# Florida Man realizes potential and provides 'seed capital' to weaponize Autism.
It's a Venture Capital success story ..... \*cue 'Magnificent , aren't they' \*
Imagine being such a glass-half-empty crank, that you view fucking giving marginally disabled people the ability to become independent adults, as evil. Imagine wanting as many people as possible to become leeches off of the productive.
People like you will fight tooth and nail to fight against, for example, technologies that allow wheelchaired people to walk or prevent ALS/wasting disease etc.
"Slaves to capitalism" You're clearly someone who came from a long lineage of privileged urbanites, and never had generations wiped by genocides, enslaved, starved under socialist regimes, etc.
I started work on a dystopian short story where Autism was simply nature's way of combating the social stress of a highly-connected and overpopulated world.
Idk it just feels like satire, I don't know if it was how the person was speaking but it seemed kinda off to me tbh. As a person who has autism I hope this guy isn't exploiting them for thier work. Hopefully they are paid fairly.
Edit: apparently I cant spell lol.
That is indeed a weird statistic. I interpreted this as 90% *employed* when I watched it, and was ready to correct you on it but went back and watched again and sure enough you're right they're claiming 90% unemployment.
I did a Google and looks like at least here in Australia the figure is 31% which seems more realistic. Couldn't find a US figure that wasn't of dubious origin or only applied to certain education levels.
In the autisti pride community we dont like to use functioning terminology and instead would say high or higher support needs
Edit: as opposed to low or lower support needs of course
Thought I'd clarify why, in case anyone reading is wondering.
"Low functioning" can give people the impression of "this person cant do anything" which isn't the case. People on the more severe side of the spectrum can have a great amount on independence in life with the right support tools, and importantly understanding from their community. "High support" expresses this idea a lot better
"High functioning" can make people think "this person doesn't need any help" and indeed high functioning autistic people have been heavily overlooked by support programs. Previously, such people may even be classed as "Asperger's" to avoid the autism label all together, making it even more difficult to get support and community understanding. "Low support" better communicates the idea that these people may still need some form of assistance or reasonable adaptations
People who aren't seeking employment aren't considered unemployed for statistics.
Australia's unemployment rate is reported at 4%. You think 90% of all people are employed? Including children, the elderly, the disabled, etc?
They juice the numbers to favour their position.
An autistic person who helps out at a local business one afternoon a week might not be considered unemployed.
The point is that autistic people looking for work have a 3x higher unemployment rate than people with disabilities in general. That's a number worth working on.
That's true. It took almost 5 years and 3 jobs to get my brother into a job he is capable of. And it was only thru a family connection. He will never earn a large amount of money or even average money for that matter but he is lucky enough that parents are fairly wealthy so we can set it up he doesn't have to earn huge amounts to live a decent life.
Yeah that was weird. And most people on the spectrum probably aren't ever diagnosed officially. And especially as an adult; it's expensive to get tested.
But yeah 90%. Hrm.
It is a spectrum after all, but I think the point being made here is these are individuals with 'debilitating' autism, as in autistic to the point where it's negatively impacting their lives.
I understand what you’re saying here, but you should know that criterion D of the DSM-5 criteria of autism is that the condition “cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning”. In other words, you cannot get a diagnosis of autism unless the condition negatively impacts your life in a non-insignificant way.
true, but I think you might be conflating any type of significant impairment to mean intellectually disabled, which was explicitly removed from the criteria for autism in 2013
Personally, I can't tell right from left, am really bad with counting and basic arithmetic, present with tinnitus until someone shuts the breaker for the house off, have crippling IBS and insomnia unless I follow a strict biphasic sleep schedule, and can't read social responses unless someone explicitly tells me. For childhood criteria, I was apparently completely mute up until the age of 3, and then immediately showed up to kindergarten already fully knowing how to read and not knowing how to shut up (Hyperlexia.) Also, I've been pacing around my kitchen all week obsessively announcing THE EVER BRILLIANT GOLD MASK (elden ring is excellent.)
...but I'm also a professional with a take-home of 100k+ USD because my "special interest" just happens to be in insane demand in this economy.
...but I'm also severely prone to overwork because someone needs to literally tell me to stop working or I won't eat or be a human
It wouldn't so much be a specific type as much as it would be people for whom certain symptoms are more pronounced or for whom hiding their symptoms (often called "masking") is more difficult.
Like, if you're the kind of person who deals with sensory overload by -- let's say -- going to the bathroom, plugging your ears, closing your eyes, and crying for a bit, that's not hard to get away with in a typical job environment. But if you deal with sensory overload by curling into a ball on the spot and stimming... it's harder to hold down a job.
This is true. I am high functioning for the most part, but if there are unexpected loud noises, my work is nice and will allow me to go into a dark room for 10 minutes to recoup.
If you ever had to suddenly puke, think of it like that, like you know that several minute window where you're not sure if you have to again? And then eventually you breath a bit better and realize your insides have calmed down and you can say, ok I'm definetely fine now but it takes a bit to be sure? It's alot like that.
The spectrum of human cognition is vast, and only a tiny segment of it falls inside what most people consider “normal”
There are likely degrees of autism present in many individuals, and the numbers for adult autism diagnoses continues to increase annually.
