CAUTION: Please consider each others feelings

[Toshiro Hitsugaya]

Realising how difficult AS and ASD can be for people, their experiences in life. Many people have suffered considerable bullying in school and throughout education, indeed education can be a minefield for these people. Even if they have statements of special educational needs and/or go to special schools. Their dreams of further education could be stopped because they have not been given the right help and support either by the local authority, schools, colleges and/or universities. This can be massively damaging in every way, cause triggers, and cause a terrible lack of confidence. Equally this can cause difficulties in socialising, this is one of the main reasons why I set up this forum. If you choose to join this forum, please be mindful and respectful of people’s traumas from past experiences with all forms of education and finding it difficult to find the right way of learning can cause, therefore have not achieved the standard of education they have been striving for. Yes, learning can be continuous, but funding for disabled people has been cut by consecutive governments to no funding at all.

Not everyone on the spectrum is able to work or successful in finding work due to either the state of this countries lack of understanding of autism from Job Centres, Disability Assessments/Benefits to companies who don't appreciate the complex difficulties some people on the ASD spectrum face.

Also, as this is a forum for socialising for those on the spectrum, it can be very difficult for us to open up, especially if we've gone through our own traumas over socialising in general. I know personally that social pain can be tremendously difficult living with. Triggers can be very powerful and sometimes even positive messages about how great social experiences have been can have a detrimental effect on someone with social triggers. It can cause the person afflicted with social trauma to feel churned up inside, depression, and could spur on a meltdown. I have personal experience of this. Please be careful when talking about your social experiences, as social traumatic triggers can be very powerful.

People’s views on the state of the UK can be varied, however; from my own personal experience, this country hasn’t understood my autism and failed to help me the times when I needed it the most. Not to mention, the school system is far from perfect, especially for us on the autistic spectrum. Some of us may have experienced the harshness of bullying at school. Getting the right diagnosis can also be a challenge as well considering the understanding in this country is minimal at best in my experience. This forum aims to allow members to express their views without upsetting each other. Please be aware, respectful and understanding of the fact that it’s not always easy, nor is the help always accessible or supportive for/to all of us. Each of us on the autistic spectrum is affected in different ways. A lot of us have been through traumatic experiences which can make writing on the internet take a lot out of them, especially if they are worried about how other people will react. It can cause a lot of anxiety and this may make it harder for them to write on the forum. So, please take care in responding to each other since we all must be aware of the tremendous difficulties we can be affected by on the autistic spectrum and the challenges of finding and making new friends.