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Episode 7 feedback #ActuallyAutistic

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That was a very good way of presenting a town as valuable when odds are against it. Today, ubranization is so fast many politicians, governments, and businessmen only see the end result. We all love our respective countries. We all want to make our economy better. There is no question about it. But we have forgotten our roots--the more literal meaning.

There is a phrase that goes "put down roots" which means to settle at a particular place. According to Oxford Languages it also means "begin to draw nourishment from the soil through its roots" when used in the context of plants. We human beings, though we are not plants, we can not deny that we also "draw nourishment from the soil" and these uncontrolled urbanization is disconnecting us from our "roots", the Earth. Instead of us co-existing with nature, we are restricting nature to "protected spaces" and converting everything else.

I for one grew up in a highly urbanized city and as an adult, I am longing for a life with nature. My being is searching for that natural connection. There is life and energy co-existing with nature. And human towns built co-existing with nature are vibrant and truly a home.


1. Intense focus.

Autistics are like this. It is different from "being in the zone" which neurotypicals also do. For autistics, intense focus is shutting everything else. We don't have covers on our ears but we literally can not hear you. In some instances, we do hear you but we are intentionally delaying processing your input. Think of a bank where you have to wait for your number to be called.


2. "It's not easy for someone to like me." "I have autism."

I don't think it has to be explained.


3. "Touching" - the chef and Young Woo was taken aback / surprised by that suggestion.

Many would probably understand this as a Korean culture social rule but autistics everywhere do think similarly. Many autistics doesn't want to be touched without permission, in the same way that many autistics do think it is rude to touch someone else without their permission. For neurotypicals, it is fine to touch someone (barring cultural norms, like in Korea).


4. Young Woo graduated summa cum laude from SNU Law and had an almost perfect score. Yet no one wants to accept her because "they can't accept people with autism".

This is outright discrimination. In this particular scenario, autistics can become attorneys. Here are real life examples:



5. The way Young Woo recalls information.

Personally, and the way I understand this, it is not an autistic trait rather it has to do with one's mind and memory prowess. There are neurotypicals with great memories and there are people with an average IQ who also have great memories.

What Woo Young Woo displayed here, and the way they presented how she access her memories, is what is called the "method of loci" or commonly known today as "memory journey" and "memory palace". The BBC interpretation of Sherlock Holmes (starring Benedict Cumberbatch) also depicted the method of loci in a similar way visually (although more of a "palace" than a list of documents).

The method of loci is nothing new, it goes all the way back to the Romans and Greeks. I for one have used this technique. I am no memorist, I am no memory athlete but I can tell you it is very useful. Anyone can learn it. Maybe, just maybe, those with higher IQs and/or those who are autistics just have an advantage or it is easier, again, maybe.

I've also used this technique similarly to how Young Woo did it in this episode: to find something (an object or an information). Hence "memory journey", you take "a trip down memory lane". That's one reason why it is useful.


6. Attorney Kwon Min Woo way of thinking in this episode represents those people who assume autistics are using their condition as an "excuse" and as a "shield".

I hope the audience would look beyond the character of Kwon Min Woo and see the real life people who think similarly like him. As I've shared before, I happen to have met a person like him before. An ex-colleague said that his big brother is only using his condition to get what he wants.


7. Independence

In a society where discrimination, prejudices, and stigma abound, independence has become a "thing" for autistics. For example, if other people learned a person is autistic, some immediately switch to "oh, they need help" or "where is your guardian to assist you" mode. There were past news wherein an autistic was denied boarding a flight because the airline's policy is that autistics should have a guardian.

Maybe some people would think, "it's just pride". No. For neurotypicals, it probably is "about pride" but for autistics it is not. It is about proving that "I may be different but I can do this on my own just like you 'normal' people." It is because of discrimination. Of course, there are autistics who need guardians, assistance, and intervention, no problem with that but as much as you value your own space and independence, give the same to autistics. If an autistic who generally does not need assistance comes to a point that they need one, they will ask or send signals for it.

This is why Woo Young Woo reacted that way to her father. Yes, her father may not have had acted on it in the first place--it was the CEO who approached him first--but he did not discuss it with her. She should've at least known about it.

People see the disability instead of a person's abilities. And in episode 8, it appears that we are going to see this more clearly with the way the people in their firm reacts to her once they find out her "connections".

Here's a question for you, forget all about autism or any other disorder, just you as a person: how would you feel if later on you discovered there are connections? Forget about what other people would whisper behind your back, just think about you, you, how would you feel? What thoughts will come into your mind?

Most people would feel bad, correct? You would feel bad, right?

Yes, we appreciate the good things people do for us. Yes, we understand parents do things out of love. But that is not the issue, the problem is not discussing something first and later the recipient will find out about it … worse from others. Even though Young Woo's father did not use his connections (again it was the CEO who approached him) the mere fact he did not disclose his connection with the CEO was very insulting and demeaning.

If Young Woo knew about it and still accepted the position, she would've had disclosed it when she first joined the company and said something like, "My father and the CEO were closed friends at SNU Law, I refused to accept this job at first since they already denied me once but the CEO said I should give it a chance, please allow me to stay even for only a year".

Huge difference, right?


Again, I do not speak for the autistic community. I am only trying to explain things, mainly coming from my own experience, and the experience of other autistics who shared their stories.

No two autistics are the same; and autism is four-dimensional.

You can learn more about autistics and autism by searching for #ActuallyAutistics / #ActuallyAutistic or asking a question with the hashtag #AskingAutistics. Twitter is a good start where these hashtags are often used.


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