I bet the Daily Mail doesn't publish this.....

In Response to the Daily Mail Campaign in Support of Gary McKinnon

Why was Gary McKinnon ‘obsessed’ with UFOs? Like very many people on the autism spectrum, he felt he did not ‘fit’. My guess he was looking, among other reasons, for himself in his search for extra terrestrial life. That figures. Many of us with the same condition as Gary feel they must be from another planet so it makes sense to go out there and look. His lack of imagination, which is typical of anyone with Asperger’s, did not appreciate the outcome and trouble he may have caused.

As someone with Asperger’s syndrome and the mother of two sons with the same condition, I applaud the Daily Mail in its campaign to get justice for Gary McKinnon. However, it is important to correct a few misconceptions over the condition.

Firstly, Asperger’s syndrome is not a mental health issue. Along with other autism spectrum conditions, it is neurological. My brain, basically, is wired differently from that of most other people and this goes for Gary McKinnon, my sons and many thousands of other people like us. We are not Asperger ‘victims’, as Saturday’s headline suggested. We are more likely to get mental health problems, such as depression, because the world can be so damn difficult to understand. Communication and self expression are really hard for people like us. Some, with classic autism, do not even bother to try and can have delayed speech. Nobody would dare to suggest a blind person was ‘victim’ to sight loss, or a wheelchair user ‘victim’ to mobility problems. As Jane Asher succinctly said, ours is a ‘hidden disability’. We can walk, talk, hear; most of us speak and certainly feel. Anyone with any form of disability would tell you the biggest obstacle they have in life is the prejudice of other people.

While the Daily Mail campaign is terrific in its awareness raising of Asperger’s syndrome, it must be said there are far more than a reasonable share of negative words and terminologies used. Vulnerable, nerd, sufferer, obsessed; these are very stigmatising concepts which need challenging.

In fact, as one or two readers have pointed out, Gary has done the US defence a massive favour. He could have been a real life terrorist. He showed their computer security up for the leaky vessel it was. Perhaps they should offer him a job testing their security. The Taliban would almost certainly welcome his skills. Gary’s talent should be recognised and acted upon. He should not be made a scapegoat or used as an example to deter others when the United States has real enemies of evil intent. His actions were naive, not vile.

What would be most welcome would be to hear from other people with Asperger’s syndrome and have them stand up, loud and proud, for who and how they are. Only by being open and positive about our differences will these negative images, words and terminologies be challenged. Maybe then the world will cease to be confusing, hostile and difficult to negotiate. Hopefully, our Asperger sons and daughters will enjoy fulfilling and active lives as members of the global community and thus begin to feel far less like visiting aliens from space. Only when these barriers are understood and broken down will our lives be free from the pain and suffering brought about by the patronising and discriminatory attitudes of other people in their ignorance.