MANIFESTO APRIL 2, 2019
From the voice of a person with autism
April 2 is commemorated the world day of awareness about autism thanks to the UN declaration, in December 2007. Autism as a condition of life, with which a significant number of people are born worldwide, Colombia is no exception.
Autism is not a disease, nor are we people who were born with these characteristics, we suffer, let alone suffer from autism, we live with it, we grow up with it, we become adults with autism, first people and then with autism, we don't know What it is to live, we cannot even imagine what it is to live without these particular characteristics that allow us to perceive the world in a different way, communicate in a different way, learn, establish relationships and love in different ways, in addition to not being able to imagine living in another way, that is not with autism. We did not choose to be born with this condition.
In daily life I have observed people from different fields, I always find something very particular, all of you fight to stand out, you want to show how valuable you are and how many things you are willing to do for yourselves, for your families, for your country and it's OK; what I have never been able to understand is why it is difficult for many to see and live with people who think and act differently, in different spaces (the street, in the supermarket, school, work, etc.), you have the tendency to relegate, to judge with their eyes, to speak low and point out who they consider different, at a given moment, the whole family of the person with autism ends up resisting the weight of a society that is not prepared to receive and welcome the people with disabilities, with autism.
Today I want to invite you to tear down myths and beliefs. Like any other person, we communicate, love, study, learn, share, we want to have friends, we want to be included in society and for that we do not need the world to change, simply that they allow us to live in the same world without stigma, without fears. One of the barriers that people with autism face is the invisibility of the condition, this is not evident at first sight, as it happens with other disabilities, for this and due to ignorance it is difficult to understand our behavior or the way we interact.
The spectrum disorder of autism is as wide as when a range of colors of a rainbow is seen when reflected in the atmosphere, that same infinite refraction and with the variety and intensity of tones define a number of people who for one reason or another We are born within this spectrum, with different levels at the sensory, social, speech, and not communication levels, a situation that puts life a little more uphill when the barriers are equally diverse and limit being socially.
One of the characteristics of people with autism can be repeating an action more than once, this is known as stereotypes, however, a person who does not have this condition usually repeats the same mistakes over and over again and is not for that reason denies the right to live in society, study, work, have family and friends, but this is not why they are forcibly sterilized.
A disability is a difference, not a reduction of being, the disability is defined by the person's relationship with the barriers imposed by the environment, in this sense everyone at some point in life has also had or may have a limitation, there's a chance you'll also run into barriers, so let's work together to break them down now.
What do you do with your limitations? In general, he potentiates his strengths, people with autism want to have the same opportunity, that they allow us to potentiate ours as well as our abilities.
I have a dream and it is that they allow us to contribute to society, do not be afraid that people with autism are your coworkers, your life partners, your study partners, your neighbors or why not your teachers and rulers, from politics let's adjust the contents, the educational, social and labor proposals, just include us, we are not in favor of welfare, but we are convinced that with inclusion, the execution of social-educational projects and opportunities under equal conditions will be more than fair and enough.
The supports and reasonable adjustments must be established based on the characteristics of the people, this is how it is necessary for educators, rulers, public and private officials to be trained and know the subject so that we can talk in the same terms, it is not enough to issue laws that “force” educational institutions to accept us under penalty of fines because what is really isolating us and leaving us out of the conventional system is discrimination due to fear and ignorance, isolation because we consider ourselves incapable, it is just as we are being accepted into some institutions as a result of legal requirements for a few years and then we are back home to end life in abandonment and confinement.
We are not eternal children, therefore policies must be transversal in all stages of life, we also grow and age, I know people, young people, colleagues, children, adults more than with autism with great abilities, some self-taught, others who execute tasks in detail, others who are extremely compliant with their duties, punctual, honest, optimistic, some who concentrate for hours with enviable patience and do not stop until they fully comply with the mission entrusted to them, others who simply want to study and belong to a social group for life, which require a system that allows them to be, learn, coexist, study, work and that this is not limited only to the first years of life, those of us who are here and now and those who they are coming after us we need it. People with autism were not born to be isolated, much less encapsulated in our own world, that is not what we like, we share and want to belong to the same social world as you and that makes us equal, people with the same rights.
To the Colombian Autism League - LICA, an entity that works and promotes the rights of people with Autism for 10 years, I appreciate that you listen to us and allow us to be part of this organization, opening spaces for our participation, so that we can be heard. Within the autism spectrum, there are people who can represent ourselves and others who require the support of their families to be represented.
On this awareness-raising day, I want to express specific needs and leave open for you some lines of action, let's work together to:
1. Create and consolidate support networks for families of people with autism.
2. Guarantee really reasonable supports and adjustments for admission and permanence in higher education institutions.
3. Adjust public policies so that the labor inclusion of people with autism is effective and lasts over time, this is the continuity of higher education.
4. Make reasonable adjustments effective in all institutions, it is necessary to disseminate, teach and promote an inclusive state, from the public force, public transport operators, educators, businessmen.
5. Adjust care in the health system so that professionals have the necessary knowledge and skills to offer timely and quality service to people with autism. We have the right to know medical procedures, the truth about the effects medication side effects.
6. Eliminate forced sterilization, especially in women due to their disability, this must always be consented to and informed with the truth.
7. Eliminate the figure of interdiction because we want to make our own decisions: sign a contract, open a bank account, get married, do business, inherit, make our own decisions with or without support as required.
From now on I invite you to be our voices from your workplaces and from your daily life.
Thank you so much.
@Luna Mendez