Toplumda dezavantajda bırakılmış bir grup olan otistik bireylerin aile ve toplum içinde iyi olma hallerinin nasıl arttırılabileceğine yönelik araştırmayı içeren bir tez. Otizmi nöroçeşitlilik konseptinde ele alıyor. Literatür taraması, fikirler ve otistik çocukların ve otistik yetişkin bir bireyin aile üyeleriyle yapılan görüşmeler eklenerek, nöroçeşitlik perspektifi de savunularak otistik bireylerin maruz bırakıldığı ayrımcılık, şiddet ve sınır ihlalleri hakkında farkındalık yaratmak ve yaşam şartlarının iyileşmesi ve iyi olma hallerinin arttırılması için olası çözüm önerilerini sunmak/ kapsamak amaçlanmıştır.

7 Mart 2024

WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 1 HOW TO IMPROVE WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC PEOPLE WITH THE HELP OF NEURODIVERSITY PERSPECTIVE Nergis Efsun Yıldız University of Bergamo Clinical Psychology for Individuals, Families and Organizations Prof. Igor Sotgiu WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 2 CONTENT INTRODUCTION Chapter 1 AUTISM AND NEURODIVERSITY MOVEMENT Chapter 2 EMOTIONS IN AUTISM Chapter 3 OTHER PEOPLE AFFECTING THE WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 3.1 Family 3.2 Clinicians and Researchers 3.3 Staff Members WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 3 3.4 School and Teachers 3.5 Peers Chapter 4 SOURCES FOR WELL-BEING 4.1 Solidarity 4.2 Acceptance Chapter 5 HUMOR IN AUTISM Chapter 6 WHAT WE NEED FOR WELL-BEING 6.1 Family 6.2 School 6.3 Environment Chapter 7 SUSTAINABILITY AND INCLUSIVENESS 7.1 Sustainability 7.2 Inclusiveness WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 4 Chapter 8 INTERVIEW WITH PARENTS OF AUTISTIC CHILDREN AND AUTISTIC ADULT Barış Murat Gamze CONCLUSION LAST NOTE REFERENCES WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 5 INTRODUCTION It can be said as a start that there are some groups that have been left at a disadvantage in the world's societies. These groups have been subjected to constant discrimination, violence and marginalization by other groups and their rights have been severely violated. Disabled individuals, autistic individuals and individuals with neurodiversity are among them. The common features of these groups are that they differ from the majority or groups that have seized power due to their characteristics from birth, and that they have been exposed to severe rights violations by these groups for this reason. These groups have been left in the minority due to their various characteristics and have difficulty in protecting themselves. It is not desired to integrate these individuals in world societies and these individuals are wanted to be excluded from society due to some of their innate characteristics. Although the rates of this discrimination and violation of rights differ in the countries of the world, these individuals are exposed to discrimination and violations of rights, albeit at different rates all over the world. This study will be related to autistic individuals, one of the groups exposed to discrimination and violence. "How can their goodness increase, can be improved?" The possible answers to the question will be searched and emphasized. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 6 The aim of this thesis is to establish solidarity with autistic individuals, a group that is exposed to discrimination, violence and violation of rights in neurotypical society, and to react to these violence, rights and border violations and to raise awareness about autism. While doing this, neurodiversity advocacy will also be done. In fact, the issue is that in addition to the difficulties experienced by autistic individuals and the discrimination and rights violations they are exposed to by society, the system and governments, the main reason for these difficulties is not they, but the discriminatory and unempathic society and system. The aim of my thesis is to raise awareness on this issue and to be a voice for autistic individuals and their families. Therefore, in addition to the literature review, I will also include interviews with family members of autistic individuals. Because I want their presence and experience to be more visible. I want them to be considered more. According to Pellicano & den Houting (2022), autism is currently listed as a neurodevelopmental disorder 'Autism Spectrum Disorder' in both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). In both guidelines, Autism Spectrum Disorder is defined as a set of "persistent deficits" manifested by autistic children, adolescents, and adults, WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 7 including deficits in social communication and interaction as well as rigid, recurrent, and constrained behavior patterns, preferences, or activities. This is the definition that many people accept and are commonly known. There are also opinions and groups that oppose the idea that autism is a disorder that needs to be corrected. Some autistic individuals engage in activism to defend their own rights and the rights of people diagnosed with autism. In this activism process, autistic activists also state that the source of the problems experienced by autistic individuals is society. In other words, according to this view, the problem is not the autistic individuals and their behaviors, but the exclusionary and discriminatory society and violating the rights of autistic individuals. And instead of changing this discriminatory mentality and behavior, society demands and expects autistic individuals to change. Although it can be explained briefly in this way, there are many more things to be written about the concept of Neurodiversity and the rights -based advocacy of autistic activists. Actually, the autistic self-advocacy movement is still very new. The voices of autistic rights defenders and autistic individuals have been heard for a very short time. As specified by Leadbitter et al. (2021), the early autistic social groups of the 1990s turned up the autistic self-advocacy movement and the autistic culture that claimed autism as a viable mode of existence. Autistic individuals, who want to be accepted as they are, continue to act in this context since then. With each passing day, their voices are heard WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 8 more and they reach more supporters. The widespread use of the internet and social media is one of the reasons why autistic activists and neurodiversity advocates are able to raise their voices to a wider audience. At the same time, the number of researchers and clinicians working on neurodiversity and publishing articles has also increased. Thanks to the internet, these researches can be accessed by more people and they can have information about neurodiversity. In addition, autistic individuals can reach various groups and platforms through social media and cooperate with other autistic individuals. Families of autistic individuals can also reach the families of other autistic individuals and form a solidarity network. All of these developments have happened over time, thanks to autistic activists and neurodiversity advocates and researchers. Developments continue to increase. Now, neurodiversity movement and the activism of autistic individuals will be examined in more detail and some factors and situations that affect the well-being of autistic individuals will be examined in more detail. Another aim of this thesis was to give a voice to autistic individuals and their families. Since I could not come across autistic individuals who could answer the questions directly, they do not have their statements, but I wanted to include the experiences of their parents WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 9 and family members. In addition to academic articles and literature review, I think it is necessary to give them a word. In this thesis, I wanted their voices to be heard. I asked some questions to parents and family members of autistic individuals. My aim was to make the experiences of autistic individuals more visible. I asked some questions to parents and family members of autistic individuals. My aim was to make the experiences of autistic individuals more visible. To summarize, I am against the violence and discrimination that autistic individuals are exposed to in society. I think that states, governments, lawmakers and law enforcement are also partners in this discrimination and produce discriminatory policies. At the same time, they do not take precautions and studies to protect autistic individuals from violence and violations of rights. Governments and states do not grant autistic individuals the rights granted to other neurotypical individuals in society. I am also against these policies and I want them to produce policies that are inclusive, against violence and violations of rights. This discriminatory policy of the government and the state is actually based on a mentality. It is possible to say that individuals in society generally carry this mentality. They view autistic individuals as "incomplete", "wrong", "flawed", "sick", or "worthless". They blame autistic individuals when there are situations in society where they can not WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 10 adapt. What I am advocating is this: The problem is not with autistic individuals. The problem lies in the state, the system, and the discriminatory mentality of the society that produces discriminatory policies. Society violates the rights and boundaries of autistic individuals. And they have an attitude of accusing autistic individuals. At the same time, I tried to emphasize that this mentality is wrong in my thesis. And at this point, I also support the neurodiversity movement. I find it wrong to label autistic individuals with adjectives such as "sick", "wrong", or "incomplete". These labels cause discrimination and cause autistic individuals to be isolated from society. And doing so is violence, violation of rights and violation of borders. There is a group (autistic individuals) whose rights have been violated, and it is necessary to focus on those who engage in acts of discrimination and violence, not on autistic individuals. I support the neurodiversity movement because it seems to me that autistic individuals want to be changed by society in general, and this is not wanted for their wellbeing or safety. I think this is a strategy used by the neurotypical society to not make room for them and not recognize their rights. They do not want to accept them as they are in society and try to change them. And in doing so, they put pressure and stress on autistic individuals. This is violation of rights, violation of boundaries and violence. I think they WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 11 want to change autistic individuals not for the sake of autistic individuals' well-being, but for themselves. For example, they try to limit and change the body language or facial expressions in which autistic individuals express themselves and their feelings, or the sounds they make. And they do this under the pretext of "adapting to society". However, this is not "adapting". Society should not interfere with their existence. After all, why is such an imposition being made? Because the harming party is the neurotypical society, and the harmed party is autistic individuals. To me this is very clear. And the "adaptation" they talk about never happens. Because their eyes are on autistic individuals and they cannot create the individuals they are trying to create. Although they do not have such a right, they do not question their own behavior and mentality. They feel entitled to the domination and control they have established over autistic individuals. The purpose of writing this thesis is not just to explain autism. Including the neurodiversity movement, the aim is to touch on the rights violations, violence, discrimination and border violations that autistic individuals are exposed to in the family, school and all aspects of society. While addressing these, it is also to touch on the discriminatory mentality and behaviors of the neurotypical society that are the cause of them. In other words, the problem is not the existence of autistic individuals. They are not "incomplete", "wrong", "flawed", WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 12 "mindless," "wrong" or "sick", or "disrespectful." The reason for their problems is the discriminatory mentality and behavior of the society. While the neurotypical society exclude them, it also violates their existing rights and boundaries. Autistic individuals are one of the disadvantaged groups in society and are seen as "vulnerable" or "powerless" by other individuals in the society. They can not get enough support from the state either. The basic human rights such as security, housing and education are not provided by the state and are even usurped. They experience many problems because of the discrimination and violence they face in their families and in all areas of society. And they also experience many psychological difficulties. Such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks, self-confidence problems. They may also experience psychosomatic problems. At the same time, many parents with autistic children do not or cannot form secure bonds with their children. Children who cannot get trust in life from their families become more vulnerable and insecure when they are exposed to bullying, violence, violation of rights, violation of borders and discrimination in school or on the street or in any area of society. In order to protect children against rights violations and violence in the outside world and to create resilience, it is very important for parents to be able to form a secure bond with their children. Thus, children feel safe in the outside world. Express themself comfortably and confidently, know their own rights and the rights of others. When they experience WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 13 violence and violation of rights, they do not have any difficulty in explaining this to their parents, and they want to tell their parents comfortably. They tell about the events that upset, disturb and scare them to their parents, but they also tell it when they are happy. In other words, they know that they have a parent or parents that they can tell about what happened to them and their experiences in the outer and inner world. They know that their parents won't be angry with them when they tell them what's going on outside and inside. They also know that their parents will be there for them. They know that their family will not let them down and will protect them. It is very likely that children whose parents do not or cannot establish a secure bond with them also have problems in their relationships with other people in the future. This is even more prominent for neurodiverse and autistic children. Because the way they express themselves is different and they are not generally accepted by society. So, in addition to not making an effort to understand and communicate with them, society also excludes and discriminates against them. And, society responsible for that. All these violence, violations of rights and borders, discrimination, bullying and disrespect are conditions caused by the neurotypical society. And it is solely responsible for the neurotypical society, government, state and politics. Autistic individuals cannot be held responsible. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 14 Autistic individuals are not responsible for the discrimination, violence, rights and border violations they are exposed to in society, but these situations affect them psychologically very badly and have negative consequences. In other words, they are badly affected by these situations, which are not even their own responsibility. And although the neurotypical society does not take responsibility for changing these negative consequences, it puts this responsibility on autistic individuals. In other words, it is the mentality of the neurotypical society and state policies that actually harm and cause negativities and violations of rights in the lives of autistic individuals and their families. These discriminatory and violent policies are not met with reaction by the public and are adopted instead. In this thesis, possible answers are sought to the question of how to improve the well-being of autistic individuals. This thesis also advocates for the neurodiversity movement. It is aimed to raise awareness about autistic individuals, the behaviors done to them, the perspective of society towards them, discriminatory policies and behaviors in people who read this thesis. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 15 At the same time, family members of autistic individuals were interviewed and the feelings, thoughts, actions of autistic individuals and the attitudes of the society towards them were tried to be better understood and shown in that way. And what is meant to be explained in this thesis is to emphasize the violence, discrimination, violations of rights and borders that autistic individuals are exposed to due to the state, system, mentality and behavior of neurotypical individuals in society. Because they harm autistic children and adults physically and psychologically. There are prejudices against autistic individuals in the neurotypical society, and people with this prejudice harm autistic individuals with their behaviors and discriminatory attitudes. Autistic individuals are exposed to discrimination, violence and marginalization in institutions such as family, school and workplace. The legal and judicial system is also inadequate and indifferent to the discrimination and violence inflicted on them. Autistic individuals exposed to many forms of violence may experience self-confidence, selfesteem problems, psychological problems and/or psychosomatic problems. They may have trouble regulating their emotions. And this can be even more challenging for autistic individuals who have difficulty expressing their emotions. This thesis also addresses the social difficulties and psychological disturbances that autistic individuals already experience or may experience. I do not think that there is sufficient WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 16 knowledge and awareness in the society about these issues ans problems of autistic people. And the problem of empathy combined with this ignorance of the neurotypical society and the motivation to exert authority/pressure cause serious harm to autistic individuals. Chapter 1 Autism and Neurodiversity Movement Although many people have heard the concept of autism in daily life, even in popular media, TV series and movies, books, or social media, many people do not have accurate and sufficient information about autism. Not everyone has come together or communicated with children or adults diagnosed with autism. Even many neurotypical people who have communicated or have tried to communicate cannot communicate correctly and healthily with autistic individuals. Autistic individuals who can express themselves and want to act WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 17 for their own rights formed and advanced the neurodiversity movement and tried to explain themselves and autism, and they are still in this effort. Before the neurodiversity movement, and still, there are other views and "methods" applied to autistic individuals, which are especially advocated by the parents of autistic individuals and which they deem necessary and important for their children. One of these views is that autism is a disorder that needs to be treated. So much so that parents who have this idea argue that there are some methods and behavior change studies that are "suitable" for their children and will "integrate" them into the society, and that some of the problems their children experience can be solved in this way. Unfortunately, in the majority of society, autism is still seen as a disease, disorder, disability, a wrong and abnormal condition that needs to be corrected. Parents and family members of autistic children may also be among those who hold this view. While there is an opinion that wants to "cure" autistic individuals with medication and argues that they should be treated, there are also those who argue the opposite. As explained by Kapp et al. (2013), while the medical model advocates causation and treatment, the neurodiversity movement celebrates autism as an integral part of one's identity, and this is how the neurodiversity movement challenges the medical model. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 18 Autism as a treatment-free positive identity is linked to self-identification as autistic and neurodiversity awareness, revealing key distinctions between the medical paradigm and the neurodiversity movement. At the same time according to the results, significant intersections were found in these approaches to autism. Adressing of the disadvantages of autism and approval of parenting methods that celebrate and improve but do not remove autism did not differ in relation to autism or awareness of neurodiversity. These results support a deficit-as-difference view of autism in which neurological conditions may be seen as equally valid paths in the diversity of human beings. Although all these developments are very important in terms of accepting the rights and existence of autistic individuals, the neurodiversity movement and the view that autistic individuals are not "sick" or "defective" but "different" is still quite new. The words "autism" and "disease" or "autism" and "disorder" come together in the everyday language of common people and neurotypical people. Neurodiversity perspectives declare the need to encourage social education, acceptance and adaptation of individuals with neurocognitive differences. In the previous years, there has been a broaden divide between autism intervention proponents and neurodiversity advocates, whose efforts to accommodate or mediate differences often result in antagonistic exchanges or stalemates (Shuck et al., 2022). In WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 19 fact, the demands of neurodiversity advocates are for society to make more space for autistic individuals and people with neurocognitive differences, and to change the discriminatory and violent behaviors present in the neurotypical society. These demands may seem difficult or strenuous to individuals and institutions in the neurotypical community. Because it is seen that the vast majority of neurotypical individuals in the society do not want to make an effort to change the existing discriminatory and violent perceptions and behaviors. It seems that neurotypical individuals and institutions try to place the responsibility of "adapting" into society on individuals with neurodiversity. It is seen that society does not accept and strive to change perceptions and behaviors that include discrimination and violence, and force autistic people and people with neurodiversity to resemble neurotypical people. It can be seen that they are disturbed by the criticism directed at them by neurodiversity advocates and the perspective they take on autism, and instead of taking responsibility, they have a negative and even aggressive attitude towards neurodiversity advocates. As mentioned by Schuck et al. (2022), clinical deterioration is a crucial precondition for diagnosis under the medical model, and such impairments are considered primary intervention targets to be addressed with clinical treatment. The "clinical deterioration" mentioned here should be handled very carefully. Are all perceptions and behaviors different from neurotypical individuals within the scope of this "clinical deterioration"? Are all behaviors of autistic individuals that do not harm themselves or others and that help WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 20 them express themselves, but that are different from neurotypical individuals (for example, clapping hands, talking loudly, or repetitive movements) are also included in this definition? In other words, when the behaviors that are thought to be medically treated are "treated", will this benefit autistic individuals? In other words, do the perceptions and behaviors that are tried to be changed by giving medications really harm autistic individuals or other people? Neurodiversity advocates and autistic activists oppose medical intervention and say it is a violation of rights. They state that the behaviors of autistic individuals that are tried to be suppressed and changed are functional for autistic individuals. And if it is taken into consideration that medication is taken in case of a disorder, if autistic individuals do not suffer from discomfort and their behavior does not harm anyone, it is necessary to think about why one would like to intervene. And at the same time, it is necessary to think about what bothers autistic individuals. Is autistic behavior bothering them or is it society's attitude towards them? This distinction should also be made well. As mentioned at the beginning, in world societies, we often see the grouping of individuals with similar characteristics and the exclusion of those who are different. Autistic individuals are also generally distinguished from neurotypical individuals with their perceptions and behaviors and are exposed to exclusion by neurotypical individuals in society. The majority of society characterizes and stigmatizes autistic individuals as disabled or ill. Within the rigid social model of disability, while individual differences WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 21 may be associated with impairment, a person's impairments do not cause an experienced disability if these people are accepted, incorporated and accommodated by society (Schuck et al., 2022). Autistic individuals face difficulties in many areas of life because they are not accepted by society. They are exposed to insults and labels such as "disabled, retarded, sick, flawed, incomplete". While many people directly violence and discriminate against autistic individuals by expressing these, there are many people who think this way but do not express them in words. Even if they do not express these thoughts, these thoughts are reflected in the behavior of people and they feed the discrimination and violence against autistic individuals. And even if these discriminatory attitudes and behaviors are not clearly done, autistic individuals may notice and this affects them badly, and they can have traumatic experiences for them. While considering the concept of disability, it can also be considered whether people are uncomfortable with the situation they are in, whether this situation harms them or whether it negatively affects their daily lives. Do the characteristics and socially unacceptable behaviors of autistic individuals harm them or others? If it doesn't harm, why are these features being asked to change? Or will changing these traits really benefit autistic individuals? According to this view why are autistic individuals required to exhibit behaviors that are considered appropriate for society? Is it because the neurotypical WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 22 individuals in the society want it, or is the "adaptation" they mentioned really demanded because it will increase the well-being of autistic individuals? Opinions about autism and autistic individuals have also changed over time. According to Schuck et al. (2022), in the United States, cultural and societal norms changed from the mid-to-late twentieth century, resulting in changes in views on autism and autism intervention. In the 1940s, autism was gradually introduced as its own separate diagnostic category. Although there are scientific research and studies on the causes of autism, there have also been different non-scientific ideas, and unfortunately these thoughts have continued until today. Among these considerations, the factors that cause autism are the attitudes and behaviors of parents, especially the mother. Because of this wrong assumption, the number of individuals in the society who have a blaming attitude towards parents, especially towards the mother, is too high to be underestimated. This blame is also seen among the parents themselves. So one parent can blame the other parent. Parents who think their children are autistic because of their own behavior or "mistakes" or who are exposed to this pressure from society or their own families also blame themselves. As a result of blaming themselves, they may experience many psychological problems and this can lead them to a sense of guilt. They may reflect their negative mood to their autistic children as a result of the psychological problems they experience due to the feeling of guilt and subsequent negative emotions. In addition, these WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 23 negative moods they enter will also be reflected in their behaviors and their behaviors will negatively affect their autistic children. In addition, children who see, realize or feel that their parents' relationship is impaired will be affected negatively. According to Schuck et al. (2022), in autism, the person or their family is no longer held responsible and instead autism is seen as part of biology. In other words, autism is not caused by the behaviors or attitudes of the parents. This innate and biological situation is not seen as the fault of the parents. According to the neurodiversity movement, autism is not "wrong" or "deficient", nor is the autistic person or their parents "guilty". Therefore, being autistic or having a autistic family member is not something to be blamed for. This attitude does not blame people and does not make them feel bad and guilty because their relatives are autistic. This attitude is very important in order to protect the psychological health of autistic individuals and their parents and their families. At the same time, it is very important for autistic individuals not to be negatively stigmatized. The neurodiversity movement argues that autism is not a disorder or disease, and that autistic individuals are not sick or defective. The first thing that comes to mind when talking about neurodiversity movement is usually autism. Schuck et al. (2022) point out that the neurodiversity movement, which extends beyond autism to capture multiple domains of neurodevelopmental difference, differs primarily from the Autistic advocacy movement in its broad scope. On the one hand, while the neurodiversity movement opposes changing the behavior of autistic individuals (if it is not harmful to the WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 24 person or the environment) and does not limit neurodiversity to autism, on the other hand, there are people who try to change the behaviors of autistic individuals. Efforts and studies to change the behavior of autistic individuals are not carried out only by parents of autistic children. There are also some methods put forward by some researchers and clinicians who predict that behavioral change can be applied in addition to drug "treatment" or separately from drug "treatment". On the other hand, autistic activists oppose society focusing on and changing their behavior. They claim that there is no problem in their own perceptions and behaviors, the problem lies in the discriminatory perspective of the society and in the system developed for neurotypical individuals. They want to be accepted and respected with their autistic existence, rather than trying to change their own behavior to "fit" into society. They reject the obligation to behave in the ways society wants, and they oppose methods to change their behavior. They see this as a violation of their rights. While autistic activists think so, interventions for the behavior of autistic individuals appear as some practices. These forms of intervention have become known and applied in many countries. ABA (Aplied Behavior Analysis) is also a method of behavior intervention. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 25 According to Schuck et al. (2022), although neurodiversity advocates generally want to supply sufficient support to raise the quality of life of autistic individuals, the outright negative experiences of many autistic individuals have fueled strong opposition to ABA interventions in many quarters; so much so that even the ABA discussion is seen as triggering or prohibited in some online groups (e.g., Ask me, I’m Autistic (24 h rule!), n.d.). However, there is also the accepted view and practice of ABA in many parts of the world. Many institutions and private education centers in Turkey still use ABA and speak highly of ABA. They feature ABA on their websites and promotions as "a useful method that has proven to be scientifically effective." Some even refer to it as the "best and most effective" method. At the same time, they claim that this practice is very effective in increasing the education and welfare of autistic individuals. It is seen that people working in many institutions and private education centers record videos of autistic children and adults while ABA is being applied, and they share this with praise on their social media accounts. Here, it is necessary to mention the ethical problems caused by the fact that videos of autistic children, as well as adults, are shot and shared during education, and that ABA is praised and institutions or individuals are promoted in this way. In the aforementioned case, it is seen that autistic individuals from all age groups, especially autistic children, are used to promote ABA methods and these images are shared on public platforms. