Multiple Perspectives

[gallian]

I am autistic: I have difficulty recognizing other's perspectives. It is hard for me to understand why they don't see things the same way I do; after all, it's obvious to me. When I stop and reflect, however, I realize that I, myself, have used multiple perspectives over my lifetime to understand myself and the world around me. (a description of

Comments

[nightengalesknd]

The medical anthropolgy people call them culture brokers. Some other people may call them culture brokers too, but the medical anthropology people are the ones I know about. A translator gives you words, and usually idiom, and is hopefully better than Babelfish, but that's about it. A culture broker is supposed to understand both cultures, and can explain each to the other one, in either language. It's a brilliant idea, and can be life saving.

And I think we need them in autismland. I try, but don't always succeed for. . . pretty much the reasons you've laid out here. The problem is that most of us are never completely split right down the middle, whether we're talking about Mexican-Americans or autisics and neurotypicals. We're always going to understand one way more than another, identify with one way more than another. And not always, or maybe even often know what we aren't understanding, and neither do the people we're trying to talk with. So it is supposed to be the autistics who pass, or the neurotypicals who write the social skills curricula, or the parents, or little bits of all of us?

All of this to say that I agree, and I hope you can figure out how to do it.