Those who have more money (usually the white-collar workers) or someone else’s money to spend (e.g., government controlled health insurance), don’t seem to know how some of us on the other side think.
I’m not complaining about having less money to spend than others or about not having man’s health insurance (God’s plan isn’t corrupted). I am actually quite thankful for my lot in life. The Prayer of Agur¹ might not be popular, but what can you expect when there are more fools than wise men?
I’m reading Michael John Carley’s book Asperger’s from the Inside Out. Like most books, it needs to be read cautiously. I can understand why he says what he does. Most Aspies would think and feel like he does, but not all do. I won’t get into every part of his book where I deviate, but I will bring up one statement though. It bugs me whenever I see subjective claims being expressed as objective ones. Here is an example:
I agree, support groups can create good feelings. I don’t agree with Carley’s blanket statement (on page 54) that Aspies need individualized therapy. Aspies can want this and maybe non-Christian Aspies do need it, but he should not speak for me. God only knows what I need and He always faithfully reveals it to me. When other agents enforce upon me what it is they think I need, they create problems in my life and then leave me to clean up the mess.
Whenever people corral others into their penned opinion, they can cause problems for those who are of a different herd. What makes this especially upsetting is the problem behind who gets to decide who are the appropriate therapists.² Yes, people get to choose their therapists, doctors, dentists, etc. (usually, but not always!). But… politics get the upper hand behind the scene. [Look at how the government's schools deal with issues they won't admit being unable to handle.] Laws get made like the Senate bill 6527-B, which directs the Commissioner of Heath to establish best practice protocols for the early screening of children for autism spectrum disorders (this was passed on July 27, 2008). I don’t know about anybody else, but to me, I see a lot of loop-holes here and vagueness that opens the door wide for people (who love money) to use people. Add to that potential chaos, misdiagnoses and hastily prescribed meds.³ What if it can be proven later that Aspergers does not belong on the Autism Spectrum and Aspie children are forced into the same treatment mold as Autie children?…then what? The repercussions could be enormous.
I can see that those (e.g., psychologist) who have it (i.e., money) don’t get it (comprehend) when you try to tell them you can’t afford to pay them what they are asking for. Usually they want $100 an hour, but they may settle for $40 instead if they think they’re not going to get the amount they’d like. That’s fine, but what isn’t okay is to assume that $40 a week (how many weeks is enough?) wouldn’t be missed from the ‘grocery’ money. Only the people living in the household know if $40/wk would be cutting into the entrée rather than desserts. It’s not for someone else to decide.
I know some (maybe all?) of what I’ve said here will be taken the wrong way, but I can’t do anything about that. To whoever may be upset by my words, I don’t mean to step on your toes. However, keep in mind I have just as many toes as any other person and they have feelings too.
¹Proverbs 30:7-9,
“Two things have I required of thee; deny me them not before I die:
Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.”
²Those who know the blessings learned in Psalm 1:1→ “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly.” ← would not find appropriate therapy in humanistic psychology for their life… useful information yes, therapy no.
³Long-term effects will reveal mistakes when the pharmaceutical industry doesn’t want to.
