A program that wants to build equal opportunities for everyone
On November 29, 2021, FUNIFELT held a meeting with Colombian autistics, where important issues were discussed that will help to build a program that seeks to contribute to the construction of a fairer society for autistics. We would like to make the first step for this project, which concerns the different needs and actions that must be considered to build suitable work environments for them.
At the same time, topics such as the importance of having elements and creating strategies for protection and do not present problems due to discrimination, intolerance, disrespect, and others, were discussed. This is not only done by common folk, but also by companies that sometimes believe that if a person with disabilities doesn’t develop social skills, it means that the person also doesn’t have work skills. Likewise, it is frequent for organizations to think that these people are not suitable for many jobs and are assigned very simple activities, ignoring the skills and abilities they have.
Also, the importance of education in these cases was discussed. It is of great value because a society must understand what autism is and know the subject in greater depth. For this, it was also proposed to give more visibility to these people expressing their ideas themselves, instead of others who have had nothing to do with it.
This Diversity and Inclusion project, which FUNIFELT is promoting, seeks to build a more inclusive society and equal opportunities for everyone, because, as an organization, we believe that it is vital to take a step forward so that people with autism and other conditions do not have to hide behind a mask or that they are discriminated against. At FUNIFELT, we want to build a fair and equal world for everyone.
Definitions
This is a list of some definitions of some disabilities and syndromes. Although not duly recognized in our society, they are quite common. It helps us to give you a reference about them in the following paragraphs.
a. Autism spectrum: There is often nothing about how people with ASD look that sets them apart from other people, but people with ASD may communicate, interact, behave, and learn in ways that are different from most other people. As it is a spectrum, it is found in approximately 1% to 2% of the world’s population, with great variety in terms of intelligence and/or abilities. Autistic people may find it harder to communicate and interact with other people; find it hard to understand how other people think or feel; find things like bright lights or loud noises overwhelming, stressful, or uncomfortable; get anxious or upset about unfamiliar situations and social events; take longer to understand information; do or think the same things over and over.
b. ADHD: it is one of the most common neurodevelopmental conditions. People with ADHD may have trouble paying attention, controlling impulsive behaviors (may act without thinking about what the result will be), or be overly active.
c. Hypersensitivity: This is characterized by being highly sensitive to physical stimuli (smell, touch, sound, and sight) and emotional stimuli; and a tendency to be overwhelmed by a large amount of information.
d. Dyslexia: A person with dyslexia finds it difficult to connect the sound and the alphabetical letters with each other and put these in a correct word order. Therefore, they find it much harder to read and understand a text. These individuals typically read at levels significantly lower than expected despite having normal intelligence.
e. Dyscalculia: A person with dyscalculia finds it difficult to understand, learn, and perform math and number-based operations.
f. Dysgraphia: A person with dysgraphia finds it difficult to write to such an extent that it causes a person's writing to be distorted or incorrect.
g. Tourette syndrome: You make repeated movements and sounds, also known as motor and vocal tics, that you cannot control.
h. Impostor syndrome: You often feel the sensation of never being good enough, competent, or capable. In other words, you are feeling like an impostor or fraud in comparison with others.
i. Psychosocial disability: It results from the interaction between people with disabilities (alterations in thinking, perceptions, emotions, feelings, behaviors and relationships, considered as signs and symptoms based on their duration, coexistence, intensity and functional impairment) and the barriers in the environment that they prevent their full and effective participation in society.
j. Hearing disability: People with a hearing disability are those who “have permanent deficiencies in sensory functions related to the perception of sounds and the discrimination of their location, tone, volume and quality.
k. Visual disability: Visual disability is the condition that directly affects the perception of images in a total or partial way and can go from low vision to blindness.
l. Physical or motor disability: People who permanently present functional body deficiencies at the musculoskeletal, neurological, integumentary level of congenital or acquired origin, loss or absence of any part of their body, or presence of body movement disorders have a physical or motor disability.
m. Down syndrome: Down syndrome is a condition in which a person has an extra chromosome. This extra copy changes how the baby’s body and brain develop in early childhood, which can cause both mental and physical challenges for the baby and child in later stages of his or her life. The average lifespan of people with Down syndrome is sixty years in developed countries. Some physical characteristics are: short neck, with excess skin at the back of the neck. Flattened facial profile and nose. Small head, ears, and mouth. Upward slanting eyes, often with a skin fold that comes out from the upper eyelid and covers the inner corner of the eye.
What do you think about this topic that sometimes is taboo in some places and social environments? Do you have any questions or comments? Tell us in the comments below!
Learn more about our projects https://www.funifelt.com/projects
References:
References:
Global Down Syndrome Foundation (2018). Retrieved December 17th, 2021, from https://www.globaldownsyndrome.org/about-down-syndrome/facts-about-down-syndrome/
Kessler, Zoë (2021). My Hypersensitivity Is Real: Why Highly Sensitive People Have ADHD. Retrieved December 17, 2021 from https://www.additudemag.com/hypersensitivity-disorder-with-adhd/
MIND (n.d) Hoogsensitiviteit. Retrieved December 17th, 2021 from https://wijzijnmind.nl/psychische-klachten/psychipedia/hoogsensitiviteit
Netigban. (n.d). Wat is het verschil tussen dyslexie en dysgrafie? Retrieved December 17, 2021. From https://www.netinbag.com/nl/health/what-is-the-difference-between-dyslexia-and-dysgraphia.html
NHS (2019). What is autism? Retrieved December 17th, 2021, from https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/what-is-autism/
Padilla, M (2021) first draft “El inicio del programa de Diversidad e Inclusión de FUNIFELT”