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 26 Methods for changing the behavior of autistic individuals are very controversial. Autistic activists and neurodiversity advocates strongly oppose these interventions and state that they are a violation of rights and harm autistic individuals. As reported by Schuck et al. (2022), before attempting to extinguish the behavior of autistic individuals, interventionists need to decide whether the behaviors are truly harmful (for example, potentially or actually self-harming, aggressive or destructive). If the behaviors of autistic individuals are not harmful to themselves or others, why do neurotypical individuals want these behaviors of autistic individuals to change? If these behaviors have a function for autistic individuals to express themselves, these behaviors are important for the well-being of autistic individuals. This pressure and desire to control that neurotypical individuals and neurotypical society exert on autistic individuals is a violation of rights and is violence against autistic individuals. Autistic activists and neurodiversity advocates argue that these behaviors to be intervened are functional for autistic individuals. They state that it would be harmful for autistic individuals to try to change or destroy these behaviors. In addition, it is necessary to know and spread the neurodiversity movement for this purpose. More precisely, neurodiversity-informed pedagogy should be incorporated into current clinical programs to improve the training of professionals and to empower WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 27 professionals to work with autistic people and their families as “neurodiversity advocates”. By recognizing these issues, clinicians are in a position to present a more balanced perspective that incorporates discussion of personal strengths and supports acceptance (Schuck et al., 2022). It is a known fact that autistic individuals are exposed to discrimination and marginalization in all areas of society. Most neurotypical individuals in the society are unaware of the neurodiversity movement or do not care whether autistic individuals are visible in the society or not. While this is the case, the fact that professionals who communicate directly with autistic individuals do not respect the rights of autistic individuals will cause serious harm to autistic individuals. The attitude of professionals and clinicians is very important for autistic individuals to feel empowered and accepted. Professionals and clinicians can also be role models for individuals in society. Their behaviors towards autistic individuals and the information they give about autism and autistic individuals will affect the attitudes of individuals in the society and autistic individual's families towards autistic individuals. It can be predicted that people who can understand autism and autistic individuals within the scope of the neurodiversity movement will reduce the rate of discrimination and violence against them, and autistic individuals WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 28 will be able to take their place in society more easily. Attitudes and discourses of professionals and clinicians can be very useful in raising the awareness of the society. Most autism researchers are trained to acknowledge autism as a brain development disorder, an unwanted deviation from the norm (Pellicano & den Houting, 2022). The terms "disorder" and "unwanted deviation from norm" need to be discussed here. Neurodiversity advocates oppose seeing autism as a disorder and state that the "disorder" label increases the stigma applied to autistic individuals in society. In addition, if the concept of illness is handled as situations that disturb the person and make their life difficult, is it autism and autistic characteristics that make the life of autistic individuals difficult, or is it the "norms" imposed by the society and the discrimination and violence it applies? For example, clapping or shouting in class is considered out of the norm and not appropriate by society. However, when society and neurotypical individuals do not try to understand why autistic children do these behaviors, and these children are exposed to discrimination and violence due to these behaviors, the situation that is tried to be changed and focused on is the behavior of autistic children and autism. Perhaps at this point, it is necessary to think about power and control mechanisms. Unfortunately, autistic children and autistic individuals are left defenseless against neurotypical individuals and are in the minority. For this reason, it seems easier for society to try to eliminate their behavior and WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 29 to comply with the "norms" they have determined and to maintain "order". Trying to correct the violent and discriminatory behaviors of neurotypical individuals who are in the majority and hold power mechanisms against autistic individuals and creating spaces where autistic individuals' needs will be met and they will feel safe becomes a more undesirable situation for a neurotypical society. Autism and autistic individuals are generally regarded negatively in society. They are defined as individuals who are wrong, incomplete or unable to do things as they should. Or, it focuses only on the negative situations that autism causes in the lives of individuals. The good features of autistic individuals are ignored. Of course, the definitions of good and bad here can also vary. Or, the positive features that autism brings to individuals are ignored, and the features that do not fit the social and neurotypical perception and are described as negative are given priority. As reported by Pellicano & den Houting (2022), the traditional medical approach that explores impairments and functional deficits in autistic people and often seeks to divert attention from certain strengths of autistic people has unintended consequences, such as concentrating solely on restrictions, whether real or perceived. In other words, it is far from telling what autistic individuals can do and emphasizes what they cannot do. Autistic individuals may have many skills that neurotypical WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 30 individuals can or cannot do. The concepts of success and talent have also been determined socially and culturally and have been shaped according to the perspective of neurotypical individuals. From this point of view, it is likely that neurotypical individuals will tend to ignore the abilities and skills of autistic individuals. It is thought that autistic individuals are behind neurotypical individuals in many areas. One of these thoughts is that cognitive capacities are less than neurotypical individuals. As stated by Pellicano & den Houting (2022), there are many cases of traditional autism research explaining that autistic people perform better on scientific tasks than nonautistic people, but interpret these achievements as somehow revealing a problem. This interpretation shows that there is a state of disapproval against autistic individuals, as well as among researchers. In other words, the opinion that autistic individuals are deficient, inadequate and defective in the society composed of neurotypical individuals prevails, and even though autistic individuals perform better in tasks, this situation has not been accepted by the researchers and has been interpreted as seeing autistic individuals as unsuccessful. In other words, the competencies of autistic individuals in any subject were not accepted and they were exposed to prejudice. This actually makes people question the results of researches involving autistic individuals and the studies on this subject. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 31 While the situations and issues in which autistic individuals are successful, their abilities are ignored, in addition, the neurotypical society puts the responsibility of the difficulties they experience on them. Thus, the neurotypical society does not take responsibility and ignores the real problem and blames autistic individuals. According to Pellicano & den Houting (2022), adopting the individualistic starting place implies that the "fault" of difficulties in life lies with the individual, and the burden of "repairing" perceived difficulties also lies with the individual. According to this view, autistic people are perceived as somehow "defective" or "faulty" and individual treatment is thought to be necessary to correct these deficiencies. It is clear from autism research and practice that autistic people are generally expected to overcome their "impairments" to reach a typical level of ability. So treatments and interventions are designed to change, reduce or improve the behavior of autistic children to achieve these core goals. This view demands a change in behavior from autistic individuals under the name of "treatment" and places the responsibility of the difficulties experienced by autistic individuals in society on autistic individuals. This perspective imposes neurotypical behavior patterns on autistic individuals and does not respect autistic individuals' unique characteristics and being as they are. This view sees the non-neurotypical behaviors of autistic individuals as faulty and disordered and argues that these behaviors should be corrected. It argues that autistic individuals should also be "treated" and that they can adapt to society in this way. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 32 Ne’Man (2021) point out that, the neurodiversity movement argues that autistic traits inherently do not need correction and that the purpose of autism service delivery and research is not to make autistic people non-autistic, and autistic adults have criticized the promotion of this indiscernibility through this movement. Neurodiversity advocates criticize interventions that try to suppress autistic features in favor of "passing" for example, trying to hide stigmatized identity by pretending to be a member of the unstigmatized majority. Passing has been linked to significant harm in both disabled and non-disabled contexts. Attempts to pass have been one of the identified risk markers for suicidality in autistic adults. This kind of "camouflage" is also linked to other mental health issues. While not accepting autistic individuals as they are, trying to change them causes great harm to them psychologically. If the autistic traits that enable autistic individuals to freely express their feelings and thoughts are wanted to change so that they behave like neurotypical individuals and because neurotypical individuals want it, they will have difficulty in expressing themselves at this point and they will lose their motivation to communicate with neurotypical individuals and society. Because they are not accepted as they are and their existence is not respected, they will have problems with self-esteem and self-confidence, and they will not be able to feel belonging to society and will feel lonely. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 33 In fact, these psychological problems can become so great and serious that they can even lead to major depression and suicide. It is very important for autistic individuals to be able to express their feelings and thoughts comfortably so that they can express themselves, form relationships and regulate their emotions. They do this through their behavior. Trying to suppress and change their behavior can cause stress, feelings of worthlessness and inability to express their feelings, resulting in self-confidence problems, feelings of loneliness, feelings of not being accepted, and many other psychological problems, even psychosomatic problems as a result. Different thoughts and questions may arise about accepting the autistic characteristics of autistic individuals. If autistic individuals have behaviors that are harmful to themselves or others, one may wonder whether these behaviors are also included in the "acceptance" advocated by neurodiversity advocates. As specified by Ne’man (2021), those who think that neurodiversity's emphasis on acceptance is incompatible with severe disability argue that this acceptance should only appeal to autistic individuals with less disabilities. This perspective misinterprets the claims of neurodiversity. Neurodiversity advocates often support autistic people to improve their adaptability. In other words, according to this view, neurodiversity advocates do not support autistic individuals if they have harmful behaviors to themselves or others. This perspective also cares about the physical and psychological health and safety of autistic individuals. It gives importance WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 34 to the safety and health of both autistic individuals and other people around. It advocates to prevent possible harm and danger to anyone. Just as it is now recognized that it is barbaric to surgically reshape the eyes of individuals with down syndrome so that they appear normal, neurodiversity needs us to regard as unethical measures to impose typical appearance simply to keep away from stigma. Regardless of the severity of the impairment, it is problematic to suppress autistic traits in order to promote the typical appearance of autistic people, but it is not problematic to do so while reducing personally upsetting or damaging behaviors or improving skills (Ne'man, 2021). In other words, the neurodiversity movement opposes changing the appearance or behavior of autistic individuals just because the society wants it. Such an intervention would be a violation of rights, violence and abuse. Unfortunately, autistic individuals are frequently exposed to such interventions. While these interventions violate the rights of autistic individuals, they also cause great harm to them psychologically. These interventions can cause autistic individuals to feel unaccepted, inadequate, unimportant, worthless, and alone. They are likely to feel under intense stress due to these interventions. They may feel compelled to distance themselves from society and be isolated. In addition, they cannot express themselves comfortably in a society that tries to suppress their feelings, thoughts WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 35 and the way they express them, and this brings along many psychological problems, selfconfidence and self-esteem problems. But that may not always be the case. Changes to be made and intervention in behavior may be necessary for autistic individuals or may be to their advantage. This distinction should be made very well. As explained by Leadbitter et al. (2021), a balanced assessment of neurodiversity acknowledges that, that although diversity confers fundamental collective advantages, individual weaknesses are often inseparable partners of strengths in any neurodifference, and people may want things to change while yet wanting to be themselves. It comprises the opinion that certain variations are disadvantageous, either inherently or in interaction with the environment, and might benefit from intervention that is appropriately targeted. Accordingly, some features of neurodiverse people and autistic individuals may be disadvantageous for them and they may want these features to change. But they may also want to protect their identity. And it is in the context of the concept of neurodiversity that appropriate interventions can be made to change the traits they consider to be disadvantaged. That is, the neurodiversity movement argues that if an intervention is to be made, it should be done without trying to suppress and prevent the identity of autistic individuals. In other words, it is clear from here that the aim of the neurodiversity movement is to facilitate the lives of autistic individuals and to increase their well-being. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 36 According to Leadbitter et al. (2021), it is stated that there is a third implication for interventions related to the disadvantageous features of autism in itself. A balanced view of neurodiversity states that certain features of autism should not be viewed as pathological if these features do not harm or disturb the individual or violate other people's rights. The fine line between supporting a child's development and trying to change the essence of autistic individuals complicates autism interventions. Additionally, it is linked to the fine balance between adapting autistic behaviors and mitigating actually or potentially harmful cognitive or behavioral phenomena. This balance appears to be questioned by different views, due to differing views on what constitutes pain and the cause of pain, and difficulties in determining individual children's views due to their young age, difficulties in communicating, and inability to understand potential future consequences. There is no simple solution to solve these complex situations. The neurodiversity movement is expected to be very careful about interventions that should or should not be done in the behavior of autistic children. If necessary, the behavior of children should be intervened without harming their selves and without suppressing them. This requirement was not easy to detect. Taking care of the child's wishes and needs should be a priority. Even if the behavior is to be intervened, it must be harmful to the child or the people around. It is necessary to dwell on the concept of "harm" here. For example, if suppressing these behaviors of some autistic children who speak loudly or scream to express their feelings harms those children, why is this pressure WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 37 being applied by the society? Children may be under stress or in an environment where they cannot express themselves comfortably. Or even if it's not, doing this behavior makes them feel good, happy, or they may be expressing themselves through this behavior. In this case, focusing on this behavior of autistic children mentioned here and trying to change this behavior will harm autistic children. And is it really hurting other people around when these autistic children are talking and screaming loudly? Or is this a pressure created by society's indifference towards these children? It will be very important to dwell on these questions. Chapter 2 EMOTIONS IN AUTISM WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 38 Expressing emotions is very important for human relations and self-expression. At the same time, for a healthy emotional state, it is necessary for the individual to be able to define and express their emotions in a healthy way. Being able to identify and express emotions is also extremely important for autistic individuals. Autistic individuals may differ from neurotypical individuals in expressing their emotions. Researchers have been curious about how autistic individuals feel and how they express their emotions, and some research has been done on this subject. There are studies on the emotions of autistic individuals. Many individuals are raised from childhood without being encouraged to express their feelings, even fearing or hesitating to express their feelings. Although we see that this situation is more common in some cultures, education systems and social expectations around the world prevent children from expressing their emotions. This situation is more intense for some groups than for other groups. It is more common for girls compared to boys in places where patriarchy is intense and in fact worldwide. Girls are more likely to encounter external obstacles in expressing their feelings and thoughts. (Like society expects them to remain silent and unresponsive or "kind") This is related to sexism, another form of discrimination that is prevalent around the world. These barriers are also more pronounced for individuals with neurodiversity and autistic individuals. They express their emotions in different ways WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 39 than neurotypical individuals, and their emotions and related behaviors are more difficult to understand and accept by society. The inability of a person to express or accept their feelings can bring along many psychological problems. Children may be unable to express and suppress their emotions because of their family or society. This situation can be traumatic for them. And it is predicted that autistic children will be more likely to be exposed to this trauma than neurotypical children. Children cannot express their emotions in a healthy way unless they are encouraged to express their emotions. This creates an obstacle for them to develop a self-confident and healthy, cohesive self. Children who cannot accept their own feelings and are prevented from expressing themselves in a healthy way have difficulties in expressing themselves and have self-confidence problems. This has a negative impact on their personality development. They may experience many psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, panic attacks in this time of in the future. This situation reflects negatively on their relationships with other people and they may not be able to express themselves. Children who feel that their feelings are not accepted cannot feel safe with their families and in society. Emotion regulation is equally important to all children and is a skill they can acquire from their parents. At this point, the families of autistic children have a very important role to play. Because they themselves are often under stress due to their children's situation and WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 40 the discrimination and violence their children face in society, and they may be more likely to reflect this stress on their children than neurotypical parents. 2.1 Happiness and Fear Happiness and fear are the basic common emotions that people feel. Emotion recognition and empathy skills are very important for understanding other people's emotions. Being able to understand the feelings of other people is also very important in order to establish a healthy communication and relationship. There is and continues to be research on these emotions in neurotypical individuals. There are also studies conducted for autistic individuals. There are studies on emotion recognition of autistic individuals. These studies seem to have found different results. Uljarevic & Hamilton (2013) reports that, the findings show that emotion detection is difficult in autism, and the average effect size decreased from 0.80 to 0.41 when publication bias was taken into account. Autism slightly impairs the ability to recognize happiness, while the ability to recognize fear is slightly worse. This result WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 41 may not seem positive for autistic individuals, especially in terms of happiness and fear recognition. But the reasons for these results need to be investigated. These studies can be evaluated as supportive in terms of communication to be established with autistic individuals, education and psychosocial support that should be provided to them. Of course, every autistic person and every autistic person's autism is unique and the results cannot be generalized for everyone. According to Uljarevic & Hamilton (2013), individual emotion recognition was analyzed across 16 studies that provided ample data, and it was found that individuals with autism had trouble recognizing the five core emotions but not recognizing happiness. Temporary evidence has been found to suggest that fear is worse recognized than happiness, but no difference was found between happiness and sadness, surprise or disgust. According to the results of the studies mentioned here, it was mentioned that autistic people have more difficulty in recognizing fear than other basic emotions. There was no difference in the difficulty between recognizing other emotions. As mentioned by Uljarevic & Hamilton (2013), there was a hint of certain difficulties in comparing the recognition of happiness with the recognition of fear, with a marginally significant difference. Various theories predict poor fear processing in autism rely on neurological and behavioral descriptions. Identifying the factors that WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 42 reveal the results of these studies may be beneficial for autistic people. These results can be usefully used to produce more appropriate and beneficial communication methods, education and psychosocial support studies for autistic individuals, rather than stigmatizing them. But intent is very important here. Interpreting these results to label autistic people as "deficient" or "defective" will be very harmful. Abusing these results will harm autistic individuals. 2.2 General Emotions Autistic individuals are seen as "deficient" in many areas by society and it is thought that they do not have many skills that neurotypical individuals have. One of them is emotions. In addition to being seen as cognitively "deficient" in society, autistic individuals are also thought to be emotionally "deficient". But research and studies show that this is not so. As mentioned by Mcgee et al. (1991), when preschool-aged children with autism were compared with children who had mental retardation and typical children, research has revealed that children with autism displayed no less affect than their mental- aged matched and typical peers. Moreover, children with autism exhibited more negative emotional reactions and maladaptive emotional blends than these two groups, and differed in their emotional display patterns. According to the results of this study, the "more negative emotional reactions and maladaptive emotional blends" of autistic children WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 43 does not make them lacking in emotions. There can be several reasons for these "more negative emotional reactions and maladaptive emotional blends" to occur. These reasons may also be social. Also, what are the "maladaptive emotional reactions" to the neurotypical community? There is a reality that autistic children and individuals often find it difficult to adapt to society. And although the responsibility of this difficulty is intended to be placed on autistic children and individuals, the responsibility actually belongs to the society. In fact, it is not their problem, as autistic children and individuals find it difficult to adapt to a society designed for neurotypical individuals, where there is a lot of discrimination and violence for them, and which ignores their own needs and wishes. The fact that the "Emotional display pattern" differs does not make them any more incomplete or flawed. It just makes them different. Just as autistic activists who advocate the neurodiversity movement have pointed out. Mcgee et al., (1991) states that the differences found in the research are relatively complicated and contradict the traditional assumption that there are significant and direct differences between the nature of the nonverbal behavior of children with autism and that of typical children. In fact, children with autism do not differ from typical children in some essential ways in expressing their basic emotions such as happiness, sadness, and anger, but large discrepancies were seen between the nonverbal behavior of children with autism and typical children in terms of specific WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 44 nonverbal displays. The particular prevalence of certain facial expressions does not help much in identifying children with autism. This is noticeable given that basic emotions such as happiness, sadness and anger occur at a comparable level between children with autism and typical children. Opposite to anecdotal clinical observations, no proof was found that children with autism show inappropriate levels of facial emotionality. But significant differences were found in situational contexts in which children with autism and typical children displayed various facial expressions. Typical children appeared to show happiness when communicating with a teacher or peers, while children with autism showed happiness when playing the on their own. There were also differences in the expression of anger; it was found that for typical children, anger is particularly common in the presence of other children, but for children with autism, anger is seen in situations where adults are present. In this study, it was observed that autistic children were able to perceive and express basic emotions. Autistic children and individuals are alienated and marginalized by society and are thought to have low perceptions. However, these studies show that autistic children are not deficient or inadequate in understanding and expressing emotions. Only their expressive nonverbal behavior differs from neurotypical children, but this does not make them inaccurate or incomplete. In addition, it has been observed that they differ from neurotypical children in the environments and situations in which they express their emotions. In other words, autistic children can understand emotions and express their own emotions. It was stated WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 45 that "inappropriate levels of facial emotionality" were not observed in autistic children. It is also necessary to examine the definition of "inappropriate levels of facial emotionality" here. What is meant here is important. However, it has been observed that autistic individuals do not show this "inappropriate levels of facial emotionality". It was found that children with autism could identify all six emotions with different intensity levels as well as children in the control group and made the same type of erros as the control group (Castelli, 2005). Autistic children also have emotions like neurotypical children and they show these emotions in various ways. For all children, whether autistic or not, some emotions can be more difficult to distinguish, perceive and make sense of than other emotions. It is thought by many people that autistic children have more difficulties in understanding, interpreting and distinguishing emotions than neurotypical children, and it is predicted that they are less able to distinguish emotions compared to neurotypical children. It is even thought that the perception level of autistic children is low. Autistic children are exposed to definitions and insults such as "deficient", "faulty", "flawed", "failed" or even "stupid" by people with this wrong and discriminatory perspective. However, studies have shown that this is not the case. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 46 It is also necessary to consider that studies on emotion recognition of autistic individuals are carried out by neurotypical individuals from a neurotypical perspective. Studies that deal with autism in the context of the neurodiversity movement or that are conducted jointly with autistic individuals or researches directly conducted by autistic individuals are unfortunately very new and limited in number. However, it is seen that this number is increasing and this is a positive development. Castelli (2005) indicates that, in each of the three experiments; surprise, fear, anger and disgust were predicted to be the most complicated emotions, while happiness was predicted to be the easiest emotion to detect. As in the earlier naming task, it was observed that children with autism did not perform in another way than children in the control group, and expressions of surprise and fear did not appear to be a verbal barrier at any level of intensity for either group. It is assumed that the level of perception of emotions in autistic children and individuals is lower than in neurotypicals. This assumption may feed into discriminatory perspectives in which autistic children and individuals are stigmatized as "deficient" or "defective". However, there is research showing that this is not the case. These scientific studies are very important in terms of showing and making the public accept that the labeling and stigmatization against autistic individuals in the society has no WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 47 scientific basis. Along with autistic children, families of autistic children can also be adversely affected by these prejudices of the society. The results of these scientific researches should be shared with parents and parents should be informed so that they are not affected by these prejudices and establish more positive relationships with their children. Having parents' awareness will also have a very positive effect on their mental health. And when they have a healthy mood, this will positively affect their children's mood and communication with them. There is a thought and prejudice in society that autistic children and individuals "cannot perceive people's emotions". There are many people who assume that they have low perceptions. This assumption is again based on the idea that autistic children and individuals are more "deficient" or "defective" than neurotypical individuals. As mentioned by Castelli (2005), the outcomes of the studies revealed that children with autism can identify all six central emotions from people's facial expressions as well as children in the control group. This was demonstrated not only when asked to match images of emotional expressions with different levels of intensity, but also when asked to categorize emotional reactions with natural intensity. An ultimate issue is about the clinical samples used in both research and involving children from specialized schools. The degree to which these results may be generally applied to people with autism is still an open subject due to the diversity of people diagnosed with highfunctioning WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 48 autism/Asperger syndrome. Following studies on emotion recognition skills of individuals with autism require to use much larger samples of individuals with diagnosis established using standardized tools. Just because autistic individuals are autistic, their abilities or perceptions are not the same, just as their characters are not the same. Autism does not cause the same effects that everyone with autism has. Therefore, it may be important to include more people with this diagnosis to reach more valid results. In the meantime, it should be noted that many autistic activists oppose the identification of autistic individuals as "high functioning" or "low functioning". They see this separation as a form of discrimination. Also, who makes this distinction and decides on what basis? Castelli (2005) indicates that, it is possible that people with autism have no damage in recognizing emotion expressions developed with adaptive function. But they have difficulty making connections between the perceptual level of emotion recognition and higher level of understanding the social meaning of different expressions. Overall, the close similarity between surprise and fear did not confuse children with autism any more than children in the control group. