Re: Making a town and theme park

[Guest guest]

Certainly during Christmas time you would have to require that the Christmas

trees are on rotating bases. And of course if there were traffic lights they

would, of course, turn.

[Guest guest]

>I'm writing up a fictional place for Aspies.

>Anyone care to contribute?

Ooooo, great idea! A " Village of Your Own Kind " Did anyone see that

Twilite Zone about a month ago? It was a remake of an old episode.

This woman looks different from everyone else, and is considered

hideously ugly in a society that values conforming above all else. The

doctors keep trying to change her face to 'normal', but it never works.

Finally, they tell her that she has to go live in " The Village of Her

Own Kind " . She is horrified, and doesn't want to go. All I could think

of was, " I WISH _I_ could go to a village of my own kind.

Ok, so what to put (or NOT put) in the village of our own kind?

1) No loud noises allowed, ever.

2) No one is allowed to speak Chinese out loud. (I find the sound

of Chinese unbearable---it makes me feel like my teeth

are being driven up into my skull)

3) All clothing stores would only carry very soft clothes

made only of natural fibers.

4) No jazz.

5) Trucks would not be allowed to make that horrible beeping

sound when they back up.

6) No perfume.

7) Restaurants would all be gluten/dairy free.

8) Every house/apt. would have a small, sound-proof room.

9) Dogs would be allowed everywhere.

10) Children would not be allowed except in special

'child' areas.

Lori

[Guest guest]

> I personally think a community of only autistic spectrum people

would be

> more unbearable than normal society. Even if everybody did have

autism

> in common the diversity among autistic folk would make the place

futile.>>

That's probably true... I don't actually know any autistic adults

except for myself (I have Asperger's Syndrome) but I have been

working with children with special needs for a long time, in

different settings. For a while I worked in a therapeutic day care

center for 2 - 7 year olds with special needs of all different sorts,

and among the children with all different disabilities, we usually

had three or four kids with autism. The kids with autism annoyed the

hell out of each other, just because their various

stims/likes/dislikes/special interests/habits, etc, would interfere

with each other. On a field trip once, two of my kids with autism,

Jakey and CJ, ended up sitting next to each other. Ten minutes down

the road, I had to stop and beg one of the other children to switch

places with CJ, because CJ and Jakey were both screaming and flapping

away cause they annoyed each other so much. The other kids, many of

whom had behavioral disorders or mild physical disabilities, tended

to be much more patient with the children with autism, than the

children with autism were with each other!!!

- Angel

[Guest guest]

indignantly said,

>Some autistic people stim on loud noises,

>or *make* loud noises.

Then let them go do it in their sound-proof rooms. I find loud noises

painful and overstimulating.

>Many autistic people *are* Chinese.

I have Chinese friends, and I love Chinese food. No one said anything

about not allowing Chinese people in. They just couldn't speak Chinese

in public. What they do in their own house is their business. I got

stuck on a crowded streetcar the other day, and I couldn't move (which

was already overloading me). Then these 2 old Chinese ladies get on,

and one of them never shut up---and I didn't have my earplugs with me.

Chinese is an inflected language---I have never heard it spoken softly.

I think to get the proper meaning, you have to say certain sounds loudly

or with a lot of force. It sounds like all one word to me, this long,

drawn out 'waaaaaaaaa' punctuated by loud, sudden nasal barking. It's

irritating.

>Many autistic people *like* jazz.

They are free to listen to it in their sound-proof room. The wild,

unsructured sound of it makes me want to scream---and let's not get into

the horns. Driving a nail thru my head would be kinder.

>Many autistic people like (or *need*)

>gluten and/or dairy.

Nobody " needs " gluten. Banning gluten might free a lot of autistics

from uncomfortable symptoms that they weren't even aware of. And again,

they would be free to eat all the dairy/gluten they want in their own

homes.

>Dogs would be allowed everywhere.

>Including in people's houses who are

>allergic to them?

No, I meant in public. In many parts of Europe, you can take your dog

with you

to restaurants, etc.

Lori

[Guest guest]

>I can understand wanting a community

>where kids aren't allowed but it seems

>very limiting for an autistic spectrum

>community when there are vast numbers

>of autistics who have children and vast

>numbers of autistic children. It seems to

>me akin to apartheid.

Again, I never said that kids weren't allowed, just that they have to

stay in their own part of the town. It's not anything like apartheid.

Apartheid is based on skin color, something a person can't help. Having

kids is a choice. These days, no one HAS to have a kid if they don't

want to---not in the west, anyway. If you make the choice, you should

be prepared to face the consequences. Why should I be subjected to your

choice?

I don't understand this fascination for diversity---we're making a place

here that is supposed to be comfortable for people (autistics), many,

many of whom have altered sensory perception and uncomfortable reactions

to certain known foods. If you want diversity, stay in the real world.

The whole point of the village _is_ exclusion: exclusion of boom boxes

blasting rap, car stereos with the bass turned up so loud the walls

shake, stinky perfume, poisonous food. We're talking of 1 small

village in a world full of billions of NT's who have everything their

way. Give me a break with the PC propaganda.

Lori

[Guest guest]

Doug wisely replied:

>Whether " don't like " = " hate " is perhaps for >more

philosophically-minded folks to

>decide, though I would say that since I

>don't wish them any harm (and generally

>am in favor of things like good education

>that will make them worthwhile citizens),

> " hate " is far too strong to describe my

>feelings. Also, I interpret what

>posted as saying that he avoids them

>because they cause him pain physically

>and perhaps in other ways. He's just

>looking out for himself.

