“Autism is not a ‘gift’. For most, it is an endless fight against schools, workplaces, and bullies. But under the right circumstances, given the right adjustments, it CAN be a
superpower. Our societies need to change, and we need people who can think outside the box and we need to start taking care of each other. And embrace our differences.” – Greta Thunberg
Many years ago, people with disabilities, neurological disorders or other types of mental illnesses were not accepted very easily in society. A lot of people did not know much about diagnoses, and due to this, most individuals with a disability would be labeled as “mentally ill” or “mental”. Communities would label them according to their own assumptions and decide their fate, which would mostly be ‘’exclusion” and “isolation”.
In today’s world, science and research has shifted our lives to a very advanced level. Psychologists are working on new studies every day, and because of this, we now have a sufficient amount of resources to diagnose and treat most of the issues such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADD, ADHD, Learning Disabilities etc.
Physical disabilities and illnesses are often easily identifiable and thus can be diagnosed simply. Mental, neurological and learning disorders, however, are often left unnoticed by parents and guardians as they often do not seem to notice.
Something to note is that we are very lucky to be residing in Canada due to the available funding, and other factors such as health care and diagnoses, which are free of charge. Although there is a systematic procedure in place, sometimes things seem very complicated for Canadians due to reasons such as:
• Lack of knowledge
• Stigma
• Social Pressure
• What to notice, when to notice and how to proceed
In this Biweekly column we will be talking about the above challenges in our society. We are part of a connected community, however ongoing learning and knowledge is the key to building healthier and stronger networks so we can work through the issues together.
Please contact Miracle Newspaper for any questions, suggestions and concerns, or contact Huma Shoaib at the email address below.
Huma Shoaib (she/her/hers)
Senior Behavioral Therapist
Founder: Empowering Autism
Email: humas6@hotmail.com
