While on the phone with a concerned parent a few days ago, I was told about a website run by two men on the spectrum. Their idea is basically, "We live with autism. We're experts in it. Pay us lots of money ($1300) and we'll tell you exactly how we coped with growing up, and give you 5 hourlong sessions of personalized counseling and advice." The website is very clearly the work of someone with a marketing, attention-grab-now-give-us-money mindset. Y'know, clickbait like "One Simple Rule" and "Are you making this critical mistake?" To their credit, there are videos and a blog and those sorts of things, and some of those are free. But the site as a whole kind've puts a bad taste in my mouth. (not linking the site, but those of you with Google-fu can probably find it with this information)
Perhaps it shouldn't. I, too, am going to try to make a living using my diagnosis and skills, after all. I want to go to conventions and speak on autism, try to help people understand what's different about us and why, and how they can help. And conventions are not cheap. I can't go to any on my own right now, because of how expensive even one day can be. I understand conventions are pricey things to run, but it's out of my spending range by a lot. Especially the large conventions. I do intend to offer my blog for free, and my book will hopefully become an inexpensive eBook and available at libraries as well.
I think my distaste stems from my dislike of marketing. For every good person in marketing who just wants to get the word out about some cool product or service that could better lives, there are at least 5 that are only interested in your money and getting it any way they can think of. Needless to say, I've been subject to much more of the latter than the former, and you can bet I resent every psychological trick I recognize. As if it's not hard enough already to lead a healthy, disciplined life. As if any of the gazillion flimsy disposable goods in the world could solve even one of my problems. Will the latest and greatest knife block or a new online RPG change the fact that I have autism? I think not. Yet listening to advertisers, you'd think world peace could be achieved using only a piece of jewelry. I'm pretty sure that only worked in Lord of the Rings, and only after a lot of people hacked each other up.
I don't buy it. I don't like having my chain yanked, either. It takes energy to set someone's arguments and words aside, and energy to write a person off as "not worth listening to." I have very little energy to spare for such things. And admittedly, I perhaps resent having to do so for other people on the spectrum.
But it concerns me, this apparent similarity between my plans and these marketer-autistics. Everyone needs to eat, of course: that's why I won't be doing everything I do for free. I do wonder about my impact, though. I need to reach more than the people who can afford to attend conventions, or expensive social coaching. Will this blog be enough? Will my book? Some of the people who come to my workplace barely speak English. I can try to educate the teachers and professionals, and that will help, but what of those parents? Will it be enough?
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