Being autistic is just one way that someone can be ‘different.’ People can be different in various other ways such as their personality, abilities, sexuality, race, age, gender… etc. These are known as primary characteristics of diversity, which are inborn and cannot be changed. There are also secondary characteristics of diversity such as where someone lives, their religion, education, how they communicate, the language they use, how they look and dress, etc. When you consider all of these factors, there are actually so many people who are different from ourselves that we come across each day.
A major contributor to having serious mental health problems, for me, is that feeling of being different. I accept that I am different but I don’t want to always feel like I am. I know that a lot of autistic people feel the same way.
So how can society be adapted to help people feel less different which in turn might improve their mental health? Here are some ideas…