<p>While the world is supposedly much more forward thinking and &ldquo;inclusive&rdquo;, there is still a large divide within the society, particularly when focusing on the contrast between those who deal with autistic, or neurodivergent, individuals, and those who do not.&nbsp; Awareness and acceptance of autistic people are not as &ldquo;normal&rdquo; as one might think, leading to studies specifically into the understanding of autism on a larger scale.</p> <p><strong>Perspective is everything</strong></p> <p>Within the study, two groups were interviewed and assessed.&nbsp; One group were those who had connections to autism, be it through their own diagnosis or through that of a friend or loved one.&nbsp; The second group had no stated connection to the world of autism. &nbsp;This perspective revealed that interaction and awareness go hand-in-hand.</p> <p>The results showed that the former group, who had a stated connection to the world of autism, saw autism as a character trait and a positive diagnosis with no need for a cure.&nbsp; The latter group, with no stated connection, saw a large divide between themselves and neurodivergent awareness.&nbsp; This is in line with the medical model, which aims to research and cure autism.</p> <p><strong>What this tells us</strong></p> <p>The results from this study have clarified several key points when it comes to wide-spread populations and their perspective on autism and neurodiversity.&nbsp; These conclusions show a strong divide between one community and another:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Interaction with neurodivergent communities creates compassion:</strong> When people have some sort of interaction or integration in the autistic community, it creates compassion both for autistic communities as well as the larger community of neurodivergent populations.&nbsp; These are the groups that see neurodivergence as a unique character trait and positive detail, rather than a flaw and/or something to cure.</li> </ul> <ul> <li><strong>Neurodiversity awareness is not widespread:</strong> Proper understanding of, and collaboration with, neurodivergent communities is not widespread and it leads to a disconnect both in the social implications between communities as well as medical communities.&nbsp; It also leads to oppression and exclusion since many fear what they do not understand, or anything that &ldquo;looks&rdquo; different from what they are used to.</li> </ul> <ul> <li><strong>The approach of &ldquo;deficiency-as-difference&rdquo; is the standard way of thinking: </strong>Both socially as well as medically, autism is seen as something that separates one person from another; a negative detail that means someone has limitations or restrictions.&nbsp; In social situations, this is seen as an exclusion, and in medical situations, this is seen as needing to find a &ldquo;cure&rdquo; to autism.</li> </ul> <p>To create a better relationship between autistic people and the general population, empathy and open communication is needed.&nbsp; Since the approaches to autism tend to overlap in both communities, better integration and acceptance is needed to make the most out of both sides.&nbsp; From this, autism awareness and acceptance can be a true reality.</p> <p>Until this is the case, however, there will continue to be oppression and exclusion between one community and another.&nbsp; This leads to a strong disconnect between the former group with a connection to autism, and the latter group that have no interaction.</p>