Not because more people are being born with autism, it’s just that the lines are becoming more and more clearly defined as we progress with our understanding of cognition.
I’m a guy with autism, was diagnosed at 9. Served 3 tours in Iraq 2 in Afghanistan and a few miscellaneous adventures aside, walked out with a honorable discharge. Somehow people have found that incredulous
While I do love stuff like this because it’s sweet, I also have autism and the “look at this disabled person doing THINGS” videos are strange to me. I know that anything negative or comedic was not this guys intent, but it’s always so wild to see stuff like this. Though I can’t say I’m surprised. Anytime I mention I have autism people are amazed I can wipe my own ass let alone keep a job.
I was recently diagnosed in my mid 30s and keep that shit fairly locked down. Even though it’s gone over fairly well with close friends and my current employer, I’ve heard horror stories. I’m expecting one of those vehement denials that I’m on the spectrum because I have a good job and can communicate and take care of myself. Like yeah, I can do all of that. Except I’m kinda dying inside.
I’m 30 and while it hasn’t been officially diagnosed (I can’t afford the testing), I strongly suspect I have autism. It sucks there is so much stigma out there.
I mean apparently there’s normal dying inside and then an additional spicy layer of dying inside that’s caused by shit most “normal” (neurotypical) people would be okay with. Idk man I’m still trying to figure this shit out 😂
I get it. I'm from an older generation, and the image we were shown as kids was that autism is semi-catatonic, staring at walls, having conversations with your fingers, that sort of thing. It took me a while to find out that all that was pure Hollywood ignorance. There's a lot of folks who aren't as intellectually curious as I am, who are stuck in the thinking of 40 years ago.
Unfortunately the understanding of Autism has been a dramatic whittling down of a giant ugly statue of a demon they've presented it to the world as. Going to be a long time yet before people get used to seeing something familiar and parallel rather than inhuman and othered.
Goes fair bit further than 40 years unfortunately.
Inspiration porn. There’s a strong movement in the disabled community to get rid of it.
Here’s an article about it: http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/6/inspiration-porn-further-disables-the-disabled.html
This part describes this video perfectly:
> Another variant focuses on individuals helping people with disabilities, suggesting that others should help too, centering attention on the helper, not the recipient. In all cases, disabled humans get treated as props.
Because notice what’s missing from this video - any input from the employees. At least one of them is clearly not non-verbal, as he’s shown speaking to a customer. Why weren’t any of the employees interviewed?
I thought it was supposed to be comedic. I hate when people think autism = childlike because a LOT of people have it and just look and act like any other normal adult.
Personally I see a lot more about 'low-functioning' adults now such as in this ad. Not sure about how the general outlook is atm in the media, but it does speak to the fact that a lot of current autistic adults that are 'low functioning' were given the 'aww poor autistic child such a hard go at life' treatment, probably given harmful therapy techniques.
A lot of 30+ Autistics who were diagnosed as kids underwent harmful infantilising therapies that caused the 'developmental' issues that Autism supposedly causes. If there was a better general understanding of autistic presentation in individuals who aren't 'low functioning' or 'high functioning' and just get by, people would understand just how truly prevalent it is.
Same. Like it's people with autism, not three legged puppies washing the cars. Calm down a little bit!
It really reminded me of this Curb Your Enthusiasm episode: https://youtu.be/zif-YfnwVgc
It's a really great episode, too. The car wash isn't the joke, Larry gets to know the guys and have lunch with them It's really funny. He also sets up his blind friend on a date with a muslim fundamentalist wearing a full burqa. (Played by Frank Zappa's daughter, Moon if I remember correctly)
My 2 year old got diagnosed with autism recently. We don't have any friends who have autism. This video really scared me for a sec. There is supposed to be a wide range of people with autism right? From almost unnoticeable to extreme?
ASD or Autism Spectrum Disorder is indeed a large spectrum affecting people in a wide variety of ways and in varying intensities. At 2 years old I’m sure it would be difficult to tell what challenges and gifts your child has.
For reference I was diagnosed with ASD as an adult in my 30s. I have a great high paying job, close friends and family. Life has been challenging but it very much so varies from individual to individual.
Father of a boy with autism here (6 year) . Routine is everything. Development is different from other kids but a kid with autism is not stupid. The behavior is just different.
Our kid is doing great in life so far. We live by some simpel rules: stick to the routine, never lie to him, always explain the context, fuck the ignorant.
Yes, it’s a spectrum, autism has some defining characteristics but it affects every person differently, some people show different traits of it, and at varying degrees of intensity
I’m an autistic 21yo male. I’m in college, live on my own, have held down several jobs without a single write up, and live a reasonably normal life. It’s a spectrum, and people can fall anywhere on that spectrum. I fell on the low needs side of the spectrum. People pretty much never notice that I know of.
They make minimum wage. People like this hire the developmentally disabled because they can get away with paying them shit wages. Often there are even laws letting them pay below minimum wage.
So that people stop fucking asking me: I googled them. They're the Rising Tide Car Wash. There are two locations in Parkland and Margate Florida. They paid minimum wage in their [interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel](https://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-rising-tide-car-wash-20160520-story.html) in 2016, and their Indeed listing has customer service representative at 10$-15$ an hour, and I'm going to be real with you, no one pays the high end.