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 49 This study also shows that autistic individuals have no adaptive problems in perceiving emotion expressions. The reasons why autistic children have difficulty in perceiving the social meanings of emotion expressions may be the expressions created by a neurotypical society from a neurotypical perspective. The fact that they perceived suprise and fear, which are very similar to each other, no less than the children in the control group shows that their ability to understand emotions is not less than that of neurotypical children. At this point, the following question can be asked: If autistic children have difficulty in recognizing the social meaning of emotion expressions created by neurotypical society, can neurotypical children and individuals easily understand social emotion expressions created by autistic children and individuals? Or are they having difficulties too? And in this case, how accurate is it to call either side "deficient" or "defective"? Research on emotion recognition currently does not have a direct answer. It is not clear whether individuals with autism have impaired ability to read basic emotional expressions. Moreover, it is unclear whether all emotions are affected equally if this impairment is present, or whether certain emotions are unaffected or less affected by this impairment (Uljarevic & Hamilton, 2013). In this study, there was no result that autistic individuals have problems in reading basic emotional expressions. In other words, WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 50 contrary to popular belief, autistic individuals are able to understand basic emotional expressions. Theories claiming that a general emotion recognition difficulty is universal and primary should not be considered for autism. Conversely, difficulties with emotion processing should be specific to specific emotions and stimuli (Uljarevic & Hamilton, 2013). It is seen that this article was written nearly 10 years ago and it was stated that a general emotion recognition difficulty cannot be mentioned in autism and all autistic individuals. It is stated that difficulties in emotion processing are specific to some, not all emotions and stimuli. If some autistic individuals have difficulty processing certain emotions in some situations, it is necessary to look at the reasons for this. It is easy to pin down autistic individuals and label them as "defective", as society does. Can an autistic child be as socially active and participate in activities as a neurotypical child? Or are autistic individuals able to adequately communicate with neurotypical people? For example, to what extent can an autistic child be held responsible for not fully perceiving the facial expressions or emotions of individuals in the neurotypical society, who does not leave the house or rarely leaves the house due to exclusion and marginalization in the neurotypical society? And at this point, how ethical and conscientious is it to make judgments about autistic individuals as "they WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 51 can't"? Why do autistic individuals have difficulties in emotion processing for some emotions and in some special situations and stimuli? Could they be struggling in situations where the neurotypical society suppresses or stresses them out? The fact that autistic individuals have difficulties in emotion processing in some special situations points to environmental factors. Considering that the environmental conditions are arranged according to the neurotypical society, it can be seen that there are no suitable conditions for the needs and wishes of autistic individuals in the society. It is very understandable that they cannot express their feelings and thoughts comfortably in environments where their needs and wishes are not met and stress them. Therefore, the fact that they have difficulties in emotion processing may have something to do with this situation. Also, if a nonautistic child was excluded from society and exposed to discrimination and violence and became lonely, which unfortunately happens, wouldn't it be expected and understandable if this child could not understand the feelings of people in the society like children who grow up in a healthy and safe environment and communicate with them in a healthy way? Likewise, it is quite understandable that autistic children do not want to communicate with people living in a society where they are not accepted, their needs are WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 52 not met, and they do not feel safe and peaceful. At this point, if autistic children do not want to communicate with individuals in the society, the reasons for this should be sought not in the autistic children but in the behavior of the individuals in the society. According to Schuck et al. (2022), clinicians can use autistic viewpoints to lead their practice but NDBI target setting and implementation is a process that focuses on the family too much, and parents and other caregivers should have significant input. Parallel to clinicians and teachers, parents of autistic children often have certain aims for their children that are not always compatible with what children find enjoyable. As an example of these goals, the parents of autistic children may ask their children to learn the appropriate hygiene, such as taking baths or stop watching TV before sleeping, which will usually have no enjoyable tasks for young children from any neurotype. Yet, neither goal seems to encourage masking, and both goals seem likely consistent with developing an autistic existence while at the same time preparing autistic children for the situations they will come across throughout their lives. On the other hand, a parent's goal for their children to always cuddle family members to say goodbye will be perceived negatively as it disregards potential sensory issues related to touch and stresses compliance rather than consent. Here, it is seen that the physical and emotional boundaries of autistic children are ignored by their families due to the expectations and wishes of their family members. Autistic children suffer emotionally and WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 53 psychologically because family members force autistic children to do these behaviors they do not want, and trying to make them do a certain behavior causes them to experience stress. In addition, their feelings and wishes are ignored. For this reason, they feel that they are not accepted as they are, and this causes them to feel unsafe with their families and in the society. They feel that they are not cared for by their families. This negatively affects their self-confidence and self-esteem. As a result, they may experience many psychological difficulties such as depression, anxiety, and social phobia. Autistic children who feel that they are not accepted and that their feelings and thoughts are not cared for may not be able to communicate comfortably with their families or other individuals in the society such as their teachers and friends at school, and may not be able to express themselves comfortably. On the other hand, autistic children should be able to express their feelings and needs more easily in the presence of their families and in the community. If autistic individuals who can easily explain their feelings, thoughts, wishes and needs can be understood correctly by the society, the needs and wishes of autistic individuals can be met more easily. Meeting their needs and wants also has a positive effect on their well-being. There are those who have ideas such as teaching non-autistic gestures to make autistic children's lives easier and enable them to communicate more easily with the neurotypical community. Schuck et al. (2022) mentioned that, it would be logical to say that part of the autistic way of being WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 54 may be non-neurotypical gestures. In addition, teaching children to gesture so they can express their needs will likely improve their quality of life. Therefore, should teaching gestures be a purpose of the intervention? Yes, but - and only - we argue that the goal should be to develop the child's ability to communicate (for example, teaching signs so that children can express what they like or indicate their preferences). If the intention behind the aim is to increase the social likability of gestures of autistic children, this will not be a proper aim. (such as emphasizing hello and goodbye waving or insisting on greater use of descriptive gestures) Expressing the needs of autistic children and individuals can make it easier to understand and meet their needs. For this purpose, gestures to be taught to autistic children and individuals can positively affect and facilitate their lives. In parallel with this, it is expected that the well-being levels of autistic children, whose needs are met more easily and quickly, will increase. At the same time, gestures to be taught for this purpose should not put autistic individuals in trouble and stress during and after their learning phase. Not only about nonautistic gestures, but also autistic children and individuals should not be stressed in all learning processes and this process should not be traumatic for them. Otherwise, the rights of autistic individuals will be violated due to these practices and this attitude. These stressful and traumatic experiences harm their well-being and self-confidence. That's why the learning process is very important. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 55 There can be many factors that affect people's well-being. Although the factors affecting the well-being of neurotypical individuals also differ, this may be even more evident for people from different groups or characteristics. Conditions and factors that positively or negatively affect the well-being of individuals with neurodiversity and autistic individuals may differ from those of neurotypical individuals. Their perceptions and sensitivities may differ from neurotypical individuals. Neurotypical individuals may have a neurotypical perspective on the well-being of autistic people and individuals with neurodiversity. This may be based on the neurotypicalization of the concept of well-being and may lead to ignoring the actual wellbeing status of neurodiverse people and autistic individuals. Rodogno et al. (2016) point out that, if being autistic is so common and somewhat alien to "normal" perspectives, it may be wise to approach the question of autism and wellbeing only with epistemic humility, the suspicion that a good autistic life is not necessarily the same as in neurotypical individuals. Here, the concept of empathy should also be questioned. Neurotypical individuals in society have many judgments about individuals with neurodiversity, and unfortunately these judgments can be accepted as general truths. One of them is the thought that autistic individuals have low empathy skills and cannot empathize with people. So much so that many discourses that feed this idea are used in social media, in the press and even in popular WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 56 culture and TV series. In this case, isn't it a lack of empathy that neurotypical individuals think that a life they think is good for them will also be good for autistic individuals? Here, what one means by a "good life" is also very important, and this concept may be variable for many neurotypical people. The basic needs of individuals must be met, their physical and psychological health and safety must be protected. But apart from these, there may be many different factors that everyone wants or does not want to have in their life. Factors that make people happy or unhappy vary. For example, finding a job with a high salary in a government agency may make one happy, while another individual may be uncomfortable and unhappy with the relationship established with authority. Or traveling to different countries may be a measure of a good life for another person, while traveling to distant places for another may be worrying. Samples can be multiplied. In other words, while the factors that determine a "good life" may differ for all individuals, including neurotypical individuals, this situation is predicted to be even more different and variable in autistic individuals. The understanding of a "good life" and expectations for a good life for autistic individuals may differ more than those of neurotypical individuals, but situations and conditions that affect their lives and well-being positively or negatively can be determined. It should be the responsibility of the neurotypical society and the people living in this society to identify these conditions and ensure the inclusion of autistic individuals in society and not excluding WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 57 them. If the system and structure they have created victimizes a certain group and violates their rights, it is the responsibility of the neurotypical society and the individuals living in this society to correct and eliminate these rights violations. As mentioned by Rodogno et al. (2016), it is necessary to understand the situations, events, emotions, activities, occupations, people or all other factors that make a positive contribution to the lives of individuals with autism and cause negativity in their lives. In order to understand and identify these factors objectively, first of all, it is necessary not to be a party to the social perspective and expectations of the society. In addition, all autistic individuals are unique and have their own unique characters and they are all different. This difference should be taken into account when determining the situations that cause positive and negative effects in the lives of autistic individuals. A lot of comments are made about the behaviors of autistic individuals showing autistic characteristics. It is also tried to interfere with these behaviors. There are also different opinions about whether these behaviors are harmful or whether they should be intervened. According to Ne’man (2021), when an intrinsically harmful behavior, such as selfharm, is observed, it is appropriate to try to address it. However, many autistic traits that do not meet the high standard of intrinsic harm are targeted for replacement. In addition to many other autistic traits targeted for intervention, the lack of eye contact, unusual prosody, and the clapping, waving and other stereotypes colloquially referred to as "stimming" often create nothing more than social stigma. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 58 Some may argue that these characteristics reflect underlying challenges that are harmful, if not harmful. For example, a connection is made between lack of eye contact and difficulties in social communication. The ethical thing is to improve such difficulties. But forcing the typical look is seldom the most effective or least troublesome way. It should be emphasized here that social communication is reciprocal. Here, the responsibility in communication is again placed on autistic individuals. If autistic individuals are not understood in social communication, why should it be only about autistic individuals? Or, why don't neurotypical individuals make an effort to understand and communicate with autistic individuals and learn how autistic individuals communicate? Or do neurotypical individuals try to realize the meaning of the behavior and understand autistic individuals by thinking why autistic individuals do a certain behavior (for example, clapping their hands). Or do they try to empathize with autistic individuals? Or is it easier to say that autistic individuals do not have empathy skills? And in fact, trying to change the behaviors of autistic individuals that are not harmful to themselves or others is to ignore neurotypical individuals and violate their rights. At the same time, this is a selfish and aggressive attitude. And it can be clearly said that these leave autistic individuals in a very difficult situation emotionally. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 59 Chapter 3 OTHER PEOPLE AFFECTING THE WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS People are creatures that are affected by each other in positive or negative ways. The environment is a directly effective factor in the formation of personality and the psychological difficulties experienced by individuals. Considering that other people create the environment and environmental conditions, it is seen that people have direct effects on each other's mood and well-being. Although this effect is also seen in neurotypical individuals, it is also seen in individuals with neurodiversity. The well-being of autistic people is also affected by the people around them and their attitudes towards autistic individuals. There are various factors that affect the well-being of individuals. The people, groups, and the events and situations that people interact with, especially the family, affect people's moods and well-being positively or negatively. Although this is also true for autistic individuals, it is predicted that their level of being affected by negative situations and the probability of their well-being being negatively affected are higher than neurotypical WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 60 individuals. The reasons for this are that many situations or stimuli that may be neutral for neurotypical individuals in the society are perceived negatively by autistic individuals and they feel discomfort from these stimuli. At the same time, the way they usually express their discomfort and the way they communicate is different from neurotypical individuals. It is more difficult for autistic individuals to be understood by society than neurotypical individuals, as the society and neurotypical individuals do not try to understand them and differentiate them. And they are less likely to get help when faced with discrimination, oppression and violence. The reasons for not getting the help they need when they experience discrimination and violence vary. Many people describe violent and discriminatory behavior towards autistic individuals as "normal". Violence and discrimination may not always be visible to these people. This is an issue that needs to be raised awareness and changed. Apart from that, autistic individuals may not ask help and support because of the attitudes of the society towards them. The reasons for this may be that they do not feel safe in the society and that the society did not support them enough. It is a social problem that autistic individuals cannot find support when they are bullied, exposed to violence and discrimination, or when their wishes and needs are not met. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 61 If they seek help or support, they may think or feel that they will not get the help they want. They may think that they will be blamed for asking for help or support and that they will face a negative reaction. Or they may feel that they do not deserve help and support. There may be such reasons and all of these reasons are social and individuals in the society are responsible for it. 3.1 Family The most important factor affecting the well-being of autistic individuals is the family element. Children who can establish a secure bond with their families and who have gained self-esteem and self-confidence by their families can defend themselves better against external threats and discrimination, and their rate of being affected by these traumas decreases, and when they are affected, their recovery rate and speed increase. The attention and support of parents is very important. Children who feel safe and can express themselves freely do not try to prevent their feelings and thoughts. This is more important for autistic children because they have more difficulty expressing themselves than neurotypical children. That's why it's so important for them to feel supported and accepted. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 62 The families of autistic children and individuals are frequently exposed to psychological pressure, violence and discrimination by the society. Many sad events have occurred in all around the world, which were reflected in the press, news and social media. There were parents who tried to prevent an autistic student from studying in the same class with their children and excluded the autistic child. Again, there were apartment residents who excluded an autistic mother from the apartment they lived in because she had an autistic child. We regret to see that there are too many such examples. While these social problems are very challenging for parents of autistic children, they are also very hurtful. While it is tiring and challenging enough for most parents to take care of their children's well-being and to take care of their children's safety all the time, when violence and discrimination from the society and other neurotypical individuals are added, it becomes inevitable for parents to get worn out and have psychological problems. On top of that, the pain and anxiety of parents increases when they see that their children are constantly excluded by the society and exposed to violence. In addition, it can be predicted that families of autistic children are exposed to more stress and challenging conditions than families of neurotypical children. Because of these conditions, families of autistic children may experience more psychological problems than families of neurotypical children, and they may be more likely to reflect these negative situations on their children. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 63 Family behavior is very important to all children, whether autistic or neurotypical. There are several factors that affect the behavior of parents towards their children. It is also very important that parents have been able to analyze and work on their own traumas and not reflect them on their children. Culture also has a great influence on the family and parents' behavior and their child-rearing styles. These effects can have positive or negative effects on children. Sotgiu et al. (2011) states that, the greater number of functional roles of family and close relatives in the Cuban sample of children with autism is explained. Fulfilling a multifunctional role involves the constant presence of the caregiver, hence frequent contact, and the ability of the caregiver to take care of the child responsibly and to undertake many of the functions necessary in the care of the child, such as education, play, and emotional relationships. This view appears to be less prevalent in caregivers of Italian children with autism, who often transfer specific features of care to technical professionals who are farther distant from the family. It is necessary to consider the relationship of this situation with some differences between countries in addition to culture. The opportunities offered to autistic individuals in Cuba and those in Italy may not be the same. Or, are the people working with autistic children not reliable or not competent, that families do not prefer them? This possibility can also be considered. Or, the number of people serving in this field may not be the same in every country. Mothers of Italian children with autism reported a greater sense of domination in their daily relationships with their children than Cuban mothers. This indicates that WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 64 Italian mothers have a personal impression that they do not have enough resources to manage and control their relationships with their children and that they are overburdened by the task. On the other hand, Cuban mothers personally comprehended that they had more resources to manage and control their relationships with their children. This difference is in line with the fact that Italian caregivers often delegate responsibility for some aspects of childcare to nonfamily technical figures (Sotgiu et al., 2011). In this case, in addition to culture, trust in nonfamily technical figures or whether these figures are seen as functional or useful may also have an impact on the parents of autistic children. Of course, the budget allocated by countries for the care and education of autistic individuals and their access to psychosocial support is also of great importance. In fact, the determinant of all services provided is the allocated budget. And how easily autistic individuals and their parents can access these services is also a determining factor. It is very important that these services are provided by the state free of charge or at a fee that parents can afford. The socioeconomic status of the majority of the people in underdeveloped countries is low and generally the state does not provide adequate opportunities for autistic children. For this reason, families need to allocate a budget for special education and other activities and studies that autistic children need. Psychological support, special education, sports and arts activities and health-related services must be provided by families. And WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 65 most families can't afford it. Therefore, the vast majority of autistic children cannot access adequate psychosocial support and education in specially underdeveloped countries. This makes them more lonely and brings many psychological distress and pain. Although this situation is very difficult for families, they cannot reach enough support for their children and they also experience many psychological problems. These psychological problems and troubles they experience are also reflected in their children. Although the concept of neurodiversity is very new, it is not a concept that many people are aware of. According to Kapp et al. (2013), as expected, people with autism and their friends were more aware of neurodiversity than people without any link to autism, but this was not the case for relatives of people with autism, which is unexpected. In fact, this is in line with the situation where families of autistic individuals often advocate the medical model or want their child/family member to be "cured" or "corrected". The fact that friends of autistic individuals are more aware of neurodiversity than family members of autistic individuals, who are thought to be chosen by autistic people's own preferences, may be due to the possibility that autistic individuals can communicate more comfortably and openly with their friends than with their families and express themselves more easily when they are with their friends. This, in fact, may have provided important information about the attitudes of the families of autistic individuals WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 66 towards them, as well as enabling the friends of autistic individuals to get to know and understand autistic individuals better. Or, it can be thought that autistic individuals establish a more sharing communication or bond with their friends than their family members, and they can express themselves more easily with their friends. While it is often thought that their families do not accept autistic individuals as they are, this may not be the case or less so for friends of autistic individuals. As reported by Kapp et al. (2013), self-identification as autistic and realization of neurodiversity, independent of diagnosis, were linked with the possibility of preferring the word "autistic person" to the term "person with autism". While it was seen that those who preferred identity-first language were autistic people and those who were aware of neurodiversity, it was seen that parents of autistic individuals and those who had various communication with autistic people did not use both terms. In fact, it means a lot that autistic individuals' families and acquaintances do not address them as they would like to be addressed. First of all, do these people respect autistic individuals as individuals? Do they respect their preferences and care about their well-being? Or do they force autistic individuals to be the way society imposes them? Do they think and care about the expectations and prejudices of the neurotypical society, or do they care about autistic individuals from their own family members or acquaintances? The answers to these questions are of great importance for the well-being of autistic individuals. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 67 According to Kapp et al. (2013), parents were clearly in agreement with the medical model and were less likely than other participants to reject the validity of a question about the cause of autism. Unexpectedly, autistic participants and people with neurodiversity awareness were unlikely to question its validity. It can be said that many parents whose children are autistic are focused on finding the cause of autism. There are many parents who support the medical model. Finding or understanding the cause of autism is the effort of many parents, and they think the medical model offers them that answer. The fact that parents with autistic children do not question the validity of the medical model may show that they trust and adopt this model. Perhaps the reason why autistic participants and people with neurodiversity awareness in this study did not question the validity of the medical model is that they unequivocally reject the medical model and think that there is nothing to question about the medical model. Kapp et al. (2013) mentioned that, autistic participants and others aware of neurodiversity preferred the term "autistic person" more than "person with autism", and this is in line with the neurodiversity movement's view that autism is central to identity. The fact that autistic individuals are not defined as they want by society is to ignore their existence and wishes. This is discrimination and psychological violence against them. Unfortunately, the word "autistic" can even be used as an insult. