself gracefully

parry the preconceptions of others and use his or her uniqueness to

inspire a nation and the world.

Sincerely,

Tammet

Author of Born on a Blue Day

The link is http://www.advocate.com/issue_story_ektid66552.asp

Another article about Tammet in The Advocate

http://www.advocate.com/issue_story_ektid45247.asp

I am sharing this because like NTs, autistics are part of different

communities, and that anyone can find autism-related articles in

about any type of magazine, even ones that deal with the LGBT

community. Like the LGBT community, we are fighting for our rights

alongside our fellow autistics and our autistic allies. Hope that

with the Obama Administration, that there will be more autistic

rights.

[Guest guest]

2008/12/2 Tabi :

> I am sharing this because like NTs, autistics are part of different

> communities, and that anyone can find autism-related articles in

> about any type of magazine, even ones that deal with the LGBT

> community. Like the LGBT community, we are fighting for our rights

> alongside our fellow autistics and our autistic allies.

Indeed. I wrote a letter to Diva, a European lesbian life style

magazine, recently. Several people had written in asking for an

article on lesbians with mental health issues, so I was inspired to

ask for one on autistic and other learning disabled women:

Dear Diva editor,

I have recently seen a few suggestions on your letters page for an

article on the experiences of lesbians with mental health problems.

In a similar vein, I would like to suggest an article on a group of

people few give much thought to when it comes to relationships:

autistic people. As an autistic lesbian I am doubly disadvantaged, in

that like many autistic people it has taken me longer than most to

reach the stage of wanting relationships, and now that I do I both

lack the experience and the social understandings that smooth the way

(not that relationships often run smoothly from what I read!). I also

don't look disabled, so I'm just seen as weird and awkward.

It appears very likely that a higher proportion of autistic people

have alternative sexualities than of the general population, yet our

issues are rarely addressed either by autism services or lesbian/gay

etc services.

Autistic people tend to have a great honesty and integrity, rare

traits that are often of great value in groups that can become insular

and even " bitchy " . Maybe Diva could help us show the lesbian

community some of the benefits of specifically including us and other

learning disabled women.

Ruth