When you think about it, no one is completely independent. As soon as we buy a product, use a service or even a calendar to look something up, we are interdependent – not independent. Interdependence is the norm.
So it makes no sense to try to reduce accommodations for people with invisible disabilities like FASD or autism “so they can learn to be independent”. You don’t take a wheelchair away from someone who needs it, and you don’t take a cane away from someone with a visual impairment “because they’re already doing well with it”.
A young adult with FASD or autism may still need help getting dressed, packing their bag, and being reminded to eat and drink to help them get through the day. Why should that support be reduced if it provides relief to the person whose brain already works much harder than that of a neurotypical person?
Maybe a student doesn’t know the order of the months by heart, even after weeks of practice – but this student knows how to look it up online. Why blame her/him if the brain is simply struggling with memory?
These issues are prevalent among caregivers of and people with invisible disabilities. Unfortunately, this is often coupled with the realization that the environment is not willing to embrace this mindset.
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