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 68 Many parents straightforwardly follow any positive practice and trust the structures that exist in their communities without further thought. It is also necessary to think about the concept of "positive practice" mentioned here. Every situation or practice that is seen as positive by the society may not be positive for both neurotypical children, autistic children or children with neurodiversity. Children can be harmed as a result of stereotypes in the society and even in the education system and the actions they cause. These actions can threaten the physical and psychological health of children. Many autistic activists oppose these practices, which have continued under the name of "education" or "treatment" in society (Rodogno et al., 2016). In fact, it should be questioned why families accept the intervention to their children's behavior so easily and without thinking. Are parents aware that these interventions harm their autistic child? Although there are awareness studies on this subject, the neurodiversity movement is still not widespread in institutions in society. Considering that many parents also oppose the neurodiversity movement, it becomes understandable that they support these interventions. Do these parents prioritize the wishes and expectations of the society or the well-being of their own children? Parents often have expectations and requests from their children. Many parents may not accept that their children are independent from them. While there may be parents who want to feed their own egos by establishing authority over their children or reflect their WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 69 personality problems on their children, there are also parents who want their children to be independent, psychologically healthy, self-confident and happy. Unfortunately, the number of parents in this second group is less. Neurotypical children have an advantage over neurodiverse or autistic children in expressing their wishes or discomfort. Neurotypical children can often express themselves better than neurodiverse and autistic children. In addition, neurodiverse and autistic children may have more difficulty in meeting their parents' wishes and expectations. Anyway, these expectations can be very troublesome for every child, whether neurotypical or not. As stated by Rodogno et al. (2016), based on the experience of parents and individuals speaking to other parents, it can easily be assumed that in modern societies at least some parents have adopted some fairly open ended models of the good life for their children. In these models, what parents want for their children is often to 'find happiness'; this typically means having an interesting and well-paying job, good friends, a loving spouse to start a family together, a life free from harmful diseases and long enough to have grandchildren. This model may be called the Standard Model, and indeed in this context it can be accepted that many, if not most, viewpoints align with this model. Autistic children may engage in repetitive body movements called 'stimming' or move objects repetitively. These behaviors may include rocking back and forth, clapping, humming and grunting, echolalia, and repeating parts of videos, books, or songs at inappropriate times. Or these behaviors may include turning lights on and off. It is WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 70 clear that many of these behaviors would be considered inappropriate, if not offensive, in many contexts and, more importantly, in settings such as schools, where children are presumed to develop the skills necessary for their future well-being. Also, such behavior will typically lead to stigma. Allowing the child to portray these freely will eventually lead to their social isolation, a lack of training in social skills that the child with autism may already lack, and ultimately lower opportunities to benefit from many of the things that are in the Standard Model, both present and future. It is thought that some of these behaviors can be removed with education. Additionally, education comes at a cost to the child's current well-being, as any time spent educating such behaviors is time that could have been used in activities that would further benefit the child. This trade-off is even more important in the case of autism, given that the process of removing some of these behaviors can be specifically difficult and lengthy. It should be noted that trying to eliminate these repetitive behaviors will not be advantageous for autistic children, on the contrary, it will harm them. It is obvious that trying to prevent or ignore these behaviors, which are a tool for autistic children to express their feelings and thoughts, provide emotion regulation or enable autistic children to cope with stress, will psychologically harm them. As mentioned here, instead of trying to change behavior, the same time and energy should be used for the well-being and health of autistic children, and the well-being of autistic children should be a priority, not the wishes and expectations of the society. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 71 However, families of autistic children do not always do what they need to do for their children's well-being and happiness. The thoughts of individuals in society and foreign people about their children and themselves may become more important than the happiness of their own children. Or they may see these behavior change practices as a solution to prevent their children from being excluded and exposed to violence in the neurotypical society. There may be family members who want behavior change to support the typical appearance. But passing demands do harm, and it's unethical to try to suppress an autistic trait simply because a parent wants their child to appear normal (Ne'man, 2021). In this case, it is very possible for autistic children, whose autistic characteristics are tried to be suppressed in order to comply with the expectations of the society, to experience various difficulties and to think and feel that they are not accepted by their families in addition to the society. When autistic children, who are not accepted by the society due to their autistic characteristics, are excluded, exposed to discrimination and violence, are not accepted by their families and are tried to be changed, the stress, disappointment and problems they experience increase. Their self-esteem drops and they may feel lonely, helpless, and lack the support of their families. Due to this situation, they become more vulnerable to discrimination, violence and violations of their rights in the society. Because they think that they are not accepted as they are, they may find it difficult to explain their difficulties to their families and ask for support. This situation can make them even more WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 72 lonely and cause them to become introverted. These bring a long many psychological problems. There may be psychological problems or somatic symptoms. Their psychological and physical health is adversely affected. 3.2 Clinicians and Researchers How clinicians and researchers define autistic individuals and autism is very important. This is very important for autistic people not to feel excluded and for the information and impressions given to other people and educators who deal with autism and autistic individuals. In addition, it is necessary to examine and define autism in a scientifically objective way. At this point, the attitude of the researchers is very decisive. Autistic individuals are often exposed to a great deal of discrimination and marginalization by society. It is very likely that they can not be understood, even by those who do not intend to discriminate against them. Or they can be understood differently. Researchers, clinicians and specialists may also not fully or accurately understand them. Ne’man (2021) indicates that, biomarkers are used to identify several disabilities. Only behavior can be used to identify others. Clinicians and researchers frequently look for specific tools to evaluate service-provision results, especially in the latter WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 73 situation. Yet, the measures are not objective. They retain the moral opinions of their authors. A troubling tendency has been noticed in some behavior-based conditions: academics, clinicians, and teaching assistants are prioritizing diagnostic qualities which are neither dangerous nor subjectively upsetting by utilizing measurements that make typical appearance the aim of service delivery. This kind of thinking ignores the pressure on people with disabilities to live normally and does not take into account the ethical implications of changing behavior in reaction to stigma. In this and similar way, researchers and clinicians may not fully and accurately understand autistic individuals or may misinterpret the situation for various reasons, albeit unintentionally. Actually, the concept of "disorder" is very important here. The definition of autism as a disorder by clinicians and researchers also creates the perception of autism as "a condition that needs to be treated". At the same time, the fact that they make these definitions by looking at behaviors also introduces subjectivity. No matter how neutral or objective the observers try to be, many factors such as their character, background, perspective, psychological state or mood at that moment will have an impact on the definition and conclusion they draw. In addition, if the situation they focus on is to make autistic individuals look typical and to change the harmless behaviors of autistic individuals, they create a situation that will put autistic individuals in trouble at this point, and this is ethically problematic. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 74 Researchers and clinicians may encounter language barriers while trying to understand and communicate with autistic individuals. According to Rodogno et al. (2016), autism brings neuropsychological differences that go far beyond or "deeper" differences in language and meaning that ethnographers might expect to confront. In other words, the fact that the language used and communicated by autistic individuals differ from the language and meaning structures formed by neurotypical individuals is deeper than the differences in the existing language and the differences in the language structures created by neurotypical individuals. Although the language used in communication is determined by the neurotypical society, there are some judgments that people have about communication in society. For example, there is a prevailing opinion that it is important to make eye contact while communicating. Making eye contact has been determined by society as a criterion for listening and paying attention to the other person. As explained by Ne’man (2021), there are those who argue that the typical eye gaze is required for expressive communication, but autistic people frequently use other means to signal attention and reciprocity. If autistic people learn less from their facial expressions than others, making eye contact may not ameliorate receptive social communication. Since autistic individuals have difficulty in making eye contact, this may even distract them from establishing relationships. Clinicians may be imposing a cognitive requirement that interferes with the operation of this WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 75 kind of communication when they ask autistic individuals to mimic the conventional form of social communication. When autistic traits are personally meaningful or helpful, or simply not damaging, such "teaching for the test" of typical appearance can be actively destructive. Instead, the essential purpose of communication should take precedence, taking into account the fact that even competent autistic people will show differently. Some behaviors of autistic individuals intrinsically may be harmful or dangerous, but others may simply seem uncommon or need additional interpretation effort. In other words, forcing autistic individuals to make eye contact does not benefit them. Any kind of coercion won't help them anyway. They may have different ways of communicating, but that doesn't mean they can't communicate. The neurotypical society should try to understand them rather than try to change the way they communicate and impose their own norms about communication. Otherwise, there will be discrimination and violence against them. Ne’man (2021) states that, professionals should review harming others when assessing behavior modification ethics, but should examine these claims to see if the harms mentioned are actually present. There may be restricted situations in which an autistic person prefers to make the situational transition (for example, to stay away prejudices), but these should be their personal decisions, not normative expectations reflected in a measure of outcome. At this point, it is necessary to question whether what is taught or intended to be taught to autistic individuals and whether the interventions are WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 76 practices that benefit autistic individuals or whether they are compulsions based on the wishes of the neurotypical society. At this point, some practices may firstly seem to be for the benefit of autistic individuals, but the wishes of the neurotypical society and the domination they want to establish on autistic individuals may be at the base. At this point, it is necessary to determine what purpose the actions and practices are based on. All interventions in which autistic individuals are tried to be suppressed, stressed and feel insecure do not benefit them. Unfortunately, there are many people in societies who are far from empathy and are selfish. These people may claim that they are disturbed by the behavior of autistic individuals. People with this egoistic, selfish and discriminatory mentality may even be disturbed by the existence of autistic individuals. At this point, bullying, inhibitions and violence are observed especially for autistic individuals who cannot defend and express themselves adequately. The reasons why these people are uncomfortable with autistic individuals actually stem from their own personality problems. They may also see the autistic individuals responsible for these discomfort. For example, some parents who do not want an autistic child to study in the same class with their own children may have feelings of inadequacy or narcissism underlying this attitude. Their undeveloped personalities, which come with a sense of inadequacy, may have motivated them to oppress people and groups that they see WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 77 as weak and vulnerable. They may enjoy the act of oppressing and excluding groups and individuals they see as weak and vulnerable. They can also commit this discrimination and violence to the parents of autistic individuals. In this way, they reflect their feelings of inadequacy and their undeveloped personalities to autistic children, individuals or their families. An autistic child does not harm that parent's child, but it is clear that a parent with that personality type will harm their own child. In other words, the behaviors of autistic individuals, which are defined as "disturbing" by some people, should be carefully considered and in fact, the rights of autistic individuals should not be violated. The discrimination and violence of autistic individuals and the violation of their rights is a moral, ethical and conscientious problem. Although it is very common and deep rooted, this social problem needs to be addressed more in research. As mentioned by Ne’man (2021), the majority of previous research on assessing autism outcomes have centered on topical and psychometric issues instead of moral considerations. Researchers would be advised to work with autistic people, thus aiming to change this focus. There are currently attempts being made in community-based participatory research with patient-reported outcome measures. Similar studies are needed to assess whether harmful behaviors are targeted at the base of clinical outcome measures or if they need to be revised to eliminate harmful or unjustified crossover requests. In the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, stakeholder WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 78 engagement in diagnostic criteria for autism helped address similar ethical concerns and led to the removal of language that implicitly motivated clinicians to suppress the appreciated unique interests of autistic people. At this point, academics and researchers should carry out their work by prioritizing the well-being of autistic individuals. Although awareness on these issues is increasing, it is still not enough. Autistic individuals are not just a number, and researchers should work on them as individuals and taking into account their rights and well-being. Collaborating with autistic individuals enables them to better understand autism and autistic individuals. Studies on this subject have started but need to be increased. In addition, another problem that most people ignore is the language that fosters discrimination and violence against autistic individuals. Many may overlook the importance of language, but language determines thought. In addition, autistic individuals are negatively affected by the discriminatory language used, and they feel excluded by the society or their self-confidence decreases. They may experience many other psychological problems. The aim of everyone who uses discriminatory language may not be to discriminate against autistic individuals or to exclude them from society, but the fact that they use this language is harmful to autistic individuals. While discriminatory language and words are hurtful for autistic individuals, they can also be targeting and threaten their safety. In addition to psychological harm, many people unfortunately also physically harm autistic WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 79 individuals. And the use of language and words containing discrimination and violence against autistic individuals feeds these damages. Discrimination and exclusion of autistic individuals are seen in practices in all areas of society, in the language used by individuals, and even in scientific research. According to Leadbitter et al. (2021), it is crucial that intervention researchers and practitioners move away from a normative agenda and pay attention to environmental relevance, autistic developmental trajectories, internal drives and experiences, and autistic priority intervention goals. Autism intervention researchers who need to respond to this debate must reframe efficacy, develop tools to measure autistic priority outcomes, and work with autistic people. There appears to be an urgent need for further reflection and articulation on how intervention studies align with a concept of neurodiversity and on placing greater emphasis on natural development processes, coping strategies, autonomy and well-being in intervention programs. In this way, it can contribute to the avoidance of autistic individuals being exposed to discrimination and violence due to the norms created by the neurotypical society. Researchers and clinicians should prioritize the well-being, needs and wishes of autistic individuals and cooperate with them by working in harmony. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 80 It is very crucial to avoid intervention methods that cause emotional harm, and the basic principle is to promote the autistic child's ability to choose and control their lives as they develop (Leadbitter et al., 2021). The aim of the interventions should be to increase the well-being of autistic children and to enable them to cope with the difficulties in life more easily and to be more comfortable. While doing this, autistic children should not be stressed. For example, children who are taught communication skills so that they can express their needs can express their needs better as a result of this learning, and this may increase their quality of life. But this should only be done for the welfare of autistic children. Again, for example, if an autistic child's hand-clapping behavior is tried to be prevented just because other individuals in the society are disturbed, this situation constitutes a violation of rights. It is not the interests of the autistic child, but the wishes of other individuals in the society and the domination they want to establish on the autistic child. It can be said that the hand-clapping behavior has a function for the autistic child. This function can be self-expression, emotion regulation or bringing happiness to the child or other things that will benefit the autistic child. Trying to eliminate or reduce this behavior will also hinder these functions. This will not be to the benefit of the autistic child and will be harmful. In addition, a lot of focus is placed on the symptoms of autism and the autistic characteristics of autistic individuals and their behaviors. When the focus is on autistic WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 81 individuals, environmental factors are more ignored. As specified by Leadbitter et al. (2021), measurement in this discipline should be removed from the symptomatology of autism and validated tools should be developed that assess the goodness of fit between an individual and their social, emotional and physical environment. When we look at the problems experienced by autistic individuals, the environmental factor is seen. The fact that they cannot access appropriate education and health services, and the discrimination and violence they are exposed to in all areas of society are all environmental and social in origin. It is expected that the psychological states and behaviors of autistic individuals who are accepted in the society and who are not exposed to violence and discrimination will differ from the psychological stat and behaviors of autistic individuals who are subjected to discrimination and violence. It is clear that the psychological state of autistic individuals who are exposed to discrimination and violence in family, school, if any, in the workplace and in all areas of society will be adversely affected. The relationships of autistic individuals with their social, emotional and physical environment can affect their psychological state and behaviors as well as their autistic behaviors. For example, autistic children who perform repetitive movements when exposed to stress may no longer engage in this repetitive behavior when they are accepted by their families and society and are not stressed. Or, for example, they may engage in certain behaviors when they are happy, and their level of happiness is definitely affected by social and environmental factors and the WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 82 people around them. Therefore, it will be very important for autistic individuals to focus on these points for researchers and clinicians. For this reason, it is important for researchers and clinicians to focus on these points in order to increase the well-being of autistic individuals and improve their living conditions. Also, it is seen that the majority of researchers and clinicians who do research and studies on autism are not autistic. They do research and studies about a situation they have not experienced themselves, but there are resources where they can reach a lot of information about autism and autistic individuals. Leadbitter et al. (2021) mentioned that, through active and often passionately shared sentiments by autistic people in public forums, researchers can become better informed about autistic perspectives in general. Through books, blogs, video accounts and social media posts, it has become easier than before for neurotypical researchers to access and understand autistic culture and preferences. This is just one of the sources for information. In other words, many autistic individuals already tell about autism, their experiences and the difficulties they face. There are also those who carry out activism, and it is seen that this number is increasing day by day. In addition to one-to-one communication, it is seen that autistic individuals engage in activism or talk about autism and themselves through internet forums. Again, through the content or videos they share on the internet, and the books written, autistic individuals are now able to reach wider audiences in expressing themselves and conducting activism. Not only autistic individuals, but also families of autistic individuals can tell about the problems WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 83 they are experiencing through social media shares and videos, and they can make more people aware of it. In this way, an area has been opened for autistic individuals and their families to talk about the problems they are experiencing and to defend their rights. They are more visible this way. This can enable people who do not know about autism to learn about autism, or it can be very effective in changing the thoughts of people who have prejudice and discrimination against autistic people. At the same time, all these information sharing can be very important and informative for researchers and clinicians. If researchers and clinicians want to work on improving the well-being of autistic individuals, there are many resources available to support them. At the same time, research and studies on autism and autistic individuals are increasing, and studies focusing on the rights of autistic individuals are also increasing. But there is still something to be done and improved for future works. According to Leadbitter et al. (2021), future directions in research and practice in autism appear to cover: (1) partnering with autistic individuals, on intervention research steering and advisory boards, and with caregivers and other stakeholders in engagement and coproduction; (2) intervention researchers and practitioners to reflect on how intervention practices line up with a neurodiversity framework and the ideas of autistic people, especially intervention goals and methods, and to bring these issues more clearly in engagement and dissemination efforts; (3) more respect for natural autistic developmental processes, coping strategies, autonomy and well-being in intervention programs; and WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 84 (4) growing attempts to develop and validate tools to measure autistic priority outcomes and to measure the goodness of fit between an autistic individual and their environment. In other words, there is a need for research in which the rights of autistic individuals are respected, their opinions are valued, and they are included in studies and collaborated with them. At the same time, studies including families of autistic individuals and with this in neurodiversity perspective. In this way, it is possible to focus on the rights, well-being of autistic individuals and the solution of the problems they experience in society. 3.3 Staff Members Apart from their families, teachers, schoolmates, researchers and clinicians, there are other people with whom autistic individuals communicate and who affect the lives of autistic individuals. There are many employees who work in institutions where autistic individuals receive various services such as education and health and are in contact with autistic individuals. The perspectives of these people towards autism and their behaviors towards autistic individuals are very important in terms of the psychological health and well-being of autistic individuals. As stated by Owren & Stenhammer (2013), “insider disclosures” about autism may have the potential to alter the method staff recognize the needs and WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 85 behavior of autistic service users. Maybe such descriptions can change how staff perceive specific behavioral patterns; This can range from dismissing it as annoying "undesirable behavior" to recognizing that behavior is part of living a fulfilling life for autistic people and service users. This mentioned situation is also very related to whether the neurodiversity movement is accepted or not. Interfering with the behaviors of autistic individuals, trying to prevent the behaviors, if the behaviors are not harmful, is a violation of rights and harms autistic individuals. In addition, this situation of pressure and control is not respecting and not accepting the personal rights and existence of autistic individuals. This is ignoring them and it is violence. In addition, trying to change these behaviors, which have a function in the life of autistic individuals, harms the psychological state and well-being of autistic individuals. The neurodiversity movement opposes this intervention. Considering that the majority of employees and personnel providing services to autistic individuals are neurotypical, it can be said that they do not experience the situations experienced by autistic individuals. Behaviors that seem abnormal to them may be quite normal for autistic individuals. Therefore, they may have difficulty in empathizing with autistic individuals. Of course, the fact that they have difficulty in empathy does not justify their discriminatory and violent attitudes towards autistic individuals, if they do. And if they have difficulty empathizing with and understanding autistic individuals, they need to WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 86 be informed about the neurodiversity movement. They should also accept that trying to prevent behaviors that are functional for autistic individuals is violence and violation of rights. Owren & Stenhammer (2013) point out that, whether autism is viewed as a difference or a disorder, being autistic can in any case be considered a minority condition. The majority of people in the community are neurotypical, and some autistic people may find that the services they need, for example those with intellectual disabilities in addition to autism, may be provided by neurotypical caregivers. This situation creates some difficulties for the staff. It can also be challenging for caregivers providing services to autistic service users to accept and consider the fact that autistic service users may perceive a situation in a different way than staff do. Insisting on a person to stay in a place overloaded with painful sensory stimuli is referred to as discrimination. Leaving someone in a painful situation is also violence, and autistic individuals are often more vulnerable to violence and adverse conditions than neurotypical individuals. 3.4 School and Teachers Autistic individuals have difficulties in accessing education that suits their needs and perceptions. They are exposed to a lot of discrimination, bullying and violence in schools where atypical students are educated and even in schools where they can receive special WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 87 education. This violence can also come from peers, teachers or other staff working at the school. The reason for this is both the prejudice against those who appear different in the society and the perception that it is legitimate to oppress those who seem different, as well as the fact that autistic individuals generally cannot protect themselves and cannot express and explain the violence they have suffered. The motivation to oppress these seemingly different and vulnerable groups, and the violence and rights violations caused by groups that see themselves as superior are common in societies. The school environment can be challenging for many children. This situation is expected to be more common in autistic children. Autistic children may find it difficult to adapt to the school environment and this can put them in psychological distress and even physical danger. 3.5 Peers Autistic individuals, children and adolescents are frequently bullied and discriminated by their peers at school or other institutions where they receive education. This attitude stems from the bullying and discriminatory attitudes that children acquire from their families and WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 88 the environment. Children who inherit patterns of discrimination and violence from their parents and family project these onto their autistic peers, whom they see as vulnerable. Autistic students also have difficulty in communicating with neurotypical students and their teachers because of their different sensitivities and ways of communicating. Autistic students are also frequently exposed to discrimination and marginalization by neurotypical students. These students, who may have difficulties in expressing themselves and being understood correctly, may have even more difficulties in expressing themselves due to the discriminatory attitudes of their peers. Although they have difficulties in expressing themselves, this difficulty increases for those who are exposed to discrimination and violence in the school environment. This shows that most autistic children who are bullied cannot share it with their parents. Being bullied is a cause that will affect autistic children psychologically and physically, and the lack of parental support and not being able to talk about this violence will increase the size of the trauma experienced. Children who are bullied will not feel safe and will feel alone in the face of this violence. The fact that they can't tell their parents and get support will increase these negative feelings they feel and cause them to suffer more psychologically. As reported by Lung et al. (2019), adolescents with intellectual disability and autism reported bullying at a rate of 63%, and also had lower WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 89 perceptions of happiness as those who had been bullied. It was found that there was a gap between the rate of bullying reported by parents and adolescents who were bullied. It is important to encourage bullied adolescents to seek the protection and support of adults so that it can contribute to reducing the impact of bullying on adolescents' perceived happiness levels. Here, too, it is seen that families with autistic children generally cannot communicate adequately and correctly with their children. Autistic children and adolescents do not share their rights violations and bullying with their families, or their sharing rates are very low. They may not trust their parents, they may think that if they tell, they will not get support or they will face a bad reaction. Or they may think they deserve this bullying or violence. Either way, it's obvious that parents didn't reassure them and didn't provide enough support. And this is negligence. It is seen that disadvantaged groups are exposed to violence and discrimination more in all societies. Unfortunately, this is also the case with children and adolescents. Children and adolescents from disadvantaged and more vulnerable groups are more exposed to peer bullying. As mentioned by Lung et al. (2019), previous studies have found that adolescents with autism are more likely to be bullied than their intellectually disabled or typically developing peers. For example, in an earlier research, children with autism, intellectual disability and ADHD-Combined type were found to have higher victim and bully maternal ratings than children in the ADHD-Inattentive, depression, WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 90 anxiety, eating disorders, and control groups. These results show that children whose perceptions and behaviors differ from their neurotypical peers are more likely to be bullied. Children are more likely to be bullied by their peers as their special status increases or if they have several special statuses. But in these special cases, it has also been observed that autistic children are exposed to more bullying. Bullying is violence and harms the person in every way. If the bullied are children, this harm will increase even more. It is more difficult for children to protect themselves, they are more vulnerable to external threats and they are more affected. Autistic individuals also become vulnerable when exposed to bullying and have difficulty protecting themselves. Victims who were bullied more than once had more psychosocial adjustment problems than those who had experienced less and nonmultiple victimization (Lung et al., 2019). In other words, bullying causes harm in every way, but as the frequency of exposure to bullying increases, the damage suffered by the person also increases. This damage is more common in children and causes greater trauma. Peer bullying is unfortunately very common among all children and adolescents. