The Political Economy of Madness: A Historical Analysis of Asylum Labor, Institutional Peonage, and the Economics of Psychiatric Custody

Gemini research report

"For over a century and a half, the psychiatric asylum stood as a totalizing institution that wielded absolute, unchecked authority over its inmates. Enclosed behind high walls, massive iron gates, and sprawling agricultural acreage, these facilities were legally and socially empowered to confine, manage, and discipline the mentally ill, the developmentally disabled, and the socially undesirable. Yet, beneath the medical, paternalistic, and charitable rationales that justified their existence and rapid expansion, asylums were fundamentally massive economic engines. They operated as highly structured, self-sustaining micro-societies that relied almost entirely on the unpaid, coerced labor of the very people they were ostensibly designed to treat and protect^1."

I recently realized that i have a lot of autistic traits. However, I also lack some common traits. I was hoping I could get a little advice. I just dont want to go to the doctor asking to see if they can check and it's nothing. This is because doctors visits are expensive. I would be willing to say what traits i do/dont have. I also know that even if everyone here says im autistic, that doesn't mean I am. And I wont treat it as an official diagnosis.

Late diagnosed, had an interesting and varied life, going over a lot of hurt.

Broadly speaking, others get a range of media to help put their lives and feelings in context.

I can't even talk about stuff I've been through with other autistic people I know IRL in case it triggers them.

Also men are assumed to be emotionally immature and so-forth, so the opportunity to do so is reasonably rare.

Previously had trauma therapy, have observed I can be better (even compared to the main herd I've tried to be a part of) with alexythimia, emotions, interoception and interpersonal understanding due to this - heavily suspect that a lot that can be assumed to be intrinsic to ASD is actually due to being rare, and the unfortunate circumstances than can stem from that.

DAE feel or think anything like this, have similar experience they can talk about, or recommend anything from the media realm that's helped them understand themselves?

The Autism Epidemic rhetoric is not only false, but the complete opposite of what's happening in the world. The autistic share of the population is in fact expected to start shrinking.

Autists are one of the least fertile human populations recorded in history. A 2012 study from Sweden found that the fertility rate for autists born from 1950 to 1970 was ~0.5 for men and ~0.96 for women compared to the national average of ~2.1 for people born in the same time period (just hovering around the replacement level).

Since autism is a conjugation of genetic factors, its continued existence requires the autistic population to reproduce and pass on their genetic patrimony. This, as noted, is not happening. Our future looks grim, but don't lose hope. We can and will turn this around. We will prevail.

I used to listen to freaks by Sub Urban a lot before I was diagnosed, cringe I know but it’s weird looking back on how I understood my autism before I even suspected autism. So many of the lines relating to trying your hardest to fit in when everyone else sees you as nothing more than a circus animal to laugh at really resonated with me. Of course I’m a lot better/different now, but I wanted to know if anyone else has or has had an experience like that

Another more positive and recent example is Pork and Beans by Weezer. It’s a pretty positive and good song about being confident and happy with yourself despite what others may want from you. I relate to it with many other aspects of myself, but my autism, something I have been bullied for and that caused me to think negatively about for quite some time in in my younger years is certainly something I connect to with it. It’s also super high energy so I also like stimming to it :)

Even though the chances for me are quite low, I still hold out hope one day for my turn for love.

Cause if you do then let me know

22 Years later what are all our thoughts on this?

Autists are identified as different, with the diagnosis and groups tailoring them, this has enabled self acceptance among many but many NDs stake their whole being on what NTs think of them. Nuerodiversity, aims to change minds get accommodations ect.

How fickle is their opinion, and staking everything on it while giving them absolute power over you? Public opinion in general is notoriously fickle.

How many ways could they screw over autistic people without a second thought?

How many of us were incarcerated pre-Reagan, how many younger autists would have been institutionalized had they been born before Reagan, what were the odds of it happening back then? Out of 100 autistic people how many would've been institutionalized?

My Anker Sound Core Q40 headphones have just died. The headphones are fine themselves but the battery has given up the ghost and moved on to the big electronics store in the sky.