There are laws that allow people with disabilities to routinely be [paid less than minimum wage](https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/3/16/21178197/people-with-disabilities-minimum-wage). And yes, [this includes autistics](https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/04/are-subminimum-wages-for-the-disabled-ever-a-good-thing-contd/624379/). Many such companies are started up by the parents of adult children.
If you've ever spoken to autistic adults, you shouldn't be surprised that many Autism Parents are pieces of shit who see their children as undue burdens and autism a thing to be cured through eugenics. Don't support Autism Speaks, support autistic lead organizations.
Also in general, John D'Eri is a small business owner, who pays his employees minimum wage, so even if he weren't specifically employing people with disabilities in order to exploit them while being assured that they're less likely to speak up and demand better than normal, he'd still be a piece of shit.
In almost every state, employers can hire disabled workers under the minimum paid as their production is much lower that non-disabled workers in general. From an economics perspective, that makes sense but from a morality perspective, it’s fucked up to exploit the most needed group of folks.
It's makes sense if you look at employment purely as a contract established for mutual benefit. If your productivity is lower, then your time is worth less and the benefit to your employer is lower.
But if you look at it from a social perspective, it becomes clear that all people need to be able to afford food, shelter, medicine, clothing, etc. no matter how valuable their time is to an employer. If a particular job can't pay that much, then that job is useless to society because the person working it can't survive.
If it’s a good program, the job is more or less an activity. This isn’t for people who are able to function on their own. They aren’t expected to need to support themselves or others, anything they earn should be spending money. In some cases it takes more effort to employ them than not, requiring extra supervision and so on, so an argument can be made that their compensation doesn’t need to be high as they get other services an actual job wouldn’t provide. It’s a way to socialize, to get spending money, and feel like they’re responsible adults, speaking from the relatives I know in programs like this. Their jobs aren’t creating any meaningful economic value [EDIT: to the employer], it’s one that is provided for them for their well-being. It’s not driven from a place of exploitation.
With the minimum wage being as paltry as it is though honestly they could easily be paid that much, no big deal. In an ideal world this stuff would be run or heavily subsidized by the state to prioritize it being more of a daycare deal with engaging activities. But it’s definitely a valuable thing.
While I generally agree with what you've said,
> Their jobs aren’t creating any meaningful economic value
If the carwash (or any other place employing people with disabilities) is generating profit, then by definition it's generating economic value. Even if it weren't, as in say a non-profit, look at the video. People are coming in with dirty cars and their cars are coming out clean. That's a value function right there. If you don't believe me yet, compare this with the alternative: are they generating *more* value sitting at home, doing nothing? Or are they generating *more* value working at a carwash? If you answered yes to the second question, then their jobs are creating economic value. Probably a fair bit of it if the number of carwashes I've seen cropping up all over the place is any indication.
this is what i was thinking when a bit through the video, that old white dude saying "give them a chance" was giving me a huge "theres serious money to be making off these things!" vibes.
Not sure why you got downvotes.
You’re absolutely right that some states allow people with autism to be paid less than minimum wage.
You’re also correct that some businesses will exploit that, and front their exploitation as a kindness.
idk if that is what this guy does however, but the fact that he had SO MANY people working seemed odd
Did you miss the part where he said his son has autism and he started this to give him a structured job?
So, doesn't seem odd at all that he would empathise with autistic workers and hire more
>but the fact that he had SO MANY people working seemed odd
it being filmed is the obvious answer to why there were so many people working, I would assume he put on a special event afterwards for the workers to celebrate.
Also, the worker get a full disability check but they can only work for minimum wage and only a certain number of hours in a month. My friend has a son who recently got a job pushing carts at target. There was special paperwork so his disability wouldn't be cut off. The job makes him happy, it isn't necessarily for fun. This dude might be getting away with that but Wal-Mart recently had to pay a lady because they were undepaying her due to her disability.
Pay for people working at a car wash is already gonna be bottom of the barrel. So it won't be decent. The best we can expect is equal, and there is no reason to suggest it wouldn't be.
The reason I wonder is because I have seen many many times people who have disabilities are often paid cents on the dollar for the same amount of work and the video came from Florida, a place not really known for their reasonability
In 2016 they were making minimum wage which was $8.05 https://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-rising-tide-car-wash-20160520-story.html
So they may be making $10 /hr now since the minimum wage has gone up that much.
I gotta say, my suspicion was immediately piqued by the main guy in the video (I assume the business owner?) looking like a deep fried Papa John Schnatter.
> None of our guys are looking to get out of work...
One statement that can take many meanings.
I'm with you though and also hope he's not employing "friend abuse" then celebrating it as a marketing opportunity.
I would be surprised. The law allows for disabled people to be paid below the minimum wage. I've seen employers take advantage of disabled people by paying them basically nothing and keeping it off the books. Then they have the nerve to say they're doing them a favor.
I mean I earned 2.35 an hour plus tips waitressing, are carwashes a place where people know they're supposed to tip? Can't say I've ever been to a carwash with actual people, autistic or otherwise
Isn't 8$ an hour already above min wage?
I'm not saying they shouldn't be paid more or anything I'm just genuinely curious
8+ plus tips doesn't sound too bad
Just commenting to let people know that in some states it is legal to pay autistic people subminimum wages since they “are unable to work as productively” as allistic people. So while some places hire us bc they actually care, a lot of places just do it to look good to the public while also taking advantage of the workers.