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 91 However, some groups are exposed to more bullying and discrimination than their peers. Lung et al. (2019) states that, while only 2.8% of parents reported that their children were bullied, this rate was reported as 25.4% by adolescents independent of gender. Adolescents diagnosed with intellectual disability, ADHD, and autism all reported being bullied statistically significantly more than their peers without these diagnoses and this rate was found as 63% among adolescents diagnosed with intellectual disability and autism. Why do neurotypical children bully their autistic peers more than they do other groups with other diagnoses? Could it be their family's influence? This reveals what kind of prejudice the society has about "autism" and autistic individuals. At the same time, this ratio reveals how unaware parents are about the bullying of their autistic children. Here, the communication that parents have or have not established with their autistic children should also be questioned. At the same time, if autistic children cannot tell their parents about being bullied or the problems they are experiencing, who will they tell? Or is there someone they can tell? Even if there is someone else, they cannot take the place of their parents. At the same time, did these children who could not tell their parents that they were bullied or whose parents did not realize that they were bullied, were able to establish a secure bond with their parents? The answers to these questions are also important. As specified by Lung et al. (2019), pathway analysis also revealed that intellectual disability and autism were the only diagnoses directly related to bullying, with associated factors controlled for. Also, the adolescents who were bullied had lower WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 92 happiness levels. Accordingly, children with intellectual disability and autistic children are more bullied. In addition, the self-confidence of bullied children drops, they feel in danger, and they feel intensely negative emotions such as fear and anxiety. In the case of intellectual disability and autism, children may have more difficulty in making sense of what is being done than neurotypical children. They may not want to communicate with people and society and become shy. While this is frequently seen in autistic children, when they are bullied, they may become more withdrawn and want to stay away from society. Because of the violence of bullying, they face many negative situations like these. This violence and bullying, which is absolutely traumatic, becomes even more traumatic and destructive if no one is with them and they cannot tell anyone, if they do not get support. They feel completely insecure towards the outside world. It is vital and the responsibility of parents of autistic children to support their children and ensure their safety when their child is threatened or bullied from outside. Of course, this responsibility applies to all parents, whether they have autistic children or not. Lung et al. (2019) mentioned that, the bullying rate reported by adolescents in this research was 25.3%, which is parallel to 22.4% in the United Kingdom and 30% in the United States. Interestingly, there was a significant distinction between parent reporting and adolescent-reported bullying rates; the proportion of parents who reported that their children had been bullied before was 2.8%. This shows that only about 10% of parents WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 93 knew that their children had been bullied before. A nationally representative Australian study about adolescents found that more than half of young people who were bullied did not seek help, but the percentage was even higher here. It may therefore be important to encourage adolescents to seek adult support and protection. In addition, there was a gender-based difference in adolescents' self reports of bullying, and boys were more likely to be bullied than girls (59.3% of bullied adolescents were boys, while 40.7% were girls). But Cappadocia et al found an even higher rate of parent-reported bullying (77%) in children with autism between the ages of 5 and 21. It is thought-provoking that boys are bullied more than girls. Autistic boys may be noticed more in society than autistic girls. As the reason for this, the first thing that comes to mind is the gender roles imposed on children. According to gender roles, the characteristics such as being introverted, shy, not making eye contact are considered more acceptable, and these are the characteristics that some groups impose on girls. These may also be autistic features, and girls with these features may be less stigmatized as autistic because the society considers these behaviors normal for them. Again, the same characteristics can be the subject of ridicule and exclusion for boys. While society expects boys to be outgoing and assertive, it has stereotypes that demand the opposite for girls. Unfortunately, many families raise their children according to these gender roles and discrimination mentality and instill these roles in their children. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 94 More than 60% of adolescents diagnosed with autism and intellectual impairment declared being bullied. Adolescents who have been bullied perceived happiness at a lower rate (Lung et al., 2019). From here, we see that autistic children and children with intellectual disability are exposed to a lot of peer bullying. It is necessary to think about where children who exclude and bully other children who they see as different from themselves learn this behavior. If this thought and attitude comes from families, it is necessary to talk to families with educators and psychologists. Even if they learn about exclusion and bullying behaviors from each other; parents, educators and psychologists should be worked with to change these behaviors. These exclusionary behaviors and attitudes should definitely change because they affect the lives of autistic children and children with intellectual disability very badly. The feelings of unhappiness, anxiety, and fear increase in children whose happiness levels drop because of the bullying and violence they are exposed to. Their self-confidence and self-esteem drop, and they become even more reluctant to communicate with people. They feel alone and vulnerable. All these are expected to bring along many psychological problems. Psychosomatic problems may also be seen. Their school success may decline and they may not want to participate in social activities. Either way, it will have traumatic and negative consequences. For this reason, bullying and violence experienced by autistic children and children with intellectual disability must be prevented. An environment where neurotypical children do not bully WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 95 them, accept them and establish positive relationships will be beneficial for both autistic children, children with intellectual disability and neurotypical children. Lung et al. (2019) indicates that, adults can help children acquire social skills such as adaptive emotional and behavioral regulation techniques and coping mechanisms, ignoring peer pressure, recognizing and communicating with supportive peers, solving problems, and communicating comfortably. That's why it's crucial to encourage adolescents to seek assistance, including finding an adult who is prepared to listen to them and offer protection and assistance. The fact that these mentioned adults are parents should be a priority. Like all children, autistic children need their parents' reassurance and support. Autistic children who feel supported and safe will both feel more comfortable talking about the negativities they have experienced, and will be able to cope with these negativities more easily and will be less affected. Their resilience will be formed and increased. Their self-confidence and self-esteem will also increase, and they will feel valued, important and competent. With these, they will also be able to protect themselves more against negative situations, people and dangers that may come from outside. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 96 Chapter 4 SOURCES OF WELL-BEING There may be some sources for increasing the well-being of autistic individuals. Autistic children and individuals want to feel safe just like other individuals in society. Their safety should not be threatened and their physical and psychological health should be protected. They should have an environment where they can express themselves without fear and comfortably and safely. Treating them with respect; they should not be exposed to violence, exclusion and marginalization by society. People in the society should not exclude or marginalize them verbally or with their body language or facial expressions. This is violence. Autistic and neurodiverse individuals should also have the right to shelter, go to school, receive health care, and live safely without being subjected to violence, as other individuals living in the society have. Autistic and neurodiverse individuals in the community have the right to receive the same services other people receive, or the services they need. Briefly, autistic or neurodiverse individuals should be able to access the rights that neurotypical individuals have in society. It is necessary to create a suitable environment for them to feel safe with or without their families and in the community. This responsibility belongs to both individuals living in the society and the state. It would be appropriate to say that this situation is worse for autistic or neurodiverse individuals, considering that the state WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 97 institution generally does not provide the rights of other citizens around the world, whether or not autistic or neurodiverse. For example, the fundamental rights of individuals are generally usurped in underdeveloped countries. In particular, the rights of disadvantaged groups like autistic people are being usurped. Autistic children and individuals may feel feelings such as guilt or shame, in addition to negative feelings such as fear, anger or anxiety against discrimination and violence by their families or society. Discrimination and violence by their families and society may cause them to feel ashamed of themselves and their existence. They may feel and think as if it is wrong for them to exist or be different in this life. They may feel defective or inadequate because they are being targeted because they cannot adapt to society as the society wishes. And I think that most people and neurotypical individuals in society see them as inferior, project their personality problems onto them, and try to satisfy their egos or fragile selves by targeting and act violently individuals they see as weaker. Obviously, considering that many parents have narcissistic characteristics, and some of them have narcissistic personality disorder, and that there are many individuals with narcissistic characteristics in society, and these individuals can also come to positions such as teachers in society, it can be predicted that many autistic individuals are exposed to narcissistic behaviors abundantly. Narcissistic individuals make other people feel worthless and inadequate. Exposure to violence from these people will be traumatic, especially in the WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 98 long run, and can even lead to complex trauma. They cause autistic individuals to experience problems such as depression, and this process can be very painful for autistic individuals. Individuals with these narcissistic characteristics or with narcissistic personality disorder apply psychological violence to the people they target or other people, making them feel inadequate and insignificant. Dealing with these people, especially the parent or family member, will be very difficult for any child, whether autistic or not. All children, whether autistic or neurotypical, cannot make sense of these violent and oppressive narcissistic behaviors of their parents, and may internalize these feelings that their parents convey to them verbally or non-verbally (and often these behaviors that appear as physical violence). When this happens, children's self-esteem drops, and they feel vulnerable. At the same time, they are forced to grapple with feelings such as shame and guilt. Narcissistic parents often have an "ideal child" in their minds. And when they see their real children as different from the "ideal child" they have in mind, that is, when their children do not fit the "ideal child" in their minds, they experience a narcissistic break. This angers them and they pass this anger onto their children and they make their children feel wrong, incomplete, or guilty. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 99 For narcissistic parents, autistic children do not seem like "ideal child" profile that narcissistic parents will set up in their minds. Therefore, it can be predicted that children in this group will become more targets of narcissistic parents and will be more exposed to narcissistic parental violence. I think that autistic or neurodiverse children will be more vulnerable and will suffer more when it is considered that they are often exposed to systematic violence and discrimination in their families and society and generally do not receive support. Likewise, it can be predicted that they will be affected more negatively by narcissistic teachers and staff because of that. 4.1 Solidarity In fact, it is very important for autistic individuals and their families to build solidarity with each other, just like all other disadvantaged groups exposed to discrimination and violence. Sharing their experiences with each other, struggling together with the negativities and rights violations they have experienced and supporting each other can be good for their mental health, and it will be a more effective struggle to stand against and prevent acts of violence, violations of rights, and discrimination against autistic individuals and their families. At the same time, it can be predicted that showing solidarity will reduce the sense of loneliness and helplessness that people feel. Reducing or inhibiting these emotions can also prevent many psychological problems such as depression or anxiety. A properly WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 100 established solidarity will be very important for autistic people and their families to protect their mental health and increase their resilience. At the same time, we do not have to be family members or parents of these individuals to establish solidarity with autistic individuals. In my opinion, opposing the violence, discrimination and violations of rights against them and trying to raise awareness on this issue is solidarity. In other words, we do not need to know autistic individuals face-to face or to communicate directly. I think that the individuals who form the neurotypical society are responsible for the conditions they impose on them. And there is a society, system, state and mentality that usurps autistic people's safe spaces and rights. This is selfishness. Their boundaries, feelings and preferences are not respected by society and neurotypical people. And unfortunately, many people see not violating their basic rights as an extra or a blessing given to them. However, treating them with respect and not violating their boundaries is not a blessing, it should be. Likewise, the security, education, health or other rights that states and governments should provide to autistic individuals will not be extra. There will be fundamental rights that states should provide to their citizens. Basic human rights. And it is not a blessing or an extra WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 101 thing for individuals living together in society to respect each other and each other's boundaries. That is what it should be. But, unfortunately, when it comes to autistic individuals, I think that most neurotypical individuals living in society ignore respect. The reason may be that they see autistic individuals as more "deficient" or "unimportant" than themselves. 4.2 Acceptance Autistic individuals are exposed to many labels by neurotypical individuals in society. Many neurotypical and, unfortunately, ignorant and low-aware people think that autistic individuals are obsessive and even have obsessive compulsive disorder. According to Ne’man (2021), autistic individuals do repetitive behaviors for pleasure or for selfregulation, whereas in OCD, repetitive behaviors are a source of distress for the individual. Ethically, trying to suppress behaviors that are pleasurable and helpful is clearly different from the ethics of treating irritating behaviors. To justify the prior, the behavior must not only be abnormal but also destructive. Behaviors pointed by the Children's Yale–Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale modified for Autism Spectrum Disorder (CYBOCS-ASD) include clapping hands, drawing objects of special interest, sorting objects, and repeatedly reading or viewing the same media. These are definitely autistic traits, but they are not harmful. For example, certain repetitive behaviors that involve coercion or violence can be harmful. But WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 102 CYBOCSASD creates a less modest network. Similar problems exist with other common autism measures that prioritize eye contact with autistic individuals and aim to remove unusual hand/finger/body movements alongside more legitimate priorities. In other words, while obsessive thoughts or behaviors are a source of anxiety and distress for individuals with OCD, repetitive behaviors that can be seen in autistic individuals can enable autistic individuals to express themselves or be happy, or to express their emotions. For example, for autistic children who repeatedly clap their hands every time they are happy, this behavior may be necessary to help them regulate their current emotions. Or they may be happy by doing that repetitive clap. Or they may be trying to tell something and communicate with the other person with that behavior. Trying to prevent that behavior can prevent all these positive situations and be harmful for these autistic children. This will be violence and violation of rights, bullying and domination. There is also the issue of "eye contact" imposed on autistic individuals. It is known that there are many autistic individuals who cannot or do not want to make eye contact and are uncomfortable with making eye contact. Despite their discomfort, this behavior of trying to make them make eye contact, which will put them under stress, should also be questioned. Why are autistic individuals asked to make eye contact? And why does this desire come from neurotypical individuals? Will this intervention really benefit autistic individuals? Or is it the effort of the neurotypical society to imitate and standardize autistic individuals and to dominate them? WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 103 As explained by Ne’man (2021), a great disservice is done to people with disabilities when suppression of diagnostic features is seen as an appropriate outcome. It can be said that suppressing atypical behaviors may not improve the quality of life and even directly reduce it in some cases. While this criticism is most developed in autism, it is linked to many other diagnoses as well. In other words, trying to prevent or suppress the characteristics that are distinctive for diagnosis may harm autistic people. It seems that this situation is different from the diagnosis of the disease. The distinguishing features required for the diagnosis of a disease are negative, disturbing, or threatening to one's health. In autism, however, this may not be the case. Features diagnosed with autism do not have to be harmful or negatively affect the life of others or a person. For example, how accurate would it be to call someone with autistic characteristics who have non harming repetitive behaviors and do not bother the individual as a patient? If the autistic characteristics of the person do not harm this person or others and do not negatively affect people's lives, what is the source of the problems experienced by this person? Could it be the neurotypical individuals in the society and the discriminatory order they established? Leadbitter et al. (2021) indicates that, if an intervention is effective in reducing autistic behavior but deprives the child of coping mechanisms or poses a risk of mental health problems, it has not been effective in ameliorating lives. For this reason, when intervening in the behavior of autistic individuals, the focus should be on the benefit and well-being of the autistic individual, not trying to change the behavior and make the autistic individual look WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 104 like a neurotypical individual. It should be kept in mind that there are people who make decisions instead of autistic children or individuals during behavioral interventions, and unfortunately, the benefit of autistic individuals is not always considered. The aim of the interventions should be to facilitate the lives of autistic individuals and to increase their well-being. Trying to please anyone, including families, should not be a priority. Pressure and domination should not be established on autistic individuals. These attitudes are not to the benefit of autistic individuals, but are also against human rights. Individuals in the society should not try to assimilate what they see differently from themselves and should not violate the rights of those they see as different. This difference can be a physical difference or gender, race, ethnicity. It may also be a state of certain disability or neurodiversity. It is animals that are most exposed to this discrimination and violence in society, they are seen as less valuable than the human species, and this form of discrimination is called speciesism. Afterwards, it is seen that violence and discrimination are applied to some groups of people. Disabled individuals, autistic individuals, individuals with neurodiversity and other groups who are seen differently, disadvantaged and left in the minority. The source of all this discrimination and violence is the same: a group's positioning of other groups as less valuable, unimportant, or less powerful. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 105 Chapter 5 HUMOR IN AUTISM Humor can be a good tool for people to feel well, laugh, communicate and form relationships with each other. Sometimes, there are those who describe the discourses that offend or humiliate a certain group (such as race, gender, species) as "joke". Although this kind of discourses disturb many people, they can also affect autistic individuals or directly address the identity of autistic individuals or autism. In this context, these discourses cease to be humor and become an element of violence for targeted groups and autistic individuals. It has been demonstrated that humor is not as prominent as neurotypical individuals as the character strengths of autistic individuals. Also, autistic people may not perceive humor as neurotypical people do. As stated by Samson & Antonelli (2013), for typically developing individuals, humor ranked 8th highest among the 24 character strengths, but only 16 when ranking strengths for individuals with Autism Spectrum/High Functioning autism. It was observed that humor was associated with life of pleasure, life of engagement, life of meaning and life satisfaction in participants with typical development. However, in individuals with Autism Spectrum/High Function Autism, humor was found to be connected only to life of pleasure. This indicates that 1) WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 106 individuals with Autism Spectrum/High Function Autism do not see humor as a strong trait, and this seems to be consistent with their previously reported humor difficulties. 2) humor does not seem to affect life satisfaction as much for individuals with Autism Spectrum/High Function Autism as it does for individuals in the control group with typical development. Accordingly, humor is seen only as a means of life of pleasure for autistic individuals and is not seen as a strong trait. It is seen that humor is not much determinant on the life satisfaction of autistic individuals. According to this result, humor does not affect autistic individuals’ life satisfaction as much as it affects life satisfaction of individual with typical development. Samson & Antonelli (2013) mentioned that, when character strengths were ranked, humor was only 18th in individuals with Autism Spectrum/High Functioning Autism. Open-mindedness, love of learning, fairness, curiosity, and authenticity were shown to be the highest five strenghts in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder/High Functioning Autism, whereas spirituality, social intelligence, love, teamwork, and selfregulation were found to be the lowest five traits. According to this study, autistic individuals have characteristics that they see as strong in themselves and their personalities. There are traits that they consider important in their life. Humor, on the other hand, took the 18th place among the features that autistic individuals see as positive in their characters, and it is seen that it is not at the forefront for autistic individuals participating in this study. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 107 As stated by Samson & Antonelli (2013), humor was associated with life of pleasure in both groups, but only in the typical development group, humor was associated with life of engagement and life of meaning. And this was significantly different from the Autism Spectrum/High Function Autism group. In other words, according to this result, it cannot be said that humor is not important for autistic individuals, but it was seen that autistic participants in this study did not associate humor with the meaning of life. The reasons for this may also be that humor was produced neurotypically in a neurotypical society. They may also feel left out in the field of humor, or they may not find what some of the neurotypical society finds funny. Or they may have trouble understanding. It should also be taken into account that the sense of humor that most of the neurotypical society finds "funny" includes language of violence, discrimination or speciesist, sexist, racist language. In other words, it is clear that the humor that the majority of the neurotypical society enjoys does not appeal to everyone. And it is stated that humor has an important place in people's lives. Although this situation is somewhat similar for autistic individuals, there are studies showing that it is slightly different from neurotypical individuals. According to Samson & Antonelli (2013), humor is linked to emotional and interpersonal strengths, but this role is more limited in individuals with Autism Spectrum/High Function Autism. In addition, in individuals WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 108 with Autism Spectrum/High Function Autism, while humor is connected with life of pleasure as one of the orientations to happiness, it is not linked with life of engagement and life of meaning. Humor was associated with life satisfaction in the typical development group, but the same result was not valid for the Autism Spectrum/High Function Autism group. This result predicts that humor does not have an important part as a character strength for individuals with Autism Spectrum/High Function Autism. In individuals with Autism Spectrum/High Function Autism, it is seen that humor is related to pleasure as an orientation to happiness, but it does not support life satisfaction. Chapter 6 WHAT WE NEED FOR WELL-BEING Although the well-being of autistic individuals is likely to be damaged by many factors, this situation can be changed. The well-being of autistic individuals can be improved with the acceptance and support of society. They can have a safe place in society and feel safe. