Society. Such a familiar and well-framed system, with its own rules and norms. A place where everyone is expected to play their role — sometimes through effort, sometimes through an inner, genuine desire. A system of coordinates with a clear axis of laws and orders, acceptable exceptions and permissible deviations, norms perfected over the years with precise schedules of preferences, formulas that, in theory, should suit everyone, and a set of mandatory skills expected from its elements. And we spin within it every day, building our lives as parts — tiny cogs in an all-encompassing mechanism that has built itself.
We are merely random details of a huge machine that suffocates those who stand out. It is not accustomed to seeing the extraordinary, the sensitive, the dreamers — or simply the different. And this is not about those who choose not to conform, but about people who never chose to think differently. They are like superheroes in comic books who must pretend to be ordinary passersby just to avoid getting hurt. Only for them, all the norms, laws, and colorful pictures look different — not more correct or perfect, not brighter or duller, just not the same as for the majority. The machine should adapt, should integrate everyone into its mechanism — but, unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. Still, it’s worth starting with understanding, and that is exactly what we will do today.
Autism. Lately, we hear about it more and more often, yet we still know so little that is truly verified. Despite the mistaken perception of autism (also known as Autism Spectrum Disorder — ASD) as a disease, in reality it is a way the nervous system functions, with innate developmental features that affect how a person perceives the world, interacts socially, and communicates. There is a wide range of manifestations — from mild cases, when a person can naturally adapt, to severe ones, when there are significant difficulties with speech and communication and constant support is required. A common myth claims that autism can result from upbringing (of course, the parents are always to blame) or vaccination — but these theories have been repeatedly disproven by scientists. The exact causes — not the fairy-tale whispers of sorcerers — remain unknown, but more and more research points to a combination of genetic factors and environmental influences.
The symptoms of autism usually appear in early childhood, but in some cases they become noticeable only later, when there is more interaction with the environment — for example, in kindergartens or schools. According to Ukraine’s electronic health system, more than 20,900 children with autism are registered. However, the real number may be significantly higher, since many cases are either undiagnosed or not officially registered. Statistics from the United States show that approximately one in every thirty-one children has an ASD diagnosis, and it is much more common among boys (4.9%) than among girls (1.4%). Looking even more broadly, a recent study published in Autism Research shows that approximately one in one hundred children worldwide is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The most typical manifestations of autism are delays in speech development — its absence or the use of single words instead of phrases; difficulties in social interactions (avoiding eye contact, lack of response to others), and limited contact with society. People with autism often find it difficult to understand emotions and nonverbal communication in the surrounding world. They do not interpret facial expressions and gestures the way neurotypical people do (those whose brains function in a way considered typical or “normal” for most people). This also includes strong focus on a single object or action, repetitive behavior, stereotypical movements, hypersensitivity or insufficient sensitivity to light, textures, or sounds. It is more difficult for autistic individuals to adapt to new conditions, so any changes can cause severe stress — from interface updates in a favorite app to global events such as moving, changing teams, or work schedules.
Considering all the characteristics of autistic people, can we, as a society, as a vast system, say that we have done at least the bare minimum to ensure their comfortable coexistence within our standards and rules? Unfortunately, no. Even the initial stages of diagnosis sometimes remain inaccessible for certain families. The same applies to further needs — speech therapists, psychologists, therapists, special education teachers. These are not extravagant demands, not stars from the sky, not manna from heaven — they are merely the foundation, the basis of the future.
This continues further, with every step in life. The education system is not always ready to provide the necessary support for children so that they can feel comfortable in the learning process. The use of outdated approaches that often fail to consider sensory, social, or communicative particularities of a person, bullying among peers who are not adequately informed about the differences of others, and in the future, potential employment problems caused by prejudice from management or lack of proper working conditions — all this, unfortunately, becomes an ordinary part of life, something one gets used to and adapts to. One day, it even starts to feel normal.
And apart from these main, though already extremely difficult factors, families and autistic children (or family members) face a daily avalanche of even greater misunderstanding. Society — that same perfect coordinate system — still lives by outdated prejudices that shape false ideas about what autism really is. People often fail to realize that not all children will behave the same way in similar situations, and that the boy playing alone somewhere is not ill-mannered or “weird,” but simply different. It is just as hard for him to adapt as it is for some adults, because he has his own norms; he may become overstimulated more quickly or simply stressed by changes in his surroundings. Those adults — the “normies,” as they would be called in the Wednesday series — do not stop to think that one day he will grow up and be forced to step into this world that was not built for him and walk through it as if the floor would turn into lava if he failed to step over a square in time. His life will follow a path made for those he is not, and never will be — a trampled, old, and somewhat dirty path with not a single signpost.
But whose fault is it that we fail to notice one another? We, the neurotypical ones, seem to believe that the world revolves along a single trajectory. And to some extent I have to agree — if by “world” we mean only one planet of the Solar System. But the universe is broader. It contains more branches of a single concept, a single norm. We are afraid to acknowledge difference, it hurts to realize our own ignorance, and we simply do not want to add more elements to an already existing coordinate system — to an ideal mechanism balanced on the edge. Every time we see something that forces our norms to shift and go beyond the frame, we indifferently turn away, hoping that soon everything will be as usual — standard and without peculiarities. We put aside what is also normal, just not for everyone. Perhaps not as convenient or familiar, but still one of the hundred norms.
We have been locked inside classifications and rules, forced to actively perform the role of small parts in a gigantic apparatus — to follow the familiar path without worrying about those who may lag behind or quietly sit aside. We diligently play our roles, treating carefully those who find it hard to fit in, yet we do not make enough effort to truly hear and understand them. We do not try to adapt to them — we simply wait until the majority prevails. But machines operate smoothly only through the interaction of their individual mechanisms, even the smallest of them. And each one can make a small contribution by telling another about the existence of parallel planes composed of similar yet slightly different components, for which other rules and coordinate systems are formed. Perhaps then we will be able to understand one another — uniting our forces and building an even greater and more impressive super-machine, where there will be a place for everyone, a path found, and roles assigned. And it will be called a new society — a place where you will be understood, supported, and helped to remain yourself.
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