Many assert that "autistics may break in basic training...they wouldn't be able to handle all the yelling of insults in their face." Agreed that some of them never could do the training...they probably WOULD break...but those are the types that probably wouldn't even want to go in in the first place.
Others, on the other hand, could be extraordinary servicemembers. Many individuals on the autism spectrum would love to serve, and would be ideal soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, etc. (Emphasis on "AIRMEN" if we're talking about autism.) We need to stop lumping entire groups of people together...no two people are alike. What's good for someone isn't good for another, and what's not good for someone is great for someone else!
Another interesting story that has been told in class, that I hadn't heard before, is the story of a girl from Somalia that enrolled in the Columbus Police Academy. She was Muslim and wore the hijab, i.e., the traditional head scarf. However, it was strongly asserted that she would not be allowed to wear the hijab while on duty...she was told that it would be a danger to her if she was forced into a confrontation. When she refused to remove her hijab, she was taken out of the academy...only for them to find out that the police force of Edmonton, Alberta, had designed a hijab for female Muslim police officers that could be easily ripped away if need be. There we go.
We talk about how we need minorities in the emergency services, we need women, we need diversity overall...However, if we truly want these individuals where we say we want them to be, we must learn to make accommodations. Some would be willing to conform, of course. Others would not be comfortable with it...but they still would love these types of careers. The same needs to go with autism. As has been said, our next major, wide-scale war will probably not fought with boots on the ground. It will be a cyber war. I hate to say who the men and women who would make the best cyber soldiers are...and if they are not allowed to serve, we could be in serious, serious, trouble. Actually no...consider the war already lost if autistics aren't allowed to serve. Consider us already screwed. On the other hand, it may be what it takes for our world to realize how valuable autism is to this day and age...a wide scale cyber war...
Pet's name: Just Breathe Easy
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