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 109 In this context, families and clinicians, experts and authorities working with autistic individuals should be very careful and watch their well-being. And collaborative work can also be very beneficial for autistic individuals. For young children diagnosed with autism, behavioral change goals are likely not to be considered socially valid. It can be a useful exercise for clinicians to imagine their clients as adults and to read their childhood behavioral plans. Would they find these behavior change goals offensive? Would they feel their identities destroyed? Or would they feel given reasonable support to learn valuable skills and navigate the world as an Autistic individual? Debating intervention principles and aims with children will help assure the social validity of the intervention, when developmentally suitable (Schuck et al., 2022). There are some practices carried out under the name of "well-being" of autistic children and individuals. There are also studies under the name of "treatment" of autistic individuals. These studies are mostly aimed at changing the behavior of autistic individuals. At the same time there is also a perception that what is a problem and needs to be corrected is not the behavior of autistic individuals, but the discrimination in society and the priority given to neurotypical individuals. The neurotypical society tries to "fix" autistic individuals rather than making space for them and emphasizes that autistic individuals are faulty, flawed, ill WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 110 or wrong. Rather than changing their discriminatory perspectives and their discriminatory and violent actions towards autistic individuals, neurotypical individuals forming the society try to make the behaviors of autistic individuals resemble the behaviors of neurotypical individuals. Autistic individuals, on the other hand, exhibit these behaviors in order to express themselves and their feelings and thoughts. The purpose of intervention by family members or society in the behaviors of autistic individuals that do not harm themselves and others and the effects of these interventions on autistic individuals should be taken into consideration. According to Leadbitter et al. (2021), it is necessary to actively listen to the autistic community in order to understand the autistic priorities around intervention goals. It is also necessary to pay close attention to research that highlights facts that cause difficulties or distress in autistic people, affect their quality of life, and that autistic people actively seek support for. Autistic activists and children and individuals who can express themselves openly talk about what needs to be done to solve the problems experienced by autistic people and improve their well-being. Although the problems they experience are in a way that neurotypical individuals can see and understand, they also express their problems directly or indirectly, or even if they cannot speak, they express with facial expressions and gestures that the situation they are in is difficult and disturbing for them. And, it is clear that the violent and discriminatory treatment done to them will harm not only them but also all living beings. Because anyone who wants to oppress those they see as weak, who is motivated to do so and who thinks WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 111 they have the right to do so, and this mentality will do this to other minority and disadvantaged groups as well. 6.1 Family It can be said that the factor affecting the well-being of autistic individuals the most is the family. The most important factor for a neurotypical child to gain self-esteem and selfconfidence in life and to feel safe is the family, and this is also true for autistic children. Autistic children, whose families accept and support them, give them confidence and meet their needs, have higher well-being levels. If autistic children do not feel alone, vulnerable, helpless, or unaccepted in life, their self-confidence and self-esteem will be better. They become less fragile or not vulnerable to external factors. Their resilience will be higher. These are all qualities that the family can impart to children. If children can communicate with their families without fear, hesitation and knowing that they will be supported, they can easily tell about external dangers and situations that negatively affect them. Thus, they both feel safe against the outside world and not feel alien to their feelings and thoughts. At the same time, they find support for the solution of the WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 112 problems they describe and do not feel alone. Although these situations are also valid for autistic children, they can express themselves more difficult than neurotypical children. Families need to be aware of all these situations. I had the chance to observe the behavior of one of the parents I interviewed, Pamira, towards her autistic son, Murat. I observed that Pamira approached her son in a caring, calm and understanding, loving manner. For example, Murat did not want to eat in the dining hall, and his mother did not force him to eat in the dining hall with the other children and helped him eat in the entrance area. Murat seemed comfortable that way. I can also say that I have observed that Murat seemed like a comfortable, social and positive child. In fact, I realized that this attitude of Pamira actually is not one that allows Murat to do whatever he wants. When another parent told Pamira that she wanted to offer junk food to Murat while he was eating at the entrance, Pamira said she tried not to give her son as much junk food as possible. From this, it is understood that Pamira is not a parent who does whatever her son wants without thinking, but also thinks about his son's well-being and health and acts accordingly. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 113 6.2 School The school environment can be quite challenging for many children. All children, including neurotypical and neurodiverse children, differ from each other in interests, skills, and learning styles. While the school environment can be quite stressful and difficult even for neurotypical children, this is more evident for autistic children. Autistic children do not express their feelings and thoughts like neurotypical children, they have a unique way of expressing them. They differ from neurotypical children in perception and behavior. The way they communicate is also often different from neurotypical children. Since the school environment and lessons designed for neurotypical children are not inclusive of autism, it is quite normal and understandable for autistic children to have difficulties and stress compared to neurotypical children in the school environment. When I went to Şehit Ahmet Sağaz Special Education Kindergarten to interview the parents of autistic children, one of the special education teachers, Nermin, offered to show me around the classrooms. I had the chance to tour the classrooms. According to my observations, the classes were not crowded, the children seemed comfortable, and the teachers were calm and friendly towards the children. There were children making noises or scattering things around, and the teachers did not interfere with them. According to my observations, the children were playing comfortably and expressing themselves. My WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 114 observations about the children's school were positive. The parents I spoke to also said that they were very glad with the school and that their children were happy too. Of course, it would be necessary to make long observations and research to make a clear judgement and, if possible, to be able to communicate with children about this issue and get their opinions. These were my observations and the information I gained. 6.3 Environment Many problems experienced by autistic individuals are based on environmental causes. The environment we live in and the elements that make up the environment are designed for neurotypical individuals. These environmental elements, which are not considered for neurodiverse or autistic individuals, cause many difficulties for autistic individuals. As specified by Owren & Stenhammer (2013), when a person in a wheelchair comes across a ladder is one of the classic example of disability caused by environmental obstacles. The problem this individual is experiencing is not due to disability because it was not a problem until the person encountered stairs. The problem is an environment that favors people who can walk but excludes others who require to use a wheelchair. When the problem is explained in this way, it turns out that many of the challenges faced by wheelchair users, such as stairs, narrow doors and inaccessible store shelves, can only be resolved by addressing environmental WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 115 components. Environmental conditions that do not cover the needs and wishes of autistic individuals cause difficulties for autistic individuals, but these conditions also produce discrimination against autistic individuals. Autistic individuals feel and think that they are not cared for by society. At the same time, for most autistic individuals, environmental conditions cause them to be physically unable to participate in society. These feelings of isolation and physical barriers cause them to become even more distant from society. Environmental conditions arranged in line with the wishes of neurotypical individuals do not include the needs and wishes of autistic individuals and ignore them. Integrating into a society where they are ignored becomes even more difficult for autistic individuals. This situation also causes many psychological problems for autistic individuals by isolating them. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 116 Chapter 7 SUSTAINABILITY AND INCLUSIVENESS 7.1 Sustainability Otizm.tv, which autistic individuals who act on neurodiversity, the autistic individuals who can express themselves, the families of autistic children or adults are interviewed, their experiences are given, information is given by psychologists and special education teachers working in this field, and solidarity is shown with autistic individuals and their families. According to the information I got from otizm.tv's twitter account: In this tweet series, they emphasized and explained the concept of "Sustainability" for the positive development of the well-being and lives of autistic individuals. Sustainability has been evaluated as a long-term and comprehensive approach. The following concepts are given as examples of sustainability: 1) Appropriate living environments (living spaces where autistic WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 117 individuals feel good and safe) 2) Accessibility (appropriate physical spaces, communication tools, education and health services for autistic individuals) 3) Education and learning opportunities 4) Employment opportunities 5) Appropriate resources and tools (such as special training materials, communication tools, information technology, other supporting tools) 6) Increasing the autism awareness of the society When sustainability is long-term, autistic individuals can benefit from all these services throughout their lives, not for a short time. Autistic individuals also have the right to access all services that neurotypical individuals can reach, and this should not be a limited access. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 118 For example, suitable living environments are a fundamental right that should be in every period of their life, not in some periods. The physical places that neurotypical individuals go to should also be accessible to autistic individuals, and they should be able to reach these places all the time, not some times. Education and learning opportunities are also a basic human right, and autistic children should be provided free of charge, just as this right to education is provided to other children. Likewise, education and health services are services that they should be able to receive in a sustainable way. Communicating is also a need of the person and autistic individuals should be able to access communication tools just like neurotypical individuals. Health care is also a fundamental right. At the same time, employment opportunities and autistic individuals should be included in the society and gain their economic independence. In this way, they are in a position to meet their own needs in society. They shouldn’t have to be tied to their families or any other person or group in society. In addition, since the education of neurotypical individuals does not fit the needs and wishes of autistic individuals, special education opportunities and special education materials should be provided for them. Informatics tools should also be sufficient to meet their demands and needs. The wishes and needs of autistic individuals should be met in society, just like neurotypical individuals. At the same time, in order for all these to happen, the awareness of the society on autism must be increased and the discrimination and violence against autistic individuals must WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 119 end. Autistic individuals should be given equal rights like other citizens and all kinds of discrimination and violence against them should be prevented. In fact, it is the duty of the state to provide a equitable and peaceful life to the citizens living in a country. The state shall ensure the security of citizens and provide equal opportunities. The state should allocate the necessary budget for autistic individuals to live healthy and safe and should offer the same opportunities to autistic citizens as it offers to neurotypical citizens. And it must do so in a long-term, sustainable way. In order to ensure the sustainability mentioned, it is essential for the society to raise awareness and put an end to the violence and discrimination against autistic individuals. In this regard, as well as the services to be provided by the state and institutions, it is essential that neurotypical individuals in the society should not prevent these services provided or planned to be provided to autistic individuals. At the same time, when suitable living environments are created for autistic individuals; when they have access to physical spaces, communication tools, and other supportive tools such as information technologies, when they can access safe and qualified education and health services, when employment opportunities are given, they will be made a place in the society and other individuals will accept them. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 120 7.2 Inclusiveness Another concept mentioned in Otizm.tv's tweets is "Inclusiveness". It is stated that with this concept, it is aimed that people in the society are not exposed to discrimination and that they can benefit from their human rights. And it advocates that these basic human rights should be accessible to everyone and does not discriminate between people. Policies should be created according to the needs of all individuals living in the society, and services and opportunities should be offered. Not only for autistic individuals, but also for the needs of other individuals in the society. For example, apart from autistic individuals; examples can also be given such as ensuring that people with disabilities have access to education, strengthening gender equality, increasing job opportunities for disadvantaged groups, and supporting the full participation of different ethnic groups in social life. It is very important for the peace of individuals and society that individuals in the society are not exposed to discrimination. If there is peace and harmony in the society, it will be positive for both autistic children and all children. If the state in the society is inclusive in its policies for all individuals and takes precautions against discrimination and violence, WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 121 and if this is supported by education and law, it will be very important for the peace of all disadvantaged groups. At this point, it is necessary to question why disadvantaged groups are disadvantaged. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that they were left at a disadvantage. It should be investigated why individuals belonging to a certain gender, race, or individuals with a special condition or disability are disadvantaged in society and solutions should be offered. The solutions should be implemented by the government and the state. It is necessary to raise awareness and education in the society. All forms of violence should be considered a crime and perpetrators of violence should be given deterrent punishment. Education and the justice system should be carried out simultaneously. Disadvantaged individuals in society are exposed to more violence and discrimination. Their resilience is low as they are not supported by the society or government against this violence and discrimination and the society does not show the necessary solidarity with them. The reasons for being left at a disadvantage are that their birthrights have been usurped by society, the system and the government. Actually by a mindset. In other words, they become even more disadvantaged because the society, the system and the state exclude them from their policies. And their resilience decreases as policies not covered by their rights continue. They may even have never had resilience because of these factors. The WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 122 possibility of having many psychological disorders increases because of the violence they are exposed to in the society and the lack of solidarity with them by other members of the society. Many autistic individuals may experience depression, anxiety, panic attacks, social phobia and even suicidal thoughts, unfortunately, because they are put under pressure in their families and society. And these situations put people's lives very difficult. In fact, I must say that I think that the concept of inclusiveness is very difficult to implement socially in countries where the level of empathy is low and where selfishness and polarization prevail. I think we need to accept that first. Afterwards, it is necessary to think about how we can increase inclusiveness and put it into practice. In underdeveloped countries and countries where social sensitivity is low, I think it is more difficult to safely include individuals and groups who are disadvantaged in life. But that does not mean they can not be in life safely. I just think we need to deal with it a little more and more effectively. We need to grow solidarity and struggle. And I have to say that it is not easy, but not impossible, at least in my country. I find it very important to increase the visibility of autistic individuals in society. In other words, there are autistic individuals who are role models for society and other autistic individuals and their families. These individuals can be individuals who find a place in the society, or who are more accepted by the society in some way. Or they may not. And WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 123 these individuals are also struggling for existence with their autistic identities. When they do this, both other autistic individuals and their families find strength and courage, and people who want to exclude autistic individuals from society are withdrawing. When they see that there are autistic individuals who are accepted by someone, or some groups, they generally do not exclude or use violence as before. Unfortunately, they do not behave the way they should act independently of society. Most of them adapt to society. For this reason, I think that if there are people who do not exclude and accept autistic individuals in their area, and if these people are in the majority or dominant, they will not be able to easily perform their own harmful behaviors towards autistic individuals. In other words, they have to treat autistic individuals with respect due to the pressure they feel from society. Of course, I wish that these people would not violate autistic people's boundaries voluntarily, not because of social pressure. But I realize that many people unfortunately do not have this moral, conscientious level and personality. And against the attacks on the existence of autistic individuals, rights and border violations in society, many autistic activists and many family members are doing activism. They express themselves and try to raise awareness and consciousness in society. It is also a struggle for existence. In addition to telling people what autism is, they also tell who they or their family members are. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 124 Chapter 8 INTERVIEW WITH PARENTS OF AUTISTIC CHILDREN Following two questions were asked to the parents of children diagnosed with autism face to face at the school named Şehit Emrah Sağaz Special Education Kindergarten, and their answers are written below. These children continue their education there. Şehit Emrah Sağaz Kindergarten is a kindergarten located in İzmir's Bornova district, centrally located compared to most parts of Izmir. It is state dependent. A kindergarten where children with down syndrome, cerebral palsy or mental retardation are in the same classrooms together, as well as autistic children. It is written on the website of the school that the school started education in the 2016/2017 academic year in order to serve the students in need of special education in the preschool period. These students include autistic students, students with cerebral palsy or down syndrome, mental retardation or some of these diagnoses in common and these students are educated in the same class. According to the Şehit Emrah Sağaz Special Education WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 125 Kindergarten's website, there are 1 school principal, 1 vice principal, 9 pre-school teachers, 9 special education teachers, 1 guidance counselor and 2 officers working at school. Again, according to the information on the school's website, there are 73 students, 20 teachers, 9 classrooms, 1 conference hall, 1 gym, 1 game room and 1 dining hall. The vision of the institution is written on their website as follows: "to reach children in need of special education in the pre-school period, to enable them to use their potential in the best way and to realize themselves at the highest level; to be a guide institution in the field of pre-school education in İzmir." Their mission is also written as follows: "Educational practices that will support the development of students receiving special education in our school in every aspect, are to bring our students to the best possible developmental situation with the cooperation of their families." And again, according to the information given on their website, the institution has determined its working hours as 9:30-14:30. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 126 I interviewed some of the parents of autistic children at this special education kindergarten. I received the informed consent by describing it face to face, not as a written document. Both of these parents did not see any problem in including their own names or the names of their children as in my work. But I changed the names in terms of confidentiality and included non-real names in my thesis. I did not want to ask questions about their private life as much as possible. I did not find this correct. I just asked about their occupation and age. I told them that I did not want to ask questions about their private lives. The interview took approximately half an hour for both parents. So an hour in total for the two of them. Their children were not with us and they did not hear. I would not want to do interviews when children nearby. It was better that the children could not hear. They could be negatively affected by what their parents would say about them. Parents of children with cerebral palsy, down syndrome and mental retardation were sitting next to us and they also listened. There were no children. After the interviews with parents of autistic children, other parents also talked about their own children afterwards. So I did not actually choose the school specifically. I can say that I went there because the parent I communicated with invited me. Pamira introduced me to the special education teacher Nermin and Nermin offered me to visit classes. In this way, I had the opportunity WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 127 to observe other autistic students and meet other pre-school and special education teachers. Questions: 1) How do you think your children experience and show their emotions? With this first question asked to parents of autistic children, it was aimed to obtain information about both how autistic children show their emotions and how much awareness their parents have about the emotions of autistic children. 2) What do you think about your child's well-being? In this second question asked, it was aimed to obtain information about the well-being of autistic children and the awareness that parents have about their well-being. 3) How do you think your child's well-being develops? WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 128 Here, it is a question emphasized that the well-being of autistic children can be improved. And it is aimed to get information about how the well-being of autistic children develops and parents' awareness on this issue. 4) How do you think family, school and environment affect your child's well-being? (Clinicians and researchers, staff, school and teachers and peers) With this question, the trio of family, school and environment, which is one of the factors that most affect the well-being of autistic children, was aimed to be investigated. Parenthesis has been opened to expand and elaborate on these three factors. While this question was asked to the parents, the factors in parentheses were also asked verbally. 5) What are the things that make your child laugh and find funny? WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 129 By asking this question, it was emphasized that there are things that autistic children find funny and that they react to the things they find funny by laughing. And these factors were wanted to be investigated. 6) Have you heard of the neurodiversity movement? With this question, it was aimed to investigate whether the parents of autistic children have knowledge about the neurodiversity movement. 7) What are your thoughts on the neurodiversity movement? In this last question, it was aimed to investigate the thoughts of the parents of autistic children about the neurodiversity movement. In the previous question, the parents who stated that they had not heard of the neurodiversity movement before were explained what the neurodiversity movement is, and then their opinions were taken, if they wanted to give their opinion. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 130 ANSWERS: Helin Helin is Barış's mother. 33 years old. Child development teacher. Barış is 5.5 years old. She states that they noticed Barış's autism at the age of 1, but the doctors did not accept it. The fact that the parent here noticed autism in their child at an early age may have had an effect on being a child development teacher. And it is thought-provoking that Barış, who is a 5.5-year-old autistic child, could not be noticed by doctors at that age. Although early diagnosis is very important for the correct approach, it is necessary not to make a diagnosis without being sure. Therefore, great attention should be paid to the diagnosis, which will be very important for the child. 1) "Before going to sports and language therapy, he couldn't show much. He has been expressing himself very well for 1 year. When he wants something, he expresses it with his feelings. He gets upset when his older sister or father leaves. He shows that he is upset. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 131 He shows his joy when he will go for a walk or get on a motorcycle. When he is sad or afraid, he expresses it in words. He hugs and kisses when he is happy. Before going to sports and language therapy, he would put the objects in order and wouldn't take commands, he wouldn't listen. He couldn't express himself." Here, his parent clearly stated that Barış benefited greatly from language therapy and sports activities. These seem to be beneficial for the development of Barış. It is also seen that Barış shows his emotions and feelings like other neurotypical children. It is seen that he expresses his emotions with body language, gestures and facial expressions and some words. It should be noted that neither neurotypical children nor neurodiverse children display their emotions in the same way. In other words, every child is special and the way they express themselves or their feelings is not the same. But it can be clearly said that sports and language therapy helped Barış express himself better. His parent stated that Barış had hyperactivity and that's why he was successful in sports. Of course, this success or well-being may not be valid for every child. Because every child's wishes and needs are different, whether they are autistic or neurodiverse. But it should be added that sports WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 132 activities and language therapy are good for many autistic or neurodiverse children. This is clearly seen in Barış. In addition, these activities prevented Barış from arranging the objects. First of all, "Why was Barış lining up the objects?" question can be addressed. "Was it an obsession?" "Why was he doing this?" "Is it because he's stressed?" Was he trying to express himself or regulate his feelings?" Or "was he doing it because he enjoyed?" "Doesn't he no longer need to put things in order because sports activities and language therapy allow him to better express himself and regulate his emotions?" Or "does he no longer need to put things in order because he has found other activities (such as sports activities and language therapy) that he will enjoy more?" "What is the cause of repetitive behaviors or obsessions such as queuing that autistic children do and what is their function in the life of autistic children?" If the answers to these questions are thought about and the answers are searched, important answers can be found both about Barış and about autism. 2) "Much better than last year. There is a big difference between last year. We can all see this. Anyone who spends time with him can notice this." WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 133 His parent states that there is an improvement in Barış's well-being and that other people also notice this. It would be appropriate to say that not only did language therapy and sports activities have an impact on this development, but also the awareness and interest of the parent and the right approach of the parent to him were also effective in this development. It can be thought that the fact that his parent is a child development teacher has a positive effect on Barış's well-being. 3) "I know that with more training, more sports, more special training, his well-being will get better." Here, it seems that the awareness of the parent about the well-being of her autistic child is high. She states that Barış will be better with more training, sports and special training. So here the parent has an awareness of what is good for her child. Instead of just wanting or hoping for her child's well-being to increase, she found and thought about activities that were good for her child. Considering what she said, it can be said that the activities she mentioned are good for Barış's well-being. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 134 And at the same time, I thought she was not a parent who was fed up with her child or her child's condition. Her energy was also high, in a positive sense. And as far as I have observed, I can say that the energy of Barış's also high. I think he got that positive energy from his parent. The behavior and energies of their parents towards them are very important for all children, whether they are autistic or not. Realizing that their parents do not accept them, do not respect their existence, and are not loved by their parents will lower both their selfconfidence and self-esteem. It will also lower their resilience. Resilience is very important for them to cope with rights violations, violence, marginalization and all kinds of problems they are exposed to in society. They may even have never been able to create the resilience necessary for them to cope with the problems they will be exposed to in society, because of their families. Many parents, like many people in society, may think that autistic children cannot perceive what is going on around them, do not understand what is being said about them, and cannot focus on conversations. And they see no problem talking negatively about autistic children even when they are near. However, it is not difficult to predict that these will affect autistic children very negatively. Because they are not machines that are unaware of what is going on around them. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 135 Autistic children, like all other children, expect respect, love and trust from their parents and family members. This is very important for their psychological development. They also want to be accepted for who they are. And unfortunately the reality that many parents are oppressive or narcissistic has to be taken into account. And there are many parents who want to adapt the ideal child in their head to their child in reality. This is a narcissistic thing and these parents want to create and control their children. They ignore that their children are unique individuals, not their extensions and they have their own characters and preferences. Unfortunately, it can be said that many parents are like this. There are many parents who behave this way even if their child is neurotypical. They do not accept their children as they are. And this is even more so in autistic or neurodiverse children. Unfortunately, many parents tend to accept and respect them less than neurotypical children. 4) "Family, school, and the environment all three have a great impact. All three are at the center of his life. Because when he has a problem there, it affects his daily life a lot. It all affects. Under the influence of these factors, a circle forms in the center of his life." WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 136 Barış's parent states that when there is a problem in the family, school or the environment, Barış is very affected by these problems during the day. When there is a problem, the fact that Barış is affected by these problems all day and this is reflected throughout the day shows that he cannot overcome this problem during the day. It is understood from here how important family, school and environmental factors are in his life. From this point of view, it can be thought that as negative events affect him a lot, positive events will also affect him a lot. 5) "Kneading bread dough. Riding a motorcycle. Kneading bread dough makes him very happy and he laughs a lot. He also finds kneading dough funny. He likes to eat food, fruit, and ice cream." If we look at the activities that Barış enjoys or finds funny, it is seen that these are actually activities that neurotypical children also find fun or funny. Activities that other kids generally will find fun, whether they're neurodiverse or not. 6) "I had heard. It was in a book." WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 137 7) "Barış has hyperactivity. Sometimes activity is good, but sometimes it's very challenging. His activity is very good as it goes to sports and language development. His activity prevents focusing on the lesson. That's why we use drugs." Hyperactivity is also a feature included in neurodiversity movement. It can also be a symptom of PTSD. There are also experts who state that it may be genetic. It is also common in autistic children. Like all other features, the causes of hyperactivity should be examined in detail and comprehensively. However, it is stated by his parent that Barış is successful in sports and language education due to his hyperactive features. But it was causing him difficulty in concentrating on the lessons. And his parent stated that they use drugs for this reason. Drug use is a very critical action in the neurodiversity movement. At the same time, there are those who are very critical of the use of drugs in the hyperactivity feature for both autism or other conditions, and the use of drugs in general. But it can also be said that many autistic children and individuals are still given medication. Pamira Pamira is Murat's mother. 