[diversity-talk] Neurodiversity and CoC

[Jo Walsh]

Responding here to the neurodiversity points raised on the other thread.

[Disclaimer: I am neurodiverse. Participation in society comes at a high
personal cost which i can't always pay.]

This is a good read: http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Autism_is_to_blame

Here's the extreme case: http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Geek_defense

What we see here is *one kind* of neurodiversity raised to geek privilege
status, validated and protected. A diagnosis can provide a person with all
sorts of excuses. But all of us have our coping strategies, and by
tip-toeing around, we do not share them.

For example. I can cope with being at public social events if i know where
the sound sources are and where the exits are, better if I have someone to
talk to or something to focus on. It's easier not to do all this, easier to
stay home, hidden by a screen. But if i wanted to be out more, I could make
myself do it, develop new coping strategies. Some kind of mantra that I can
recite to myself in a corner while I adapt to a new social setting.

It helps me to interact with others in the same sort of position; to have a
safe space in which i can drop protocol and be very direct. So the
hackerspaces are like sanctuaries for me - a distributed social club for
anti-social people.

Frederik wrote:
> I understood the current content of the CoC to suggest calling out
> offending behaviour publicly as the first step.

> Serge then suggested that this might not be the right approach when
> dealing with neurodivergent people.

There should be one equitable process for all, yes, and a process should
not appear threatening to any person.

I don't know if this is addressing the concern's of Serge's anonymous
correspondant. The hot topic is "how can the community be more welcoming to
more kinds of people and illustrate that it is doing so".

There are difficulties over dispute resolution and the phrase in my mind is
"jury of one's peers". Here is one offer from me to you, the OSM community.
You can send Problematic Aspie Nerd Boy direct to me, and i'll give him the
cognitive workout of his bad dreams and we'll all emerge smiling.

Good luck! Sorry to drop the thread for a few days. You can imagine this
wasn't a very easy message to write.
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