They don't know better. They think they do, they need to think they do, but the don't. Honestly, we wouldn't do much better. Instead, we have to look for ways to help them reach us.

Who am I talking about? Family, Friends, Colleagues, Nuerotypicals & Autistic people.

At some point we have to know what we're talking about and being accredited is considered the standard for social achievement. We have a problem, us Autistic types who are starting to identify both for ourselves and those of us to have managed to make it through much of our lives without having to learn about our autism. The good news, is that people who can make it to the top without their own awareness of their own autism The bad news is, they can stay there without learning how to help those struggling with their identity in autism.

This is where the scientific narrative of autism fails us. As it is the loudest, tucked away in the DSM5 manual, there is simply a diagnostic framework on how to identify a child or adult "with autism." How do we, however, empower our autistic peers when we don't yet have a language of social reform and justice meant to inthrall and empower us?

This is the crux of our main argument against the scientific narrative. It is, at most, a framework meant to remove bias and refine observation and provide empirical evidence based on observation and repeated testing. It's beautiful when properly applied because it allows for a scientist with any sort of background, little by little, to chip away at their own biases and misconceptions about life and break things down to the most fundamental parts of what nature has to show us.

It's also extremely dehumanizing.

This is where the importance of soft science comes into play. It naturally builds empathy for its participants while scientists not yet familiar with the difference naturally gravitate towards harder science. This includes psychology. What do I mean by, "not yet familiar" with the difference?

What I mean is, does the scientist have the ability to pull back from pushing to hard. Capable of reversing course when an organism is in distress?

This is where incentives need to be exampled and huge debate still exists today around animal testing. There are controls in the FDA that govern the application of human based testing. Mice are specifically breed and naturally selected for their scientific purposes. Inhuman things are done to these animals because, well, the word is inhuman.

Where is the line?

Sentience. If an animal can feel something, it can think deeply about what is happening to it.

What about psychology?

We must learn to accept that the study of psychology can go both ways. Buttom up and top down. Just because an animal, human or not, can feel, doesn't mean we should stop paying attention to it. Infact, we should pay more attention to it with our feelings.

Humans like to dramatize nature as a brutal teacher, but the fact is, nature is probably the most gentle teacher available. If an environment doesn't suite your needs, your most likely course of action is to change the environment. When changing the environment, we have an opportunity to change who we are and change ourselves to the needs of the environment we live within. We often like to call this immersion, but really what it is for autistic types, it can be hugely disorienting. The impermanence of nature is a barrier for us, something we long for, to return to when our social struggles go unanswered. We like to return to a point in nature and start over.

What happens in our minds when this happens?

We repeat ourselves, but I misused we. We, Neurotypical and Autistic repeat ourselves. It gives the person we're talking to, an opportunity to lock into the correct memory. I noticed this first hand in myself, several times. When a phrase, feeling, or something goes unvalidated for a long enough time, it can turn into a longing for connection from a misconnected connection.

Knowing this in myself, I turned this behavior into a conscious effort with the latest individual it happened with. I began to understand it as a fork between emotions, where we remained friends and still are friends, but we had to go a different path. They had to do what they knew was right and I had to do what I knew was right. My capacity for empathy could see why they chose the different path. The path to put me down, so I kept the door open for them to come back to that moment where we had mutual respect for each other.

Science is about breaking down actions in nature into its most basic elements. Psychology is about the study of human behavior. What if our observations are quantum in nature? What if our behavior has a quantum element to it? Not just our emotions, our thoughts, or memory. What if our very interactivity requires a quantum awareness?

The tomato didn't say catch up, it said, hold on a minute. You're missing some salt.

I'll help you teach me better, but you have to be willing to relearn how to teach students. We'll take it slow, and I'll make sure it doesn't disrupt your life. However, you have to keep an open mind and talk with me when you feel an emotion. Thats how we rehumanize, or if you prefer, reharmonize.