38 years old. Retired. Murat has completed the age of 6, he is in the age of 7. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 138 1) "When he cries and laughs, I feel he is happy or not. He shows that he is happy by kissing. When not speaking, he shows with his hands. If there is pain, he will show it with his hand, like "my tooth hurts". Yesterday, for example, he showed his foot. When he took off his shoes, a stone came out of his shoes. His foot was bleeding. This is how he shows his emotional reactions. His pain, his sadness, his happiness. He generally shows like this." Murat's crying or laughing when he is upset or happy is a very clear form of communication. At the same time, it is seen that he clearly describes the situations that disturb him with his body language. It can be clearly said that Murat communicated with his parent and expressed his feelings clearly. 2) "I think he is much better this year. I think his senses are clear. I think he is aware of society. And we, as parents, try to socialize him." When Pamira says, "His senses are clear.", she mentions that Murat perceives the environment better. In fact, Pamira says "He is aware of society" in the next sentence. And WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 139 she stated that as her parents, they tried to socialize him. It is certain that this effort of his family has an effect on Murat's perception of the environment as "clear" or "better". In addition to interviewing Murat's mother by asking these questions, I also met with Murat. I had the opportunity to communicate with him and then see him when he was with his mother and in the classroom with his teachers and friends. I can say that I think he is an extroverted and social child who is willing to communicate. He was playing toy drums in the classroom and it seemed to make him very happy. He also looked very comfortable playing the toy drum. I also had the chance to meet and interview Pamira face to face. I can say that I have observed Murat's mother, Pamira, as a positive, energetic and kind person who accepts her child as he is in all circumstances. As a result of our conversations with her, but most of all seeing the communication she established with her child, I thought and felt that she loves her child very much and always approached him with love and understanding. 3) "I think the most important thing is society. If society accepts our children in this way, I think our children will progress more easily. So I think society needs to be educated on this issue. In other words, they can have severe autism, intellectual WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 140 disability, all kinds of disabilities. The important thing is to educate society and accept these individuals." From this, it is understood that Murat's parent, Pamira, is aware of the fact that in addition to autistic children, other children with disabilities are also exposed discrimination and violence by society. I think the definition of "accept" here also needs to be thought about. In fact, as long as the society does not usurp the rights of autistic individuals, as long as they do not violate their boundaries and respect their existence and boundaries, this is not an extra thing done to them. It is not an extra thing given to autistic individuals, just like other neurotypical individuals, that their basic human rights are not violated. This is already what it should be. In fact, what is expressed here as "the acceptance of the society" is the concept of respect. In other words, when the rights and boundaries of autistic individuals are respected, this is the attitude that all individuals living in society should have towards other living beings, human and non-human animals. At the same time, they do not do what they should not do. And I think that in addition to the demand for education, there should be legal sanctions for acts of discrimination and violence. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 141 But in countries, where the law is not enforced, unfortunately, in addition to not being able to see a legal step against violence, it is possible that even the perpetrators who commit acts of violence and massacres that terrify a person with a healthy state of mind and personality are left unpunished. A general policy of impunity is against the prevailing violence. And this attitude and policy unfortunately affects the most vulnerable and disadvantaged groups the most. I think that autistic individuals are also included in this group. 4) "Thank God I have never seen a negative reaction from my environment. But I always have fears and doubts about whether I will see it next. But school, education, family always have benefits. Because they are accepted." In fact, it is surprising but promising that Pamira has not received a negative reaction from the environment. She states that she has not encountered a negative reaction so far. This may be related to her general positive attitude and maybe luck and the fact that Murat is a child that society can see him as friendly and social. Of course, no child has to look "friendly" in the society or have "positive" relationships with people in society. Likewise, no parent has to be "positive" towards society. Although she stated that she has not received WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 142 a negative reaction from the environment so far, she has clearly stated that she has fears and concerns for the future. It is possible to say that she lives with this fear and anxiety all the time, and this is psychologically very challenging for a person and for a parent. It causes anxiety and stress and is very tiring for the person. In fact, Murat’s mother, Pamira talks about her anxiety about the future. It will be possible to say that this situation will cause serious psychological problems to the parents and family members of autistic individuals. "What will be the next?" The question and the fact that parents are constantly carrying this anxiety and fear for their children will be very challenging for them in every sense. Feeling alert all the time is a very difficult situation psychologically. 5) "When you play with him. When we play ball. When we dance normally. We're doing some sound work. He gets very happy when he works with animal sounds or something. He loves riding motorcycles. Music. He finds them funny." Murat, a 6-year-old autistic child, seems to like to play games and finds it funny just like other neurotypical children. Normally, other children also love animals. Likewise, riding a motorcycle or listening to music are activities that most children already find enjoyable. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 143 Whether neurodiverse or neurotypical. So, are these children really different from neurotypical children because they are autistic? These children are so alienated, marginalized and excluded in the society that they are forgotten or not noticed by the society that they are just children like other children. Autistic children unfortunately continue to be excluded, marginalized, seen and labeled differently by society, and they are treated as "alien" or "abnormal" in society. The violence, rights violations, discrimination and border violation they are exposed to affect them very badly and it is inevitable for them to encounter many problems that cause them psychological distress such as depression, anxiety, panic attack and self-confidence problems. Psychosomatic problems may also be observed. They often do not feel safe in the family environment or outside, in public. They feel that they are not accepted. 6) "I did not hear." During the conversation we had with Pamira before the interview, she mentioned that she had knowledge about autism and that she followed experts to get more information. In other words, I do not think that she is far from doing research or closed to new information. It is possible to say that the neurodiversity moment is actually quite new around the world and is generally unheard of. In addition, I realized that the special education teachers I spoke to WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 144 at the same institution had not heard of neurodiversity moment and did not know about neurodiversity. I also tried to explain why autistic activists in the neurodiversity movement prefer the use of "autistic individual" instead of "individual with autism". And so that parents of autistic children, special education teachers working in this field, and indeed everyone working in this field, should increase Turkish resources, give more words to autistic people and their families; and increase the presence and work of people advocating the neurodiversity movement in the fields and I find it very important that people work in that field accurately describes the neurodiversity movement. Actually, I think it is very new that the neurodiversity movement is known in all around the world. But I have seen that even conscious and researching parents for their autistic children may not have heard of it. In addition to more resources on the neurodiversity movement, I think there should be more neurodiversity advocates in the field. I think that with the increasing number of special education teachers, psychologists and other educators who are advocates of neurodiversity, parents can learn more about the neurodiversity movement. Of course, it is also very important to explain the neurodiversity movement correctly. (After I mentioned the neurodiversity movement) she said: "I don't want society to not accept him, segregate and harm him. A parent I spoke to elsewhere told me: In WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 145 the park, other parents battered her child by saying "We don't want your child". The mother also attacked those parents. And this has happened 14 times. And "I have 14 criminal files," she says. So I want him to be accepted, like an individual, like everyone else." Pamira does not want her child to be harmed and discriminated by the society. And she says she wants her child to be accepted as an individual like other people. All these demands are in line with what the neurodiversity movement advocates, and she said these after I explained the neurodiversity movement to her. In addition, the violence she heard from the other parent is very striking. In fact, there is such a hostile mass in front of these people that they can directly say "We don't want your child." to a parent with an autistic child. At this point, I think it is already necessary to consider the conscientious and moral reasoning of the society. And the fact that this attack has happened 14 times reveals how organized, obsessive and hateful a mass actually is against these children and their families. Considering that it is society that creates this mass, it would be appropriate to talk about a serious corruption in society. At the same time, it is clear that the state does not stand by these children and their families enough and does not produce policies to prevent discrimination and violence. These perpetrators of violence WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 146 must be getting this courage from impunity and the discriminatory policies produced by the state and the system. Funda Gamze's mother. 54 years old. About to retire. Gamze is 33 years old. 1) "She experiences her emotions very intensely about everything. When she gets angry and becomes obsessed when she doesn't get what she wants. When she doesn't get what she wants, she doesn't get out of that situation for a long time, she becomes obsessed. When she doesn't get what she wants, she stubbornly continues the behavior she wants. For example, we are on the bus, she does not get off the bus or she has a fit of anger. She throws tantrums when she doesn’t get what she wants. The correct answer is very important to her. For example, when she sees people snoring, she makes that behavior more intense. For example, she shouts more when she is told to shut up. If someone says "don't shout" at her, she will shout more." In the answer given to this question by Gamze's mother, Funda, it is mentioned that Gamze’s feelings are very intense. And it is mentioned that she gets angry when she does not get what she wants and gets stuck with the situation she's in. It is also mentioned that WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 147 when she could not get correct answers to the questions she asked, she realized that the answers were not correct. In other words, Gamze can understand people's sincerity and whether they give correct answers. And in order to establish positive communication with her, it is necessary that the other people should not go against her. In fact, Gamze's realization that she could not get correct answers to her questions tells a lot about autism and autistic individuals. Unfortunately, autistic individuals are ignored and devalued by saying "their perception or intelligence is low" in society. Autistic individuals are not given the right to speak and it can become very easy for people to decide for their "well-being". And to label them as "low intelligence and perception" means social exclusion. They are exposed to exclusion both in their existence, in the fields of education or profession they need to receive, and in every aspect of society. They are not given the right to speak and choose in society. More precisely, their rights and freedoms are being usurped by the neurotypical society. Gamze, in addition to understanding that the answers given to her are not correct, can also perceive that people do not answer her correctly and that they are lying to her. And I think the reason why she gets so angry and stuck in this situation is because she realizes she is being ignored. I think she may be feeling and thinking that her existence is being ignored and not valued and disrespected. In fact her "angry" reactions are a response to these people and society. She does not express this situation and how she feels clearly with words, but she clearly shows her feelings and her WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 148 body language tells everything very clearly. In other words, Gamze got angry and actually said to these people, "Do not ignore my existence, respect my existence and give me correct answers. I can understand whether your answers are correct. Value my existence and do not lie." She means this. To me this is very clear. And when she realizes that people around her are actually trying to change her behavior, she wants to protect her boundaries. When she does not want to get off the bus, it makes her very angry when another person tries to intervene. She may understand the situation here as an intervention or attack on her personal space, boundaries, preferences and existence. 2) "She is a very adaptable child when she is well and has no pain anywhere. When she's psychologically good too. Then she is very happy and in a good mood. She comes when I tell her to come, she goes when I tell her to go. But when she is stubborn; when anger, stubbornness, and obsession come together, she breaks. She also resorts to violence when she does not get what she wants." According to what Funda tells, her child experiences anger very intensely and even physically attacks another person and cannot control herself at this point. According to her parent, she does what her parents say when she's in a good mood. Then Gamze seems to be open to communication. That is, when there is no situation that bothers, upsets or angers her; I think we can say that when she does not feel like she is ignored, she is not angry and WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 149 is open to communication. This shows how open autistic individuals are to communication when their needs are met and they feel safe and accepted by society and their families. And it is observed that this change in their well-being is also reflected in their behavior. In fact, the fact that Gamze is so angry that she resorts to physical violence and that she cannot control herself tells a lot. I know there are many people who will or have already labeled Gamze as "selfish" or "disrespectful" for behaving this way. And unfortunately, I think these people are in the majority. I think that these people do not empathize with Gamze and do not prefer to do so. Could it be that she feels helpless enough to physically attack someone? Could it be that she feels so endangered? Could it be that she senses an attack from outside? Or maybe she feels so misunderstood that she feels the need to defend herself? Or is it easy for people to label her with adjectives like "disrespectful" "rude" "aggressive" "selfish"? Have these people ever thought that it is they who are selfish? Why does an autistic individual make noise? Or why would an autistic individual resort to physical violence or is it self-defense? I would like people to think about the reasons for these and try to empathize with autistic individuals. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 150 3) "In order for her well-being to develop, she needs to receive the same education at home as she received at school. The education given at home when we find time and the attention of her sister are also very important. When she doesn't get the answer she wanted from her sister in the way she wanted, she also turns into anger and shouts more. But what a shout. In order for well-being to develop, she needs constant attention, the right calm and patient attention. With a strong and determined voice. Neither shouting nor giving too much what she wants without shouting. Neither harsh nor excessively pampered. When you say it firmly and properly. And when eye contact is made. She doesn't take anything you say when she doesn't make eye contact. When she's well, she takes what she's told. When she is angry, obsessed, she does not receive, does not hear, does not see. She will experience that anger at that moment." Funda realized the importance of education and the attention of family members for her child. At the same time, she realized that she should not do or allow some behaviors that are some parenting attitudes that can be troublesome for children: Not to do whatever her child wants, but not to break her heart while doing it. In addition, Funda noticed that when her child did not make eye contact, what she said did not reach her. I think this awareness is very important for effective communication. In addition to what Gamze's mother said, I also had the chance to observe this effective communication she established with her child. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 151 And after observing Gamze, I also thought that she was generally social and happy, relaxed and acted that way. I think that her parent value her and that she does not just talk about what she says, but also puts it into her behavior for her child. Funda also mentioned that Gamze had a very intense feeling of anger and that this feeling prevented her from communicating. She stated that she was stuck with the current emotion and environment. In other words, it can be said that Gamze, an autistic individual, is closed to communication when she is angry. The disturbing intense anger she feels prevents her from hearing and understanding what is being said to her. So, in this case, I think that it is necessary to identify the environments and situations that disturb and anger her, and to keep her away from these environments and situations. In addition, despite this effort to keep her away, if she still gets into these situations in some way, then the anger she feels should be accepted and her emotions should not be tried to change or prevent. Her feelings should be respected and tried to understand her. When she feels that, I think her anger will subside. In other words, I think that this feeling of anger will decrease when she feels and realizes that her existence and feelings are respected. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 152 4)"These kind of kids are affected by everything. Family structure affects a lot. She cannot come to the crowd, the sound, the noise outside. Especially the rumble, the sound. It used to be a hair dryer, vacuum cleaner. To them, even the smallest sound sounds like the biggest in the world. It affects a lot. We talked too many autistic families and they say the same. She likes slow music, calm atmosphere, peaceful music and bird sounds. Flowers, butterflies…" It is frequently revealed that autistic individuals are generally sensitive to the sounds, noises in social spaces and the sounds made by various electronic devices, and so on. Her parent have made it very clear that Gamze has a similar sensitivity for noises. Funda also stated that Gamze likes quieter sounds such as calm music and bird sounds rather than the chaotic sounds of the society. These are calm sounds as opposed to the noisy sounds they disturb. From here, it is very possible to understand how sensitive autistic individuals are about disturbing and loud sounds and noise. At the same time, I should also point out that I actually think that society in general is noisy. In other words, a society where people do not respect each other's boundaries and violate each other's boundaries. In other words, it can be said that many people are disturbed by the sounds and noises that autistic individuals are disturbed by. So to me it is not abnormal or strange to be disturbed by these sounds and noises. I know that there are many people WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 153 who use headphones because they are uncomfortable with the noises caused by people on the road or outside, even on public transport. Some people are unfortunately talking loudly, shouting, insulting and swearing outside. And I find it normal for autistic individuals to be disturbed by noises outside and noises made by people. 5) "I haven't come across things that she finds funny, but now her new perception is more open. She's like a normal kid when she's happy, when her perception is clear, when her brain isn't set in front of her. Most people don't know this. I'm tired of telling people this. For example, no one can force her to get off the bus when she does not want to get off. Unless she gets up herself, the crane cannot lift her if it comes. For example, it can be a celebration or event that she likes very much, she loves places with music, but it will not be crowded and loud. There should be only a handful of people. Or the environment will be empty. For example, when the beach is empty when we go to the summerhouse. She likes calm, musical, colorful lights. She likes the moon, she likes the moon to come out at night. She usually repeats what I say. I say "the moon goes out at night", and she repeats it. Some nights she laughs out loud, and I think she's awake, but she's actually asleep. She can't sleep at night without me. She holds my hand, wants me to stroke her hair, wants me to sing a song. She also wants me to dance, she takes my hand and wants us to dance together." WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 154 Gamze's parent said that when Gamze's perceptions were not clear, there was nothing that she found funny. In the answer to the previous question, she mentioned that Gamze communicates when her perceptions are clear. Then, it can be said that when she can communicate with her environment, situations that she finds funny and that she likes can occur around her. Gamze, an autistic individual, has situations that she likes, makes her happy and finds it funny. And it can be said very clearly that there are situations that autistic individuals find funny and make them laugh. In other words, Gamze and other autistic individuals can be happy and laugh as well as get angry. And they can show their feelings in some ways. That is, it is clear that they feel and show their emotions. When Gamze is happy, she shows it with her body language and shows it clearly. In addition, when we look at the situations that make Gamze, as an autistic individual, happy, it is seen that there are not difficult things to do, but easy things that will make other children happy as well. (Like wanting to spend time with her parent, asking her parent to show her affection and to sing a song, dancing with her parent). In other words, their wishes are far from those that a parent would have difficulty in making for their child, and parents can easily make these requests for their children. And they should. 6) "I've heard it because it's about the brain, because it's neurological." WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 155 I think many people can guess what this movement is and what it is advocated for, thanks to the word "neuro" in the name "neurodiversity". Of course, I think people and parents who have more to do with autism predict higher rates. 7) "My daughter is hyperactive. In autism, they become extremely hyperactive when they are kid. Education, a great deal of attention, family interest, education both at home and at school can cause a greater awakening. There is already hyperactivity in autism, which becomes neurological. When it comes to a good family and a good family structure, it can be done together. Everyone can support each other and somehow normalize the autistic individual, who is severe, and cause awakening in the child. The wall in front of the child, the set with a very good behavior; it can be removed with a pull. Grandma, aunt, these are very important. When she comes to visit, people should treat her very well, people's behavior is very important. They are affected by everything. Autism is so different that the education received as a child is very important. It is very important between 0-1 and 0-7 years old. It is possible to reach a very good level with the support of the family. Because these children are so good at perceiving the objects they see, motor skills and eye contact. You think she's not interested, you think she's WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 156 indifferent, uninterested, but they have a world of their own. You teach something, or you say something, but what she herself knows before, she presses on you. This is also called obsession." Funda states that Gamze has hyperactivity. But she also emphasized the importance of education, attention and family factors. She especially talked about the importance of education at home in addition to school. In other words, all parents should give education to their children, but it should be noted that the education that the parents of autistic children should give should be different and special. Funda thinks that hyperactivity is neurological, but she also emphasized the importance of family and education. She also talked about the importance of other family members' behaviors towards Gamze. For example, she mentioned that if Gamze is not treated well, she understands and is uncomfortable. In other words, autistic individuals can distinguish between good and bad behaviors and they react to negative and rude behaviors done to them. Autistic individuals, individuals with neurodiversity or individuals with mental disabilities are thought to be unconscious towards their environment by most people. It is even thought that these people do not understand what is spoken next to them. And unfortunately, there are many people who talk negatively and hurtfully about them when they are around. It can be said that many people do the same behavior also with every child, WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 157 and this is unfortunately very common. Although it is mostly done to autistic or intellectually disabled children, we see that neurotypical children are also treated in this way. In general, many people think that children will not understand what is spoken next to them, but this thought is unfortunately more for autistic children. It is seen that Funda has also identified the issues that her child and other autistic individuals are good at. She mentioned that they are good at perceiving the objects they see, motor skills and making eye contact. She also mentioned that Gamze is stuck with certain situations and emotions. She stated that when she is stuck in these feelings and situations, she is closed to communication and does not listen to what is said. In other words, she cannot be communicated when she is stuck in some situations and emotions. And considering that this stuck situation and emotions are giving her trouble, I think that in order to communicate effectively, it is necessary to analyze these emotions and situations first. And of course, when autistic individuals are stuck in certain situations and emotions and become angry and closed to communication, it is necessary not to ignore their feelings and not to react negatively to them. Neva Gamze's sister, Neva. 26 years old. Graduated from the Department of Oral and Dental WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 158 Health. 1) "My sister is feeling her emotions very intense, as if a volcano is erupting inside her. Quite loudly, unable to control the tone of her voice. And she reflects her emotions in a way that includes the people around her in this enthusiasm. This is how she lives joy. When she is angry, she shows it in the opposite way but with the same intensity as when she is happy. When she gets angry, her reactions are often to us and her surroundings. And she prefers to show it stubbornly with us. Sometimes there is a tendency to resort to violence. The best way to avoid this tantrum is to let her do what she wants and wait for her anger to pass. She doesn't like to have her emotions interfered with too much. Maybe she expects us to understand her too." Gamze's sister, Neva mentioned that when Gamze is angry, they should let her do what she wants and wait for her anger to subside. In other words, It seems like she also realized that when Gamze gets angry, they should not try to inhibit her feelings and not react to her. And as it can be understood from the last sentence, Neva realized that when her sister got angry, her feelings should not be interfered with. And at the same time, she realized that Gamze actually needed to be understood by people around her. In other words, she realized that WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 159 the reason why Gamze shows her emotions intensely and gets very angry is actually the way she expresses herself and her existence, and the need to be understood. This reality, which is noticed by Neva, who is a family member of autistic individual, needs to be also noticed and understood by other individuals in the society. In other words, the main reason why autistic individuals get angry and react angry should be considered. Could the real reason for their angry reaction be that their existence and feelings are being ignored by society? And could it be that being ignored also makes them feel so helpless and vulnerable? And might they be actually trying to express their feelings by reacting in this way? So Gamze might actually means "hear me, don't ignore me, don't restrict my freedom, accept and respect my presence, existence and feelings"? I think that neurotypical individuals in society should consider these questions before judging autistic individuals. 