Advocate for Inclusion and Neurodiversity

ANONYMOUS QUESTION : this is for my own self reflection, I would like to understand better, what do you mean by love and accept you because of your autism and not in spite of? ANSWER from an autistic person: It means to love yourself in your entirety. Don’t say “I love who I am even though I’m fat” for example. I love myself for my differences - my hyperactivity gives me energy when I need it, my lack of focus enables me to concentrate on many conversations simultaneously, my ability to hyper focus combined with my need to “deep dive” into my special area enables me to be an expert in things I love. Does this make sense. I love who I am because of my Autistic traits. It is a “strength-based” approach to loving who you are. Instead of seeing your Autistic traits through a negative lens, you see them through a strength based lens which means you will love yourself for these traits. MY OWN ANSWERS Examples for illustration below: IN SPITE OF Autism mentality - we dislike ...

https://youtu.be/kT0eqy-_s7A Materials manufactured from a factory go through standard Quality checks (QCs) to discriminate between the good quality ones and the bad, the "pass" and "fail" ones. But humans are not factory produced homogeneous products. Humans are more DIVERSE than we imagine. Yet we are all put through similar tests to discriminate between the "pass" and "fail", the "normal" and the "inferior", where "normal" parameters are set by what is the majority, the average, and the rest are somehow deemed inferior. In the context of the Neurodivergent (including but not limited to autistics, ADHD, Dsylexia, and those labelled to have Learning Disabilities ), we are, by the "standards of normal" (whatever that may be), deemed inferior to others, just because we behave differently, think differently, socialise differently (or have trouble socialising or don't socialise). Those who lack a...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikioIpTcBbI A great video (link above) offering refreshing insights for autistics and for employers  1)   NEURODIVERSITY : how it can contribute to the workplace  when the thoughts of Neurodiverse people tapped into and unlock the refreshing ideas and insights from their brains. 2)    MICROSOFT , a giant company, have: - sought out autistic employees, - changed the interview process,  - gives them more time show their abilities  - hires substance overfit  (as in from the term job fit or how companies hire based on 'fit') Microsoft is reinventing the wheel! They are changing/transforming the way the system operates (pun intended!😆🤭) 3)  Key takeaway: NEURODIVERSITY can be  a) healthy, b) productive , c) innovative  and  is a COMPETIVE ADVANTAGE for employers  The speaker ends of by saying whether it is ASD, ADHD or whatever don't und...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qvvrme5WIwA This video (link above) from a real life story and perspective of an autistic lady of the RICHNESS   which  NEURODIVERSITY can bring to the world, and the acceptance & embracing of the autism part of every autistic.  We have a lot to bring to the world due to our unique experiences which are perhaps unique to the (Neuro)divergent. Some of the great inventions which has moved our society/world forward by autistic brains. To me, the pivotal milestone for this woman is captured starting from 07:50 part of the video. She talk about her discovery of Asperger's Syndrome .  This reminded me of myself - diagnosed late in life (so was she), then able to look back at my life with a different view, from a different lens, with a clearer vision ,  to be able to make sense of my experiences (be it the good, the bad or the ugly, the rich and the poor, the usual and the unique, the ordinary and the o...

A mother shared her story about her son's sensory issues and talent in music. I believe her experience is eye-opening for all of us and teaches us many lessons, including but not limited to: 1) Practical Strategies to Cope With Sensory - each have their own ways. For this mother, one of the ways is reducing the frequency of attending events with heavy sensory stimuli (e.g. weddings etc.), and to be prepared to have to take her son out of the venue to a quieter place when he gets overloaded. 2) Accepting your "New Kind of Normal", and even Embracing It. And Finding Your own Happiness  In this mother and son example: No birthday parties. Limited weddings. Dad and Mum not attending weddings together but separately so that one parent can take care of the child at home without the exposure to sensory overload. Doesn't sound like a so-called "typical life", yet as she say " Accept it". Two powerful words! This is her different kind of normal, in the sen...

