Open Society

I’m learning a lot about myself since my ADHD and autism diagnoses. One of the things I’m learning is that a lot of my ways of working are actually disability hacks: as it turns out a LOT of my people are very visual and a LOT of my people have poor working memory. Instead of trying to change myself to fit the ways of working I think I should have, because other people, I should maybe instead celebrate that I have, by trial and error and very little help or encouragement from anyone, kluged my way into some best practices for my particular career and set of challenges. I should congratulate myself on the self-knowledge that got me to a place that I’ve devised a whole workflow that minimizes the disabling effects of my particular forms of neurodivergence and allows me to shine.

In our society the fiction of homo economicus manifests itself in the beliefs associated with the language of behaviourism, which exists in multiple dialects, and which has come to permeate and pollute many disciplines in the social sciences: Leaders, authorities, managers, superiors, social power gradients Leadership, demands, commands Management, measurement, control Incentives, aversives, punishments Business, tasks, busyness Standards, norms, benchmarks, unwritten rules Conformance, compliance, obedience

To understand all of this better, we need a proper model of human motivation. Self-determination Theory (SDT) is just that — a model, a macro theory, of human motivation. It’s one of several models of human motivation, but it’s one that has been confirmed over and over by current research.

Instead, I want you to think about human motivation in a sustainable manner that is also good for your users. Making them addicts isn’t the way.

The base assumption of SDT is that human beings have natural, innate, and constructive tendencies to develop an ever more elaborated and unified sense of self.  That is, when sufficiently supported, people will strive to learn; extend themselves; invest effort; master new skills; and apply their talents responsibly.

However, when missing the necessary support, individuals can become fragmented, passive, reactive, or alienated. Ryan and Deci — pretty much the godfathers of SDT — acknowledge three fundamental psychological needs that need to be satisfied for an individual to thrive. Competence refers to individuals feeling effective in their interactions with their environments and experience exercising and expressing their capacities. The competence need is related to seeking attainable challenges that match and extend one’s capabilities. Relatedness refers to individuals feeling connected to others, to caring for and being cared for by those others, and to a feeling of belonging. It is related to feeling secure in the company of one’s peers. Autonomy refers to being the perceived origin or source of one’s own behavior. Contrary to intuition, the autonomy need is not related to independence — rather, it refers to an individual’s need of feeling in control of their environment and their actions.

Self-determination Theory distinguishes between two different kinds of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Individuals that are intrinsically motivated to carry out a task do so because of the enjoyment or fulfillment that is, in their perception, inherent to the task. Conversely, extrinsic motivation is external to the task itself: individuals perform the task to reach another goal, such as obtaining a reward, avoiding punishment, or gaining in social status.

A shift from a global monoculture to ecosystems of human scale groups reduces the spurious complexity needed to support a monoculture, and it retains and even grows adaptive cultural complexity, i.e. the diversity that emerges when the human ecological footprint is aligned with bioregional ecosystem functions.

Punishment is not a form of discipline, and discipline is not achieved through punishment. We’ve been taught that they’re synonymous, and they’re used interchangeably. Despite its similar connotations, they aren’t the same. Punishment simply brings avoidance of more punishment. People will get their act together to avoid the pain and shame that comes with each infliction… until nobody’s watching anymore and they stop caring enough to hold themselves accountable. We do this so many times that the small forfeits that come with each punishment snowball into an overwhelming loss we can never regain. We try to eradicate a piece of ourselves we could have reformed and strengthened instead. Punishment is the great impediment to change.

Punishment is not a form of discipline, and discipline is not achieved through punishment. We’ve been taught that they’re synonymous, and they’re used interchangeably. Despite its similar connotations, they aren’t the same. Punishment simply brings avoidance of more punishment. People will get their act together to avoid the pain and shame that comes with each infliction… until nobody’s watching anymore and they stop caring enough to hold themselves accountable. We do this so many times that the small forfeits that come with each punishment snowball into an overwhelming loss we can never regain. We try to eradicate a piece of ourselves we could have reformed and strengthened instead.

Ethics is a vital part of research.  It is about ensuring we do no harm to those we serve. As researchers, teams are there to serve the autistic communities.  Not to hurt and insult them. Autistic people are not there to serve researchers as a convenient sample or a way to advance their careers. I'm part of these communities.  As a proud parent of a fantastic autistic son.  As an autistic person myself.  As a researcher.  As a consultant and lecturer in this field, including to the NHS in various roles. I am so sad to see some research teams behaving in these frankly callous ways.  I wish the example above was rare.  It is not. Every day, for me, it is such an honour to do what I can to uphold the lovely autistic people I am delighted to share life with.  My family, my friends, my colleagues, the general autistic public on social media.  Their honesty, integrity, determination, courage and friendship are worth more than words can say. We are not "ASD cases".   We are your friends. We are your research colleagues.  We are your neighbours.  We are your fellow NHS workers.  We are artists, and musicians.  We are faith leaders and authors.  We are parents and grandparents, brothers and sisters. We are worth every bit as much as every other human on this planet.  Our way of interacting, our emerging cultures and ways of being, are worth their place.   Those that need support have been asking for things that actually matter to us.  There is more research than you could shake a journal at, on this subject. Instead, we get paper after paper describing us like we're some form of disease to be eradicated. I won't despair of research, as I see so many good people emerging.  People who put us front and centre of research into our own lives.  People who treat us as valued colleagues.  As equals, not as laboratory specimens.  People who are our allies.  People who are autistic and working at the top levels of new thinking, new theories, new understandings.  I am honoured to work with several such teams. I would very much like some researchers to stop hiding behind one another, and behind dehumanising words.  To have the courage to re-evaluate their thinking and their beliefs.  To have the curiosity to read those new narratives, to meet autistic teams and really collaborate, really understand. If you cannot gaze upon us and see our worth, our love, our caring, our whole humanity, this is not the field you should be in. This is our future.  Our lives.  Our present.  Our history.  Our community. You are not called to erase us, as researchers. You are called to earn our trust, and share in our future, with love.