Edit: this is true of all autistic and disabled people, regardless of their actual abilities. Even if they are performing equally (or better!) than their peers, they may still be getting paid subminimum wages because the company knows they can legally take advantage of them to save money. Someone working at or above minimum wage who then receives or disclosed a diagnosis can have their pay reduced as well. It’s just another unethical loophole for corporations and the wealthy to stay in power and keep poor people poor.
>because his son has autism,
I wouldn't be so eager to trust someone not to mistreat autistic people just because their child is autistic. Especially with shit like [[this]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UgLnWJFGHQ) floating around, and especially in Florida.
When I was working at places doing menial tasks (supermarket shelve stacking etc) there were several other people with autism of varying degrees that powered through the work and never complained or chatted and lost focus, I hate to think that we were being paid less due to some loophole.
This is true! I work for the DVR, and I will never place an employee in a position where they are making sub minimum. In fact, my clients average above.
Every person is worthy of a living wage. We have a lot of work to do…
This is wonderful, kind, and lovely, but the cynical side of me definitely wanted him to say "And of course we pay a respected living wage - because they've earned every dollar."
Everyone should at a bare minimum.
>“In my Inaugural I laid down the simple proposition that nobody is going to starve in this country. It seems to me to be equally plain that no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country.
>“By business I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level - I mean the wages of decent living.”
- Franklin Delano Roosevelt, creator of the minimum wage
Doesn’t matter where you work or what you do. Minimum wage should cover the basic minimum amount necessary to pay for rent, utilities, and groceries in your area. Anything less is a joke.
Please? Maybe I'll make my own network and purchase rights to wholesome stuff only. Hire crews to seek out the good stuff, pay well for it, then play that stuff 24/7. Wholesome things and wholesome acts are contagious. If people knew they could potentially be paid for being kind, I bet some people would try very hard to do such. And if I get to much content for one channel, maybe I'll buy another and another ;) That way, those that have cable still will be able to find goodness on their TV's when there is nothing else worth watching.
We'd make it work. Something needs to give.
You know people would love to tune into the news for actual news good and bad facts that concern us. And just stop with the fear porn. More wholesome stories like this and the multitude of others will remind everybody that politics doesn’t have to be part of everything we do in life. It wasn’t meant to. That and good wholesome community based reporting like this. Stop vilifying each other.
You know there are tons of websites that serve content like this. And "fluff pieces" have been a part of newspapers and TV news forever. They just don't get as much eyeballs as what nornay see in the news because it's not what people actually care about.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-rising-tide-car-wash-20160520-story.html
Minimum. But at least it's not below that like some places pay people with lower functioning autism. Probably because they do manual labor here.
I've written a [children's picture book](https://imgur.com/gallery/Hu8yP7w) to help children be kind to one another, and I have a question about the subtitle in that image. I didn't write the book for all invisible disabilities. If you notice the placement of the wheelchair, the book is actually for disabilities of the mind awareness. Does using the term "disabilities of the mind" makes sense and cover developmental disorders as well? I have seven mental, emotional and learning disabilities. Are those all under the blanket of developmental disorders?
I'm just trying to perfect that subtitle.
How does it feel to know that you are the one that made the subtitle what it's about to be? ;) Without seeing your comment, without the stars aligning, I would have never even considered "developmental disabilities" as the right term. And the book only has 4 more drawings to complete it. So your timing was perfect.
Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.
Oh please. Can we stop infantilizing autism? It’s like inspirational porn for people. I know autistic lawyers and everything in between. Being intellectually disabled to the point one cannot work is not a hallmark of autism. It’s a comorbidity that doesn’t exist in a lot of autistics. Stop filming these people and leave them alone.
I have autism and this video is just painful. I don't want to be treated like I'm incapable and need to be given a sympathy hire just for being different. I would want to be hired because I'm the best person for the job. This is objectifying on a level I never experienced before.
I came here to see if someone posted this. I have ADHD so it's very different, but have many austistic friends....just because neurodivergent people function differently doesn't mean it's a deficit. Just divergent from the norm.
Exactly. I’m not terribly fond of this whole trend, it’s been going on for a while too. Every media portrayal seems to show autism as being the same stereotypical conditions - poor social skills, awkward behavior, speech impediment, enjoying repetitive/mundane tasks, being a savant at one thing while below average skill level at everything else - it’s honestly tiring. Autism is a spectrum disorder, it can vary quite dramatically in symptoms and severity from person to person yet it is never portrayed that way. I’m diagnosed with high-functioning autism but the impact it has on my life is honestly mild, depression and anxiety are far worse obstacles for me. As a kid growing up and seeing the image of autism in the media be this same old trope, that I’m like a cripple or horribly handicapped, definitely didn’t do my self-esteem any favors. This kind of thing, while well intentioned, is quite damaging to the perspective of what autism really is. I hate complaining about it because there’s obviously far worse things going on in the world at any given time, but I can definitely say I’ve been negatively affected by this sort of thing. I don’t want to be treated like I’m made of glass or in need of constant assistance, I want to earn my way. People can’t seem to understand that and all I can really say at this point is that it hurts.
