Jeremy Stangroom

Many of the people who claim the label for themselves without a formal diagnosis come to the realisation they're autistic themselves after a family member receives one.

Others come to see themselves as autistic because they know autistic people from other contexts, and realise how much they have in common. Sometimes those autistic people are very decidedly disabled; sometimes less so. Either way, most understand highly disabled autistics exist.

Right, but how many have spent a lot of time with autistic people with severe disabilities? And if they did, do you think that would change how they viewed the issues?

Probably a minority have spent a lot of time with such people. It's a substantial minority though; and many autistic advocates have high support needs themselves though, which is not obvious when you're meeting them through the internet. Of course it changes how you view things.

Have you ever been responsible for looking after the personal hygiene of somebody who screams & fights every time you come near? (I'm asking out of interest, not in an aggressive manner.)

I have been in more-or-less that situation, yes, although not someone who 'screams & fights every time you come near' - that's an oddly specific requirement! I have certainly been responsible for looking after people who have physically attacked me and made horrible noises at me.

Probably my experience skewed right towards the severest end of the range of issues that can come with autism. I think this particular lad was probably in "sensory hell" the whole time. If I had to guess. No verbal language, only very little non-verbal.