Greta’s ‘gift’ of autism not a blessing for the sufferers

GRETA Thunberg, 16, has received global admiration for her championing of environmental causes at such a young age. In the process she has also become something of a poster girl for special needs, by showing how conditions like Asperger’s syndrome and ADHD, from which she suffers, can be a blessing in disguise. ‘Being different is a gift,’ says Greta who has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize after sparking environmental protests around the planet. ‘It makes me see things from outside the box. I don’t easily fall for lies, I can see through things. If I would’ve been like everyone else, I wouldn’t have started this school strike for instance.’ Good for Greta and her parents who have written a book about coping with her condition, for turning a potentially severe set of shortcomings into a positive. But let’s make sure that her achievements don’t raise expectations unfairly of people on the autism spectrum, who suffer isolation, unemployment and institutionalisation in far greater numbers than the ‘normal’ population. For autism is not always a gift. It is an affliction that is often gravely misunderstood and one where sufferers are often vilified as being selfish, badly behaved or worst of all, crazy. And that’s before we get to those who are locked in autism’s prison, unable to speak or tolerate noise out of the ordinary. There are many reasons why Greta has succeeded where most people with no neurological deficits fail, and one is that she inherited all the benefits and none of its devastating downsides.