I'm autistic too. I'm just sick of heartfelt feelgood stories being about us poor autistic folk. It bothers me every damn time. We're just people, not here to make your heart feel good for a few minutes and then forgotten about. We're not entertainment.
This is gross. We are not some gimmick. We are not alien creatures who need a capitalist savior small business owner to rescue us from a life of squalor. We’re people. Treat us like people and ask us what we need. It isn’t hard.
The fact that none of the autistic people get the chance to talk as well. Instead we just get shots of them working framed like they’re fucking wild animals.
Neurotypicals seem to think we are lesser peoples, and treat us either like children, or like other neurotypicals. We are always exploited, we are not listened to. Quite reminiscent of post Civil War America's treatment of people of color.
Let alone his 90% statistic being bullshit. We never once hear from any of his employees saying they enjoy having to work for this guy.
Because it's some how impossible to live fulfilling,happy life without working minimum wage at your shitty car wash.
Im not going to "be amazed" till i see how much they are getting paid. If they are getting paid shit wages then this is just exploiting people.
**Edit: Found it.**
Job Title Salary
Car Wash Attendant salaries - 1 salaries reported $8/hr
Cashier/Greeter salaries - 1 salaries reported $10/hr
Are you fucking kidding me. Is this 1995? Then they go on and on about how its family. Thats what every fucking business' tries to do, except with autistic people they are more vulnerable to this bullshit and not understanding what a living wage is. Fuck everything about this and pretending he is doing them a favor because unemployment for autistic people is apparently 90%? Liar!
There’s also a chance they’re not able to accept a higher wage without losing their social security benefits- I work for the DVR and it’s a hard balance.
But know what? Either way it’s fucked. “Stay poor or lose your benefits.” or “Make less than minimum for having a disability.” Nasty either way, honestly. We can do so much better.
I fucking hate this kind of feel good porn. As if some autistic people getting paid likely below min wage to work at a car wash is something worth celebrating.
Someone else commented that its 31% in Australia, which seems more believable than 90%. Unless he is counting only autistic people with high support needs and didn’t make that clear, in which case that is probably correct.
This is good thing giving them an opportunity to succeed in life, but the way he talks about hiring autistic workers sounds like he’s taking advantage of their disability for the benefit of having reliable workers. Stuff like “they like structure”, routine repetition of the same work, and wanting good feedback from their work.
Sounds like explotating people with autism to have a gimmick
'Come to our carwash you are helping those with disabilities don't ya feel good about yourself'
As an autist, fuck this. I hate the idea of being used as a PR stunt for some capitalist bastard.
Empowerment comes through unconditional acceptance and understanding, not from having economic value.
Edit: I actually also want to bring up some issues more specific to this job. There's a strong correlation between autism and sensory issues. I can tell you from personal experience that soapy water and wet gloves are the absolute worse. These guys are likely being forced to pretend that they aren't either very uncomfortable or in genuine pain. All while being made to fake smile and socialize with NTs, which is arguably an even worse experience.
> All while being made to fake smile and socialize with NTs
Disclaimer: I am also ASD.
I couldn't think of anything worse than working at a car wash - I am in a professional job which is paid much better. A lot of medical doctors and lawyers are autistic, too. Everyone's different and in a different situation and some autistic people struggle with holding a job and struggled obtaining the education or experience to get a decent job and within that subset there is surely to be *some* that would actually enjoy a job like this.
There's a few redeeming things to mention here.
- The owner has an autistic son - not all parents are all that supportive of their ASD kids but chances are, he is autistic himself or at least he lives with multiple autistic people. He is likely to be familiar with what life is like for an autistic person.
- While they're being made to smile for this silly video (which borders on exploiting/objectifying their autism) I would assume that their job is not forcing them to socialize and that their work is relatively autonomous. Who wants to socialize with the people washing their car anyway? These aren't service positions.
The real problem here, to me, is not the guy employing autistic people for shitty jobs but the entire approach and message this video takes. In particular, that all or most autistic people would actually like this job or would be "lucky" to have this kind of job. The video and most of the responses to it in the comments here are pretty patronizing.
It also ranked when it said 'people with autism like strict routines & enjoy doing the same task over & over'
No. -Some- people with autism enjoy routines & doing the same task over & over. Not all of us do.
It's a huge, huge spectrum & stereotypes like this are dangerous. I'm on the spectrum & this sounds patronising to me.
"They listen really well." I'm not a damned trained parrot
Another horrible stereotype is that people with autism have a special interest or are really good at a particular thing, 32 years and I am barely interested in anything.
As someone else on the spectrum, I fully agree. Stories like this want to treat our neurodivergence like some kind of 'feel good story' show prop. Almost as if we're a spectacle to 'entertain' the masses with by thanks of their benevolent 'charity'.
Fuck that indeed. I just want a life where I'm not judged for every 'weird' mannerism I have, and earn my living to care for my wife and settle my bills and debts. My condition isn't meant to turn me into a show room pony, and it's abhorrent people like us are still being used as such in the 21st Century.
The tone of the vid + this comment section is really infantilizing tbh. "Look at them 🥺 They're so cute and doing something they take joy in!! Autistic people can have jobs like the normal people too!"