2) "I think that when my sister is well, there is really nothing she cannot do or achieve. At her own will. She can adapt to everything more when she feels well. And in connection with this, we encounter more positive things in her development. This state of well-being is generally independent of us, and it can reflect on the outside even when we do not expect it in her inner world. Of course, doing things to reinforce this well-being often encourages her to adapt. Her ability to feel well is usually shaped by the reactions she receives from her WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 160 environment and their approach. At home, she can regulate her actions with the same approach she sees from her family and expects everything to be as she wishes." Neva said that when her sister is well, she adapts better to everything. According to what Gamze's mother Funda said in the interview; when Gamze is not angry and is not stuck with a situation or emotion, she listens to what is said and is open to communication. It seems that her sister Neva actually said similar things about Gamze. When Gamze is not angry and well, she does not get stuck with certain situations and emotions and can adapt better to her environment. In other words, we can say that she is better aware of her surroundings when she is not stuck in situations and emotions. Neva also stated that the communication with Gamze and the reaction of the environment and other people affected her a lot. In fact, the interaction with the environment and the behavior of the people around them also affect neurotypical and autistic individuals. However, it can be predicted that this effect may be more in neurodiverse people and autistic individuals. The reason why they are more affected by negative reactions is that they are exposed to discrimination and violence more than neurotypical individuals and they are generally more fragile or vulnerable than neurotypical individuals. They are also less likely to find support and solidarity after being exposed to systematic discrimination WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 161 and violence than are neurotypical individuals, which also lowers their resilience and contributes to their overall vulnerability. In addition, Gamze’s older sister, Neva, mentioned that Gamze expects everything to be as she wishes. When everything does not go as she wishes, I think that this affects her negatively. She may be feeling frustration or anger. And at this point, it is necessary to communicate effectively with her. Unfortunately, not everyone gets what they want all the time. And for her to understand this, it will be very important for her well-being and mental health. But of course, when she feels angry or feels her emotions too intensely, what is said does not reach her. That is why I think it is necessary to talk to her about this when she is calm. And, of course, the way of speaking is also very important. I think it should be spoken to her in a calm, understanding and caring tone and with eye contact. According to her parent, when eye contact is made with Gamze, what is said can reach her. And of course, she cannot be reached with words when she is in the emotions and situations in which she is stuck. I think that it is necessary to wait for that emotion and situation to pass, not to try to prevent it, and to accept and understand the emotion. 3) "My sister's well-being can progress if she is shown the necessary dedication, understanding, tolerance, interest, polite language and sincerity in a truly sincere WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 162 manner, no matter what the circumstances. I think that the education she received from school is insufficient. In my opinion, if an education awareness is created in schools that can be approached with the same sensitivity and belief of success, not only to young children, but also to children who have reached certain maturity, much more awareness can be raised in the society. In fact, no matter how old she is, switching to a more systematic education system without sacrificing some things will be a more correct step for the field to progress in a healthy and efficient way. Likewise, raising awareness of the society about autism, conducting it simultaneously with the education system, encouraging people from all walks of life, will contribute to the encouragement of people with such families." Here, Neva mentioned that autistic adults do not receive the necessary education in a sufficient way. In the meantime, I would like to state that I personally question whether they should be called adults or whether they should be evaluated in the category of adult individuals. Honestly, autistic children generally do not have access to a secure special education and other education that they need to receive if they don’t have financial support from their families. Especially if the socioeconomic level of the family is low, it becomes impossible to receive these education. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 163 While the situation is like this in the special education of autistic children, this insufficiency is also seen in the education that "adult" autistic individuals should receive, and Neva also emphasized this insufficiency. I think there is a general lack of empathy problem in societies. It is easier to blame or try to change autistic individuals, to try to put them under pressure, to use discrimination and violence, and not to accept their existence; instead of thinking, investigating and trying to understand the reasons why an autistic individual "overreacts" to a situation as they think for example, or why they cannot adapt to certain situations. I think that people do not respect other individuals in general and they do this disrespect more especially towards people who look different from themselves. I think that they treat other living beings who look different or do not belong to the group they belong to, as if they were objects without feelings. And unfortunately, this is very common. 4) "First of all, the family factor, which has a great impact even on normal individuals, comes first. Family is the first step in achieving something in life. Whatever is seen in the family, everyone, including the child and relatives, will be affected by this movement of change. The education level, approach and awareness of families will be the most important factor affecting the society in the future. Because a conscious family also created a conscious society. As long WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 164 as people who don't know you don't understand the life you live and society causes you more difficulties, families with such different children will experience great difficulties in the socialization phase. Considering the family and the psychology experienced by the family, very well-equipped studies are carried out abroad, including private life. I think that such approaches are insufficient in our country. I do not expect success with a dry education. There are individuals in our society that we can count as normal who have so many psychological problems. Not correcting them is even a set in the progress of children with such differences." I think family is the most important factor. In other words, I think the family is not one of the most important factors, but the most important one. Neva also mentioned relatives. One parent or parents, in addition to siblings, if any, parents' relatives may also be in contact with autistic individuals, and this communication may affect autistic individuals positively or negatively. Unfortunately, we often encounter the situation of relatives violating the boundaries of individuals. And I think this violation is even greater for autistic individuals. Relatives may see it as their right to interfere with the feelings and behaviors of autistic individuals. Of course, they may also have positive effects, if they treat autistic individuals consciously and correctly. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 165 The people in the lives of autistic individuals can affect them positively as well as negatively. In fact, I think that this will be sufficient when relatives, acquaintances and strangers are treated with respect and do not violate their boundaries and rights, instead of doing anything extra to an autistic individual. Treating all people with respect, including autistic individuals, is certainly not an extra treat for them. I think it would be very devastating for them to be exposed to the violations of rights and borders, and to bullying by their acquaintances or relatives, which they are often exposed to from people outside. And Neva said that conscious families will create conscious societies. I totally agree with that, and it is a very important point. Families are the main factor for the mental health and education of their children. There are many people who have difficulties in life or relationships when they become adults due to traumas caused by their families. It can be said that this situation is more challenging for neurodiverse and autistic individuals. In addition, the child learns respect from the family. Respect for other living beings. Parents who have this awareness pass it on to their children. Neva also mentioned the difficulties experienced by the families of autistic individuals due to the attitudes of other individuals in the society. She also mentioned that people who are seen as "normal" in society hinder the progress of autistic children. Considering that there WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 166 are many individuals with personality disorders, it can be said that these people unfortunately have attitudes and behaviors that will disturb autistic individuals and their families. Individuals who do not prefer to empathize and do not respect the boundaries of others can be quite challenging and damaging for other individuals. I think it would be quite realistic to say that these individuals mostly target groups and individuals who are disadvantaged and more vulnerable in society. It can be said that there are autistic individuals, neurodiverse individuals and generally their families among these vulnerable and disadvantaged groups. It seems to me that as long as autistic individuals are not protected from this violence and discrimination by the state and society, their existence is not respected and their birthrights continue to be violated, unfortunately, these groups and individuals will continue to target them and violate their borders. In fact, the state and society will not give them anything extra, they will not violate their existing rights. Rights such as safe housing, education, security, protection against violence are basic human rights. 5) "What makes my sister laugh is usually doing what she wants, buying new things for her. To take care of her with great affection no matter what the circumstances, and take care of her in every environment. Interested in all kinds of music and participating in activities with this music. Taking her WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 167 to open spaces where she can feel free and comfortable. To spend as much time as possible with the materials (legos) of her own determination and the members of the household make her wishes come first by making sacrifices. Traveling by car, private vehicle (hates public transport). To be able to have a more comfortable and problem-free lifestyle. To be able to eat and drink something privately, someone serving her food and drink, to be able to communicate with people in environments that are not very crowded but allow sociability. Enjoys spending time with animals. She has a special interest in butterflies, they are very special to her. I can say these things." In fact, according to what Neva said, it seems that Gamze is happy with the things that neurotypical children also are happy with. So it seems like there is no need for anything different, difficult or inaccessible, to make her happy. It can be said that she is happy with very applicable actions. I also observed that many children do not like public transport. I observe many children crying in public transport. Crowded, sometimes hot or cold, a closed place and not comfortable for many children. Public transport is a place that also many adults do not like. But of course, it can be predicted that it is more challenging for autistic individuals than for many neurotypical individuals. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 168 Gamze’s younger sister, Neva, stated that being on public transport is one of the things Gamze does not like. She also talked about some of the other things she liked. These may be more, or they may change over time. But it seems to me that it is very clearly noticed that the likes and dislikes of Gamze, an autistic individual, are not at all different from the likes and dislikes of neurotypical individuals. In other words, considering that autistic individuals are marginalized and treated as aliens, I think that society never really looks at these individuals, never tries to understand them. They do not see that autistic individuals are not that different from themselves and I do not think they even try to empathize with them. I think it satisfies their egos by putting pressure, marginalization and violence on living beings they see as different and vulnerable. This is a very serious moral problem and shows what a troubled society we live in. Groups that do not respect and violate each other's personal boundaries do this more often to groups that cannot defend themselves. Autistic individuals who made fragile and disadvantaged by society are also among the groups in which they commit these acts of violence. 6) "I did not hear. But when I hear neurodiversity, there are some thoughts that come to my mind." WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 169 7) "I would like to summarize neurodiversity by starting from the word "neuro". Unusual working movement at different junctions in different parts of the brain compared to normal. I can add this. It is a difference that includes individuals who draw attention with their behaviors and perceptions in society compared to people we can consider normal in our society." I found this definition of neurodiversity very understandable and important. The explanation "draw attention with their behaviors and perceptions" actually revealed very well how neurodiverse individuals are perceived in society in general. When we consider other conditions that are included in neurodiversity, it can be said that neurodiverse people generally draw attention in society. In fact, when we say "they draw attention" it sounds as if it is something they did on purpose and the responsibility belongs to them. So this seems like a sentence that accuses autistic individuals. However, the fact that the society focuses on them, and often in a negative way, is not autistic individuals' responsibility but the responsibility of the neurotypical individuals in the society. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 170 When people see someone different from themselves in the neurotypical society, a lot of them see their right to take actions such as excluding, trying to isolate, stigmatizing or not respecting their boundaries, violating their boundaries without questioning or researching. These are clearly acts of oppression and psychological violence. The pressure applied to autistic individuals is also violence. And they are trying to normalize these acts of violence in society. In their perceptions, these acts of marginalization and violence are already "legitimate" or "normal". In other words, according to them, these othering, violence, and actions that do not respect the boundaries of autistic individuals are "normalized". It is actually a collective mentality. I think in addition to the fact that they have not learned to respect other living beings and their personal boundaries, they also have inner motivation to dominate and use violence who they see as different and "weak" from themselves. I think that these people who discriminate against autistic individuals, use violence against them and do not respect their boundaries, deeply enjoy their unrespectful behaviors and satisfy their egos. I think that the root of these behaviors is their inferiority feeling and underdeveloped personality. By the way, I do not think everyone with a fragile self is behaving that way. I think it is the actions of people who have not developed their characters morally and conscientiously. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 171 And I think it is more based on taught and unquestioned hatred and motivation to crush down those they see weaker than themselves rather than fear. And of course I think it is based on the mindset that is taught and that people do not question and do not want to change and also unfortunately deeply enjoy others' (In this example, autistic individuals, whom they see as "weaker" than themselves) suffering and pain. CONCLUSION In the conclusion part, it would be appropriate to give a summary of all chapters. In Chapter 1, it is aimed to give information about autism and neurodiversity movement. At the same time, it is aimed to answer the question of why the neurodiversity movement was formed. At the same time, opinions about other methods applied on autistic individuals are also included. It was also stated that autism is not a disease, disorder or deficiency and that autistic individuals should not be labeled as such. And these labels cause discrimination. At the same time, the society's efforts to change autistic individuals and the medical model were criticized in this chapter. Discrimination and violence suffered by WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 172 autistic individuals in society were also included, and a connection was established between all these and neurodiversity movement. The aim of Chapter 1 is also to draw attention to the violation of rights, violence and discrimination that autistic individuals are exposed to in the neurotypical society by advocating the neurodiversity movement. It is also stated that autistic individuals have strengths and these are ignored by the society. And the psychological problems experienced by autistic individuals were also included, and the neurodiversity movement was also advocated for the solutions. Chapter 2 is about the emotions and emotion recognitions of autistic individuals. The basic emotions, happiness and fear, were mentioned. The purpose of this chapter is to challenge the labeling and discrimination of autistic individuals as "inadequate" for emotions and emotion recognition. It is to oppose the neurotypical society, which predicts that they do not feel and perceive emotions. In other words, it was stated that they were not "lack" or "deficient" but different in terms of expressing emotions. It was stated that they understood and expressed emotions. Various studies and comments have been made against the portrayal of autistic individuals as "low intelligence" or "low perception". At the same time, the pressure and control effort that autistic individuals are exposed to in the neurotypical society and family are mentioned. It has been stated that society is responsible for discrimination. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 173 Chapter 3 is about familial and social factors that affect the well-being of autistic individuals. While autistic individuals are at greater risk of rights violations, violence and discrimination, it should be said that autistic children and adults whose families are more socioeconomically disadvantaged are also at greater risk. In this chapter, the factor of clinicians and researchers, staff members, school and teachers and peers has been identified as important factors affecting the well-being of autistic individuals. In other words, it can be said that everyone with whom autistic individuals communicate and who are in their lives greatly affects their lives. It can be said that autistic individuals are exposed to many rights violations due to these factors and groups. But it doesn't have to be this way. Positive effects are also very possible and very important. And these are mentioned in this chapter. In Chapter 4, well-being resources of autistic individuals were mentioned. Autistic individuals are deprived of their basic rights and therefore experience many difficulties. In addition to the usurpation of their basic rights by society and the state, they are in a state of constant exclusion by society and the state. As a result of this exclusion, they feel very bad psychologically and this attitude hurts them a lot. Unfortunately, they may even feel guilt and shame because of these rights violations, discrimination and violence. And two titles, "solidarity" and "acceptance", were opened about the well-being of autistic individuals. To include them in society and to build solidarity with them against the violations of their rights, violence and discrimination. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 174 Chapter 5 is about where and how the concept of humor takes place in the lives of autistic individuals. Some articles related to this topic have been reviewed. There are articles written about the concept of humor generally not as it is in neurotypical individuals for autistic individuals, that is, it may be different. Chapter 6 is about the well-being of autistic individuals and the conditions required to increase their well-being. Three titles have been opened as family, school and environment. It has been mentioned that schools are designed for neurotypical children and unfortunately autistic children and individuals are exposed to many rights violations and acts of violence in schools and the requirements for preventing these rights violations. Environment is also very effective on the lives and well-being of autistic individuals. All environmental conditions, factors, places and people are affecting them. In Chapter 7, the concepts of "sustainability" and "inclusiveness" were mentioned through the posts of a platform called autism.tv, which also advocates neurodiversity. How important these concepts are for the life and well-being of autistic individuals and what they mean are explained. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 175 In the last chapter, Chapter 8, an interview was made with the parents and/or siblings of autistic children and an autistic adult. Autistic childrens' special education kindergarten was in the province of Izmir in Turkey and comments and reviews about it are included. It was aimed to communicate with family members of autistic individuals, to ask questions about their children/siblings and thus to include them and their experiences in the study. In fact, subsequent studies and future research may give more voice autistic individuals and their family members, friends or people close to them. Future research can directly include their experiences and what they say. So I think there can be more awareness about autistic individuals and autism. At the same time, solidarity with autistic individuals and their family members will be established. It is a fact that many autistic individuals and their family members are exposed to exclusion and marginalization by society. I think it would be very important to give them a voice so that they do not feel alone and that they feel that they are cared for. I think that in future studies, it will be very meaningful to reach autistic individuals who can and want to answer questions or share experiences in addition to family members of autistic individuals. At the same time, not only family members, but also friends or other individuals with whom autistic individuals are in close contact can be included. Additionally, better information can be obtained this way. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 176 While I was writing this thesis, I gained a lot of theoretical knowledge thanks to the articles I read. But the conversations I had with the parents of autistic children and the parent and sibling of an adult autistic individual also taught me a lot. I also had the chance to observe autistic children in a special education kindergarten and then observe an autistic adult. At the special education kindergarten, I also had the chance to observe how they treat autistic children and how autistic children communicate with them. Afterwards, while interviewing the parent and sibling of an autistic adult, I had the chance to observe how they behaved towards their child/sibling. And I observed how the autistic individual communicated with them. And I also had the chance to communicate with them at the same time. So I can say that all these have been a good experience for me as well. In future studies, it will be very important and necessary to communicate with autistic individuals, to be able to talk, and to be able to listen to their experiences and transfer these experiences to the thesis or study. In this study, the experiences of autistic individuals were not included, but this can be recommended for future studies. In other words, an interview with autistic individuals, children and adults as well as their parents and family members will be much better. Autistic children or adults in different schools, special education centers or groups can be reached. All this knowledge and experience can be shared in future studies and theses by talking to autistic individuals who can express themselves, their parents, other family members, and even their close circle and friends, if possible. In fact, factors such as age groups and occupation can be emphasized for autistic individuals who will participate in the study. Of course, a more detailed interpretation and inference can be WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 177 made about autistic individuals by considering their families, friends, educational opportunities and other opportunities. However, while doing this, attention should be paid to privacy rights and the consent of autistic individuals who will participate in the study and give interviews or share their experiences should be obtained. Names should be changed, addresses and identity information should not be shared. No sharing should be made about private information such as their identities and, for example, where they live, and both the privacy rights and the security of the participants should be protected. Informing and empowering autistic individuals about neurodiversity will also be very beneficial for their self-confidence and well-being. Their resilience will be strengthened and they will know how to protect themselves physically and psychologically against the violence and discrimination they are exposed to and they will not be adversely affected. Or they can be affected very little and it will not cause trauma. At least, if they are still subjected to violence, this can be what is intended. So that, autistic people will not see themselves, their own existence and being autistic as the responsible and cause of violence and discrimination, violations of rights and borders against them. And so they will not blame themselves. Of course, these gains cannot be achieved by simply explaining neurodiversity. At the same time, their families should treat them with love and respect. And their families must have been able to provide them with a secure bond. When they can get the feeling of trust from their families and feel valued, WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 178 their self-confidence will be high in the society and they will not feel inferior or worthless than other people. In fact, this is true for all children, not just autistic children. In other words, in order for them to be self-confident and feel safe in the world, the behavior of their families towards them and whether their families have established a secure bond with them are in the first place in my opinion. If their families also know about neurodiversity, I think this will positively affect their mental health and well-being of families. As such, they reflect this positive mood to their children. As a result, autistic children, whose families have provided them with a secure bond and thus have been able to establish a secure bond with their families, do not feel more deficient, defective, or wrong than other neurotypical individuals in the society. Even if someone treats them this way, I think they will not be negatively affected when they know how to react. Because their resilience will be high. In other words, when the resilience against violence and discrimination attempts is high, the situation of being affected negatively and traumatically decreases. I think that when perpetrators of violence see someone who is self-confident and unaffected, their motivation to commit acts of violence decreases. Of course, autistic individuals should not be given the responsibility of preventing violent acts by perpetrators of violence. Because the responsibility of this prevention should be in the state and society. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 179 Autistic individuals should be treated equally with neurotypical individuals in society. Both by the public and by government agencies. For this, it is necessary to raise awareness of society. I see the state as the biggest actor in this awareness. The state should adopt rights-based equalizing policies instead of exclusionary policies. It can be said that autistic individuals do not have access to basic human rights worldwide. In the first place, they do not have access to their rights to security and education. These are the responsibility of the state. And the state has a duty to treat its citizens equally. But unfortunately, we see that states carry out policies that exclude autistic individuals. The state also has an obligation to protect its citizens against violence. And this obligation should also apply to autistic individuals. The discriminatory and exclusionary policies of states should not be accepted. In order to protect autistic individuals against violence and discrimination, it is necessary to raise awareness of individuals in the society. I see the institution that has the power to do this as the state. At the same time, the rights of autistic individuals should be legally secured. Individuals who commit violence and rights violations against autistic individuals should also find effective laws and penal sanctions against them. This should apply to all groups that have been disadvantaged by society and whose rights have been violated. Instead of waiting for these groups to defend themselves against violence and violations of rights and prevent violence against them, the state should do that self-defense. In addition, the state is obliged to treat all its citizens equally and to protect WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 180 its citizens against violence and violations of rights. In addition to training and awarenessraising activities, criminal sanctions should be established or increased. I find the expression and dissemination of neurodiversity very important at the point of education. I think that many people who work with autistic individuals do not know about neurodiversity. I think that people who have neurodiversity knowledge and accept neurodiversity will pay more attention to their behavior towards autistic individuals. It will be very useful for people who look down on autistic individuals and exhibit negative behaviors to learn about the neurodiversity movement. It must be admitted that neurodiversity is still new around the world. Articles written on neurodiversity, experts and academics who advocate it, people working with autistic individuals and the general public are far from the concept of neurodiversity. There are family members of autistic individuals who have never heard of this concept or do not know it fully. In addition to articles and books, educational seminars on neurodiversity should be given to those working with autistic individuals, family members of autistic individuals and the public, and they should be informed about neurodiversity. For example, parents of non-autistic children should be invited to the seminar to be given at the school where an autistic child is studying. This education on neurodiversity should be given to both autistic children and non-autistic classmates of autistic children. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 181 In other words, autistic individuals should be seen as equal to neurotypical individuals in society. More precisely, neurotypical individuals should not see themselves as superior to autistic individuals, but as equal to them. The real problem is the pressure, violence and domination of the neurotypical society on autistic individuals. Since they see themselves as superior to autistic individuals, they feel entitled to commit all these rights violations. In this respect, it is necessary to educate the neurotypical society. Ableism is a form of discrimination that is frequently encountered around the world. And a lot of ableist people do not actually admit that they discriminate. Ableism is also a form of discrimination that living things suffer due to their innate characteristics such as speciesism, sexism, and racism. They are exposed to this form of discrimination by society because of their physical or mental differences or disabilities. Many autistic individuals and their families are negatively affected by ableism. It is not necessary to say anything directly to autistic individuals for ableism is done, but it can be based on some behaviors. And these behaviors negatively affect autistic individuals. WELL-BEING OF AUTISTIC INDIVIDUALS 182 For example, speaking for them, making decisions, making bossy sentences, or using words such as "autistic", "disabled" as an insult to someone else are examples of ableism. But it is not easy to explain that this is discrimination because many people have normalized it, unfortunately. LAST NOTE There are many individuals in the society who use violence, discriminate, violate their rights and boundaries, and marginalize autistic individuals. But at the same time, I think that these rights violations and violence are so much because of the people who remain silent about all these. It is very clear that what has been done is not only done to autistic individuals, but also to other groups who are left at a disadvantage in the society, who are seen as "powerless" and "weak". And against this discrimination in general, discrimination is also violence, I think there is indifference and insensitivity. 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