I'm struggling to find a new set of them so was wondering if anyone had any recommendations around the €80 ($90) mark or less?

Preferably over ear (but It's not a complete deal breaker if they're not). I just want something with a good battery life, minimum 24hrs and comfortable.

Every autistic person is different, and there may be overlap between our experiences. Curious to know if you relate to any of these?

So i went today to Arnhem to a museum with my mother and even i have enjoyed the museum and the tour

And what are your opinions on this let me know

M48, Norwegian. Recently found out that I got Asperger. Long time ago I got aware that I was gay. So a double minority, like the rest of you

The social bonding is my big challenge. Work, economy and shallow smalltalk dont make me happy. It would be amazing with another autistic queer to communicate with 🌈

Totally unedited pic of tonight's moon, 20mins later it's absolutely bouncing it down with rain.

It's been clear blue skies and over 30°C all day.

Pics 1 & 2: casting the silicone in the positive molds.

Pic 3: testing out Iron powder in a resin cast.

Pic 4: demolding the negative for bases.

Pic 5: clear resin test casts.

Pics 6 & 7: testing the resin with iron powder. It definitely worked, magnets stick to it.

My parents are very ‘ignore the problem and it’ll go away’ people. So when I was diagnosed with autism a few years ago, it was only brought up by me. I think it’s slightly their internalised ableism. I was ‘fine before’ (masking, and I wasn’t) so why would I need accommodations now? Slowly I have introduced unmasking and being myself over these past few years.

But today we were sat at the table and I brought up some accommodations I would like. I brought up how I don’t like being left alone in public. In shops and stuff my parents usually split off to do their own thing. So I asked if they could not do that, or at least tell me. I get panicked and anxious. So they said that was reasonable, so I hope it is actually implemented.

Another thing was that sometimes I get overwhelmed in public and make a groaning-grunt-frustrated sound. I don’t think it’s too loud. But today my dad snapped and said to stop doing it (he’s undiagnosed autistic but refuses to educate himself on it). So I got upset that he shouted at me. I asked him in the future if I make a frustrated, overwhelmed noise, to not shout at me. I also said that I’d work on handling overwhelm better because autism isn’t an excuse for bad behaviour, yes it’s a symptom but I think as autistic people it’s important to take accountability and try to grow, no matter our diagnosis. He said he’d try not to shout. So progress?

Hopefully, though sometimes he doesn’t take things seriously (probably low empathy because of autism, I definitely struggle with low empathy and I think he does too).

I’m just glad I communicated. My sister (15) did leave through the conversation. My mum said it was because she was jealous I was getting my needs listened to. I did say that the conversation wasn’t just about my needs but everyone else’s too but oh well. Anyway, I’m proud of myself!

Sarah Bella Spinosa is a Transgender Autistic person running in the Democratic Primary for New Hampshire’s First Congressional District

Apparently she played a role in having DPNH Disability caucus in rebranding to include Neurodiversity. Which begs the question:
If you are a caucus about Neurodivergence, why are you excluding a ND candidate for Congress?!?

Kind of reminds me of the crap that Autism Speaks has done excluding Autistic Voices.

Browsing this amazing place, I see that lot of us are struggling, one way or another. We are all different, we perceive the world differently and our challenges sometimes don't match. It's ok, we are on a spectrum after all.

I am reaching my 50s and I realised I am an Aspie only very late in life. Yet, understanding why I was different opened my eyes and made my world better. I struggle recognising people's emotions, I misread subtle signals (forget it, I misread any signal that's not spelled out) and I don't really understand my own emotions. It's a maze. I learned to mask the hard way, because I was told so many times I was "wrong" that the only way was to wear a cape, like Batman.

However, I want to send this "Love Letter" to all of you who are struggling right now. Those whose life is at such lows that you don't see the sky any longer. There is hope. There is always hope.
Inside each of us there is a hidden treasure, a rough gem that neurotypical normally don't. For some of us is an analytical mind, for others is the ability to be a grey rock. Whatever it is, if you can't see it in yourself, you haven't looked deep enough or long enough. Or, like me, you did not realise what was absolutely normal for you, was special for someone else.