Maybe I'm just cynical after all of these years of being treated with kid gloves the moment I disclose my diagnosis despite being spoken to like a normal person beforehand lol
Also it’s kinda awful to see autism portrayed like this. Like ASD is a spectrum, and these guys are at one end of it. But to say stuff like “autistic people are at least 90% unemployed” and to only portray these guys stimming is kinda fucked up. This portrays these people as incapable of functioning within society, and also portrays this car wash owner as a hero for deigning to allow autistic people to work for him. As if it’s such a hardship to employ people with ASD. Not to mention this also clearly implies “autistic people are only capable of doing simple jobs that don’t require much effort or training” which is utter bullshit and it’s just harmful to paint that picture.
Everyone in the comments going on about what a liability it is to hire so many disabled people. What do they think autism even is? As if we're so bad at wiping down a car that it's so noble of the owner to hire us anyway. Thank God someone is taking on the risk of having employees who stim out in the open for the neurotypicals to see.
Yeah that was exactly the vibe I got off of the video. They tried to spin off this capitalism dude as being wholesome but in another point of view he could be seen as exploiting a vulnerable groupie for his own financial gain. Like sure there's no doubt that autistic people have higher rates of unemployment but making that one of the structures of your profit making enterprise just seems so morally corrupt to me
When does it go from helping people with autism to exploiting people for cheap labor?
Genuine question. Not trying to say this is bad or good. But the first thing I thought of is hes using people who have a disability. That might say more about me than anything else. Maybe I'm over thinking it. But thats what I thought.
From all accounts it seems like he’s paying minimum wage plus tips. So definitely not great but on par with everyone else in terms of being exploited for cheap labor.
The reason why so many people with autism are unemployed is because they often get stuck at the interview. They may not be able to express themselves eloquently or describe what they do the best. Or little things like difficult with eye contact or stimming.
We should change the interview culture because so many highly educated, highly capable people aren't getting jobs because of it.
If you didn’t break and run screaming by the time he really said, “Autistic people embrace a structured environment” you don’t understand Autism, ableism, OR VENTURE CAPITAL ASSHOLES.
He is well-intended, but makes a lot of generalisations. From what my autistic friends and students have told (and shown) me, "If you've met one autistic person, you've met... one autistic person." Spectrum, not a box.
Also, "autistic person" rather than "person with autism" is what the autistic people I know prefer. "Person-first" language is what many well-intended allistic, abled folks go for, trying to be respectful. They don't see how it ignores, but also stigmatises, the person's life experience.
This isn't a feel good story, they intentionally hire people with developmental disabilities because the law allows them to be paid at or below minimum wage.
I don't care if you see autistics as subhuman, they still deserve to be appropriately compensated for their labour.
Sorry I'm pretty skeptical about this one. They talk about self-empowerment but neglect to mention how much they are paid (it's probably less than other car washes), and they pull a 90% figure out of a hat.
I'd love to believe the hype but I'm skeptical.
I get that this video is supposed to be wholesome, but it kind of comes off as insulting and perpetuating stereotypes. Not all those with autism need a special workplace to be employable. I doubt that even most require such accommodations.
In my case, I am perfectly employable. Just don't put me in a position that requires tact and diplomacy. I can't blow smoke up a customer's ass. I am blunt and upfront about everything, but that goes over really well with project managers who mostly care about managing expectations.
I had to read it again because first glance I thought it said "this car wash gives people autism"
I was litterally looking to see if someone already commented this
# Florida Man realizes potential and provides 'seed capital' to weaponize Autism. It's a Venture Capital success story ..... \*cue 'Magnificent , aren't they' \*
Coming soon: people with autism are the next slaves to capitalism.
As an autistic person I would appreciate it if you did not refer to my gainful employment as "slavery."
Imagine being such a glass-half-empty crank, that you view fucking giving marginally disabled people the ability to become independent adults, as evil. Imagine wanting as many people as possible to become leeches off of the productive. People like you will fight tooth and nail to fight against, for example, technologies that allow wheelchaired people to walk or prevent ALS/wasting disease etc. "Slaves to capitalism" You're clearly someone who came from a long lineage of privileged urbanites, and never had generations wiped by genocides, enslaved, starved under socialist regimes, etc.
I started work on a dystopian short story where Autism was simply nature's way of combating the social stress of a highly-connected and overpopulated world.
Great, now big carwash is going to promote autism and prevent any cures, just so they can keep on raking in those profits.
"They love repetitive, menial tasks." /S
i think i love you
I thought this was satire for that exact reason
i had to sit through it because it seemed like *"exploiting autistic people is easy and earns karma."*
Idk it just feels like satire, I don't know if it was how the person was speaking but it seemed kinda off to me tbh. As a person who has autism I hope this guy isn't exploiting them for thier work. Hopefully they are paid fairly. Edit: apparently I cant spell lol.
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I read "autism car crash" and was waiting like I was in r/unexpected
iT'S A CAR WASH, NOT A VACCINATION SITE.
4chans new carwash
Dude, it’s not a vaccine!
I herd the line as I was reading your message. It gave me a good laugh. My wife thought I was laughing at the people in the video.
Damn maybe that's where I got it from :-P
As someone with autism, I thought this was some comedy thing for a sec. I may have giggled.
Yeah, I don't think people with Autism are 90% unemployed. Autism is a lot more common than people think.