I participated in an autism focused bowling game yesterday where participants were mostly autistic, kindly sponsored by a corporate company.  As I enjoyed the experience of going through the experience and observed what was going on, I realised bowling (like other sports) can teach us life lessons. I will, as best as I can, contextualize  these lessons to life of autistics LESSON 1: DON'T QUIT WHEN THINGS DON'T START OUT WELL Some of us who are not experienced bowlers (like myself) might find that within the first few throws, the bowling ball often goes into the gutters. It is a discouraging start . In life, like in bowling, don't quit when things don't start out well at the initial stage . There are bound to be hiccups at the start but press on, tweak your approach if necessary, get help from others, and hopefully things will get better. The bowling scores did get better as we continued to bowl and tweak our approaches in how we throw the ball We Autistics can learn ...

Purple Parade 2019 is specially significant because of some improvements/enhancements made to the event, to live out the spirit of the event and to listen to the voices of the persons with disabilities. I wrote this Poem in Tribute to Purple Parade 2019 Purple Parade 2019 Progression, Perspectives and Purpose By: Wesley Loh Purple Parade (PP) ,for many people with special needs (PWSNs), is a special Occasion We approach it each year, and playing our part, with Enthusiasm Right from even before the actual day, during periods of campaign Activation A special segment added this year (2019), called Conversations   Serving nice Refreshments More importantly, hearing the voices of us PWSNs who serve as Inclusion Ambassadors, sharing our life stories with Passion And the PWSN Panellists who impart words of Wisdom Creating a platform for many to Learn Hopefully the things Ambassadors and Panellists shared gave some Revelation Then to the Carnival we all proceeded to...

To my readers, you might have read articles or watched videos of such similar popular titles of what not to say to autistics. Well, this is my version, based on my own real life experiences , they are not copied/adapted from other sources. They are not listed in any order of priority/importance. All are important for our well-being, mental health, respect and for us to build bridges in human relationships 1ST THING NOT TO SAY: "why do you <description of behaviour>?" Example: "why do you take what I say so literally". Isn't the answer obvious? Because I am autistic. This question may also hint to the autistic person that you don't accept him/her and wish for him/her to not exhibit such autistic behaviours. Do you realise in some cases we can't help it? Moreover, our autistic brains are wired a certain way. What to say instead : "Let me try to <description of accommodation >". An example: "Let me try to explain it ...

I spent my whole Saturday today "working" for a good cause. I wouldn't have wanted to spend my Saturday in any other way. Working for a  cause  I personally believe in, for and with a community I belong to. In the morning, I met with an autistic person from Australia, together with my Singaporean adult autistic friends. How awesome, enriching and enlightening to hear from a person who is an autistic, a mum of autistic children, and a teacher. Plus from Australia, a leading country in autism and inclusion matters! Such a rare gem. In the afternoon, I was involved in a meeting with the Autism Resource Centre (Singapore) (ARC(S)) to brainstorm some ideas for next year, together with other ARC clients and staff. In the evening, I met with my team of organisers (all autistics) for a year-end community gathering we are organising for autistics and their family members. All back to back, with not much break in between except meals and commuting.  But I had the drive ,...

Purple Parade 2019 is specially significant because of some improvements/enhancements made to the event, to live out the spirit of the event and to listen to the voices of the persons with disabilities. I wrote this Poem in Tribute to Purple Parade 2019 Purple Parade 2019 Progression, Perspectives and Purpose By: Wesley Loh Purple Parade (PP) ,for many people with special needs (PWSNs), is a special Occasion We approach it each year, and playing our part, with Enthusiasm Right from even before the actual day, during periods of campaign Activation A special segment added this year (2019), called Conversations   Serving nice Refreshments More importantly, hearing the voices of us PWSNs who serve as Inclusion Ambassadors, sharing our life stories with Passion And the PWSN Panellists who impart words of Wisdom Creating a platform for many to Learn Hopefully the things Ambassadors and Panellists shared gave some Revelation Then to the Carnival we all proceeded to...