Jeremy Stangroom

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.

You cannot begin to imagine - actually possibly you can - how far way we were from implementing this sort of thing. It was a long time ago though.

I can imagine, although it's EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE to do so, so I try not to! A lot of people still just don't know where to start making environments acceptable for autistic people. I think of @sbaroncohen mentioning those who 'appear to be in anguish for no apparent reason'.

* Carers and professionals in general still have a huge amount to learn from autistic people. * Some autistic people could stand to do some learning from them, too. * Online activism is not perfect, but is a powerful way of sharing ideas; if it's over-positive, it's compensating.