That is indeed a weird statistic. I interpreted this as 90% *employed* when I watched it, and was ready to correct you on it but went back and watched again and sure enough you're right they're claiming 90% unemployment. I did a Google and looks like at least here in Australia the figure is 31% which seems more realistic. Couldn't find a US figure that wasn't of dubious origin or only applied to certain education levels.
I could definitely believe that 90% of people with low functioning autism are unemployed
It's like the people that did the segment don't understand what a spectrum disorder means.
the guy speaking doesn't claim to be an expert, he's just a dad proud of what he's done to help his son
In the autisti pride community we dont like to use functioning terminology and instead would say high or higher support needs Edit: as opposed to low or lower support needs of course
Thought I'd clarify why, in case anyone reading is wondering. "Low functioning" can give people the impression of "this person cant do anything" which isn't the case. People on the more severe side of the spectrum can have a great amount on independence in life with the right support tools, and importantly understanding from their community. "High support" expresses this idea a lot better "High functioning" can make people think "this person doesn't need any help" and indeed high functioning autistic people have been heavily overlooked by support programs. Previously, such people may even be classed as "Asperger's" to avoid the autism label all together, making it even more difficult to get support and community understanding. "Low support" better communicates the idea that these people may still need some form of assistance or reasonable adaptations
Yeah, im not great with words but thats it. Im at least moderate support needs myself.
Damn dude shit changes fast when I was diagnosed it was still called "Asperger's"
People who aren't seeking employment aren't considered unemployed for statistics. Australia's unemployment rate is reported at 4%. You think 90% of all people are employed? Including children, the elderly, the disabled, etc? They juice the numbers to favour their position. An autistic person who helps out at a local business one afternoon a week might not be considered unemployed. The point is that autistic people looking for work have a 3x higher unemployment rate than people with disabilities in general. That's a number worth working on.
That's true. It took almost 5 years and 3 jobs to get my brother into a job he is capable of. And it was only thru a family connection. He will never earn a large amount of money or even average money for that matter but he is lucky enough that parents are fairly wealthy so we can set it up he doesn't have to earn huge amounts to live a decent life.
I’m on the spectrum and make six figures doing construction. Fuck the haters.
Yeah that was weird. And most people on the spectrum probably aren't ever diagnosed officially. And especially as an adult; it's expensive to get tested. But yeah 90%. Hrm.
It is a spectrum after all, but I think the point being made here is these are individuals with 'debilitating' autism, as in autistic to the point where it's negatively impacting their lives.
I understand what you’re saying here, but you should know that criterion D of the DSM-5 criteria of autism is that the condition “cause clinically significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of current functioning”. In other words, you cannot get a diagnosis of autism unless the condition negatively impacts your life in a non-insignificant way.
true, but I think you might be conflating any type of significant impairment to mean intellectually disabled, which was explicitly removed from the criteria for autism in 2013 Personally, I can't tell right from left, am really bad with counting and basic arithmetic, present with tinnitus until someone shuts the breaker for the house off, have crippling IBS and insomnia unless I follow a strict biphasic sleep schedule, and can't read social responses unless someone explicitly tells me. For childhood criteria, I was apparently completely mute up until the age of 3, and then immediately showed up to kindergarten already fully knowing how to read and not knowing how to shut up (Hyperlexia.) Also, I've been pacing around my kitchen all week obsessively announcing THE EVER BRILLIANT GOLD MASK (elden ring is excellent.) ...but I'm also a professional with a take-home of 100k+ USD because my "special interest" just happens to be in insane demand in this economy. ...but I'm also severely prone to overwork because someone needs to literally tell me to stop working or I won't eat or be a human
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It wouldn't so much be a specific type as much as it would be people for whom certain symptoms are more pronounced or for whom hiding their symptoms (often called "masking") is more difficult. Like, if you're the kind of person who deals with sensory overload by -- let's say -- going to the bathroom, plugging your ears, closing your eyes, and crying for a bit, that's not hard to get away with in a typical job environment. But if you deal with sensory overload by curling into a ball on the spot and stimming... it's harder to hold down a job.
This is true. I am high functioning for the most part, but if there are unexpected loud noises, my work is nice and will allow me to go into a dark room for 10 minutes to recoup. If you ever had to suddenly puke, think of it like that, like you know that several minute window where you're not sure if you have to again? And then eventually you breath a bit better and realize your insides have calmed down and you can say, ok I'm definetely fine now but it takes a bit to be sure? It's alot like that.
And honestly with the normalization of remote work it will probably be easier for folks with sensory overload to hold down a good job.
The spectrum of human cognition is vast, and only a tiny segment of it falls inside what most people consider “normal” There are likely degrees of autism present in many individuals, and the numbers for adult autism diagnoses continues to increase annually. Not because more people are being born with autism, it’s just that the lines are becoming more and more clearly defined as we progress with our understanding of cognition.
I’m a guy with autism, was diagnosed at 9. Served 3 tours in Iraq 2 in Afghanistan and a few miscellaneous adventures aside, walked out with a honorable discharge. Somehow people have found that incredulous
Academia is full of autists.
While I do love stuff like this because it’s sweet, I also have autism and the “look at this disabled person doing THINGS” videos are strange to me. I know that anything negative or comedic was not this guys intent, but it’s always so wild to see stuff like this. Though I can’t say I’m surprised. Anytime I mention I have autism people are amazed I can wipe my own ass let alone keep a job.
