Autism in Japan
I received an e-mail today from Medium asking people to talk about autism. This isn’t terribly hard for me, considering… I am autistic. I live autism everyday!
April is called Autism Awareness Month, but many in the autistic community prefer to call it Autism Acceptance Month. Most people are very much aware of autism; what we need now is understanding and acceptance. We need to move away from rhetoric that treats autism like a disease, and we need to start talking about it in differences of processing the world around us. Autism is an integral part of our brains. It is not a disease. It is hard-wired into our very cells and you cannot get rid of it.
Autism informs the way I understand other people, and the world around me, and it dictates my energy levels, my ability to do things like cook and shower and clean… All aspects of my life, is what I’m getting at. I can hear noises other people can’t, and bright lights give me headaches. I have trouble with facial expressions and frequently don’t understand non-literal language without time to process (which leads to lots of awkward/hilarious moments, let me tell you). Sometimes I spontaneously lose the ability to speak! And unexpected changes or uncertain situations will make me shut down almost immediately.
Even so, I notice details others don’t, I can create vivid images in my mind that I channel into creative writing. I think being autistic has made me more caring and considerate of others. I think it has made me more patient. I can feel immense, bursting joy from simply touching a nice texture, and my special interests make my heart sing every day.
There are times I wish I could be rid of my autism, of course, but… It is a part of me, and like all parts of me, I will cherish and protect it, for the good or the bad. Rejecting a part of myself will only cause me pain.
Right now, I am lucky enough to be able to be on exchange in Japan. Because I have the support of my teachers and friends, and my family back in Australia, this is possible for me, and I am very grateful!
In Japan, the way they think about autism is quite progressive. Autism organisations here don’t say that we need to fix or cure autistic people, but that society needs to change to become more understanding and accepting. They especially advocate for educators to become more informed, and for the inclusion of autistic students in mainstream classrooms. Compare this to countries like Australia and the US where segregation of “special needs” students from mainstream students is still practiced, and you can see the differences!
(That’s not to say that special needs schools don’t exist, but there is definitely a larger trend towards inclusion.)
For me, it’s very interesting to see the different ways cultures treat disability. I think that, because Western society is quite individualistic, we expect people to be self-reliant, which means they must achieve a “normal” level of independence to be considered a proper member of society. Disabled people who can’t manage this never get seen as “real people”, in a way.
But Japanese society very much has a culture of collectivism; we all must help each other, and work together to live harmoniously. I think that this attitude is why Japan seems to be so excellent at neurodiversity — to have a harmonious society, we need to look after each other and help each other. If people need help with their everyday life, then it is our duty to help them, not to punish them and try to force them into a mould of normalcy.
Now, I’m not saying Japan is perfect. No country is perfect! We’re all human beings, and we all make mistakes and do and believe harmful things. But I think, we can learn from the way Japan talks about autism. Not as a disease, but as a difference that some people have, that we need to be understanding and accepting of.
No matter where we live, we all need to help others live the best lives that they can, without stopping them from being who they are.
A fantastic example is the Japanese television drama Hikari Tomo Ni, or, With the Light. This is about an autistic boy named Hikaru (which means light), and his diagnosis of autism and his parents trying to understand him and help him be understood by those around him. You can see very much that his family faces discrimination (for example, one girl in his class wants to be his friend and go to his house to play, but her mother forbids it), but his parents, teachers, and friends work hard to understand him and work with him, rather than trying to force him to be “normal”. In fact, it is very explicitly shown that trying to force an autistic child to be “normal” is traumatic. Imagine if there were more shows like this!
Even though Hikaru is mostly non-verbal, and doesn’t have much facial expression, everyone still works hard to understand him, and to help him. They read his body language and look at where he’s looking to understand what he’s wanting to communicate, and it’s so amazing to watch. I absolutely cried a lot! And you see that even though Hikaru doesn’t have much expression, he cares for those around him, in his own way, and it’s absolutely beautiful to see the other people in his life recognise this and accept this.
So I think, this is how we need to treat autism. Not as a disease to be cured, but as a difference in processing the world that needs to be accounted for and understood.
Human beings are not meant to live alone. No matter who we are, we need each other to live happily.
So this April, let’s try to show each other love, understanding, and acceptance, and just maybe the world will become a more beautiful place.