My feelings exactly. I don't hate children, I hate being AROUND

children. I would never hurt a child, because I wouldn't want to get

close enough to one to be able to do it---LOL. I like 's

" Disneyland " idea of separate lands. If you like kids and you want to

be around them, fine---do it in " kid land " . I'll be over in " no-kid "

land relaxing in the quiet :^)

With my dog.

Lori

[Guest guest]

>I'm fed up with having ignorant people

>assume I'm some kind of abuser or evil

>because I don't want the same stuff that

>they do. IMHO, if someone likes

>something, by all means, they can go

>have fun with it, but they need to quit

>trying to cram it down everyone else's

>throat.

Exactly. It seems to me that a lot of people with kids get really

indignant when confronted with the fact that some people just don't want

to or even can't be around children. The old, " Well, _I_ like it, and

_I'M_ gonna do it, so not only do you have to put up with it, but you'd

better like it too. " Who needs that? Sheesh.

Lori

[Guest guest]

>If someone has a sensory sensitivity, then

>I think that is something they would know

>about better than, say, someone that

>doesn't have it. I certainly don't think that

>they should be attacked for having

>different sensory preferences, whether it's

>a dislike of coffee or children.

>I personally DO find all children hard on

>my senses. In order for a kid to not trigger

>my hypersensitivity, it would have to move

>at an unnaturally slow pace and speak

>slowly in a deep voice. In order for me to

>feel comfortable around one, it would

>have to have zero interest in anything that

>stereotypical children enjoy, and have

>already internalized extremely good

>manners, such as those typically only

>shown in adults over

>25. Speaking on a physical level, none of

>this is possible, therefore I do not like

>being around children of any neurology.

Yes, exactly.

Lori

[Guest guest]

>If I could handle NTdom enough to enjoy

>it rather than just find it painful, I would

>not bother being on these lists.

Again, you hit the nail right on the head, .

>Ah, I knew I saw a kindred spirit (to quote

>a children's book when I found you on

>one of the smaller autism lists!

:^) Do you think we were separated at birth?

>Have you been to alt.support.childfree

>(USENET) before?

No, never heard of it.

>(Or as some of us think of them, Bovine

>Non Parent, because they always have

>this placid gaze rather like cows...)

Yes---ROFLMAO!

>Are you in North America? Since your dog

>is for assistance, legally I *think* they

>have to allow him in.

Yes, I am in San Francisco. And yes, they do have to give me access.

Unfortunately, there is a huge gap between the law and reality. When I

see something like that happen, it smacks to me of poor or no training

of staff in disability rights. I can understand in a small store a

shopkeeper not knowing about service dogs, but a major metropolitan

museum should have its act together better. I mean, really---you see a

dog with a vest with patches all over it that say " assistance dog " and a

special tag, the dog is extremely well behaved and not causing a problem

in any way, and you give the person a hard time? Have some sense, fer

chrissake!

>Yep, once again -- people need to get

>some more Spine and speak up.

I did that once on the streetcar, and 3 different people yelled at me to

mind my own business because, " Aw shucks, they're just kids! "

Lori

[Guest guest]

>why should the *wishes* of those that

>*choose* to reproduce be placed ahead of

>the **needs** of some autistics, just

>because we are over 18 years old and

>have chosen to not have kids? I never >have been able to made sense of

that.

Yeah, me either.

>As for gluten free restaurants, I think that

>having some gluten free and some not

>gluten free would be appropriate. That

>way everybody could get their needs

Yeah, that would be OK. But there would have to be an equal number.

>Is it possible, btw, to be allergic to one

>type of dog and not another?

Yeah, it is. I hav 2 dogs. My old dog, Bill, s a Boston Terrier. If I

touch him with any part of my body except the palms of my hands, I break

out in hives. My service dog, Neutron, is a Chihuahua. His hair is

very soft, and doesn't bother me at all. I can put my face right into

his fur. There are also hairless breeds.

Lori

[Guest guest]

>Yes the same applies to people with dog

>allergy except that my dog allergy can

>easily kill me by stopping my breathing

>rather than being an annoying skin

>irritation like most of my allergies are.

>Why should every avoid things which

>might set off your allergies or upset you

>but it's perfectly ok to do things that can

>kill other people via allergies.

Now wait a minute. First you say that being near a dog could kill you.

Then you say that you voluntarilly go to a dog show every year??? This

really doesn't make any sense at all.

>I am sure there are plenty of autistics with

>sensory problems who don't like gluten

>free food and would enjoy eating at

>restaurants that serve normal food.

Hey, it's not prison. They'd be perfectly free to get on the bus and go

ober to the next town and eat all the gluten they want.

>If I made an objectionable noise to people

>off the property (which I don't and I live

>alone in a house on a 683m² property with

>no soundproof room) then complaints

>could be issued or the situation reviewed.

OK, you're missing the point here. The purpose of the room was actually

to be a quiet sanctuary to retreat to.

Lori

[Guest guest]

>

> My feelings exactly. I don't hate children, I hate being AROUND

> children. I would never hurt a child, because I wouldn't want to

get

> close enough to one to be able to do it---LOL. I like 's

> " Disneyland " idea of separate lands. If you like kids and you want

to

> be around them, fine---do it in " kid land " . I'll be over in " no-

kid "

> land relaxing in the quiet :^)

>

> With my dog.

>

> Lori

That's what I was thinking, with the theme park idea. The town would

be an autistic-friendly place, where a lot of the stuff that goes on

in real life just doesn't happen (no pressure to fit in, no

unreasonable expectations, no bullying etc,) and the theme park would

be a place to escape from stuff you can't get away from in town.