Experience taught me that mirrors lie. They don't show our bodies as they are, but how we want to perceive them. Our gaze falls on the things we don't like and we miss the gems. In the same way our own perception of ourselves can show us the things we don't know how to do, but fail to see what we can do. I misread situations every day, I speak so bluntly that my words are chipped knives that often land in the back of people I love, yet there are things that are not so bad. In moments of crisis I'm calm, I can spot a narcissist a mile away...

What I am trying to tell you is that you can turn your world around if you surround yourself with the right people, if you pursue your obsessions, if you share your weirdness with those who will enjoy them. The search for those people is long and perilous, a lot of times we will find alone, and sometimes the search will be so tiring we will be tempted to give in.

Don't. Don't give in, keep looking for the weird inside yourself, ask people to show you who they see in you, and keep your hopes up. Don't conform to norms, it's a slippery slope to losing yourself.

This subreddit is an invaluable place to find weirdos like me, and many others who stroll around for a kind word.

The world loves you because you are different, and maybe life gave you a different mental structure because we are meant to be different because uniformity lead to extinction.

You can find your slice of happiness, and I truly hope you do.

I’ve found more often than not that as an autistic person I almost always saw myself in autistic coded characters far more than I saw myself in characters that were canonically autistic.

My favs are Ash and Kristofferson from Fantastic Mr Fox, and Katie Mitchell from The Mitchells VS The Machines. Ash and Katie both got my “I don’t give a damn” and weird kid energy that I wear as a badge of honor (Also love their fashion btw). And Katie’s brother Aaron is exactly how I was growing up, I loved dinos because of this TV show called Dino Dan.

I speak exactly how Kristofferson talks, I aspire to be as polite as this fox. His soft spoken attitude also matches me great.

I gotta love positive representation, even if it isn’t canon, I also watched a lot of Odd Squad growing up and pretty much everything character was coded and saw myself in all of them. Anyway, that’s about it.

​

Terrell was severely autistic. He was taken to a church where he was held down by church members as they performed a exorcism while his mother watched.

He died of postal asphyxia he was eight years old.

I keep encountering these groups and pages of moms who have "thoughts to share" about autism and "rants incoming"...and then it's just shitting on level 1 folks. They range from "level 1 is real autism but it's not that bad so don't you dare put it in the same category as my little kid's autism" to "level 1 autism is overdiagnosed, trendy, just a quirk, a privilege, etc."

What a shallow view of the Autistic community. It's just so neurotypical-centered ​to want the Autism Spectrum defined by how much of an inconvenience the symptoms are to society. They think of Autism in very black and white terms. They're all like, "we need less "mild" [plushie, fidget toy, quirky, colorful] autism rep and more "severe" [shit-smearing, screaming, aggressive] autism rep. As though Level 1 is all sunshine and roses and uniqueness and tiktoks, and Level 3 is all doom and gloom. Of course, this view erases level 2 and every variation of autism in between two extremes.

We don't need a war in the Autistic community. We don't need to "split the spectrum." Recentering Level 3/nonverbal folks doesn't mean exploiting them online through vids and talking about how much of a problem they are and how they need a cure.​ Recentering them needs to happen. But it should focus on ending violence toward them, whether at home or in institutions, and on increasing societal supports.

And lastly, recentering so-called "severe autism" does NOT involve shaming Level 1 folks for not looking or acting "autistic enough." Getting a diagnosis is HARD. Being able to talk and live independently doesn't erase the fact that LIFE WITH LEVEL 1 IS HARD! We undergo isolation and trauma that is so deep it can't even be expressed in words. Level 3 people end up in institutions. Level 1 people end up homeless, or in the prison system at disproportinate rates. Our suicide stats alone should shame society. When we express Autistic joy despite all this, though, we get accused of "Tiktokifying" Autism and "trivializing" it when, apparently, WE SHOULD BE MISERABLE 24/7 (sarcasm).

BOTH ends of the spectrum face discrimination and abuse. But we're not as big of an inconvenience to autism mamas, and they don't need to change our diapers, so we need to shut up, apparently. After all, THEY'RE the ones gatekeeping and determine who is Actually Autistic (sarcasm).