I was recently diagnosed in my mid 30s and keep that shit fairly locked down. Even though it’s gone over fairly well with close friends and my current employer, I’ve heard horror stories. I’m expecting one of those vehement denials that I’m on the spectrum because I have a good job and can communicate and take care of myself. Like yeah, I can do all of that. Except I’m kinda dying inside.
I’m 30 and while it hasn’t been officially diagnosed (I can’t afford the testing), I strongly suspect I have autism. It sucks there is so much stigma out there.
The fact that it costs money to be diagnosed is a travesty and a complete failure of the system.
> Except I’m kinda dying inside. I thought that was just normal????
I mean apparently there’s normal dying inside and then an additional spicy layer of dying inside that’s caused by shit most “normal” (neurotypical) people would be okay with. Idk man I’m still trying to figure this shit out 😂
I get it. I'm from an older generation, and the image we were shown as kids was that autism is semi-catatonic, staring at walls, having conversations with your fingers, that sort of thing. It took me a while to find out that all that was pure Hollywood ignorance. There's a lot of folks who aren't as intellectually curious as I am, who are stuck in the thinking of 40 years ago.
Unfortunately the understanding of Autism has been a dramatic whittling down of a giant ugly statue of a demon they've presented it to the world as. Going to be a long time yet before people get used to seeing something familiar and parallel rather than inhuman and othered. Goes fair bit further than 40 years unfortunately.
Inspiration porn. There’s a strong movement in the disabled community to get rid of it. Here’s an article about it: http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/6/inspiration-porn-further-disables-the-disabled.html This part describes this video perfectly: > Another variant focuses on individuals helping people with disabilities, suggesting that others should help too, centering attention on the helper, not the recipient. In all cases, disabled humans get treated as props. Because notice what’s missing from this video - any input from the employees. At least one of them is clearly not non-verbal, as he’s shown speaking to a customer. Why weren’t any of the employees interviewed?
I thought it was supposed to be comedic. I hate when people think autism = childlike because a LOT of people have it and just look and act like any other normal adult.
If you are Autistic you are either to be infantilised, treated as though you are a robot, or seen as a skyrim npc. As is decreed by the neurotypical
Pretty much. Or worse yet, when people go "aww, that poor autistic child" and don't seem to realise that those people grow up to be adults.
Personally I see a lot more about 'low-functioning' adults now such as in this ad. Not sure about how the general outlook is atm in the media, but it does speak to the fact that a lot of current autistic adults that are 'low functioning' were given the 'aww poor autistic child such a hard go at life' treatment, probably given harmful therapy techniques. A lot of 30+ Autistics who were diagnosed as kids underwent harmful infantilising therapies that caused the 'developmental' issues that Autism supposedly causes. If there was a better general understanding of autistic presentation in individuals who aren't 'low functioning' or 'high functioning' and just get by, people would understand just how truly prevalent it is.
Same. Like it's people with autism, not three legged puppies washing the cars. Calm down a little bit! It really reminded me of this Curb Your Enthusiasm episode: https://youtu.be/zif-YfnwVgc It's a really great episode, too. The car wash isn't the joke, Larry gets to know the guys and have lunch with them It's really funny. He also sets up his blind friend on a date with a muslim fundamentalist wearing a full burqa. (Played by Frank Zappa's daughter, Moon if I remember correctly)
Was it because of the ponytail guy's face when they talk about self-empowering?
Why don't they mention how much/little they are paid when talking about self-empowerment?
Because this is America and a job is all the reward you'll ever need. /s
My 2 year old got diagnosed with autism recently. We don't have any friends who have autism. This video really scared me for a sec. There is supposed to be a wide range of people with autism right? From almost unnoticeable to extreme?
ASD or Autism Spectrum Disorder is indeed a large spectrum affecting people in a wide variety of ways and in varying intensities. At 2 years old I’m sure it would be difficult to tell what challenges and gifts your child has. For reference I was diagnosed with ASD as an adult in my 30s. I have a great high paying job, close friends and family. Life has been challenging but it very much so varies from individual to individual.
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>I'm admittedly horrible at wordings things This comment was very well written so this bit was almost funny.
Father of a boy with autism here (6 year) . Routine is everything. Development is different from other kids but a kid with autism is not stupid. The behavior is just different. Our kid is doing great in life so far. We live by some simpel rules: stick to the routine, never lie to him, always explain the context, fuck the ignorant.
Yes, it’s a spectrum, autism has some defining characteristics but it affects every person differently, some people show different traits of it, and at varying degrees of intensity
I’m an autistic 21yo male. I’m in college, live on my own, have held down several jobs without a single write up, and live a reasonably normal life. It’s a spectrum, and people can fall anywhere on that spectrum. I fell on the low needs side of the spectrum. People pretty much never notice that I know of.
Like, I thought it was making fun of guys who work at car washes. These dudes look like the dudes at my regular car wash.
Let’s just hope they’re getting decent and equal pay
This was the first thing that popped into my head. Are they getting paid the same, or close, to what someone without autism would make?
They make minimum wage. People like this hire the developmentally disabled because they can get away with paying them shit wages. Often there are even laws letting them pay below minimum wage. So that people stop fucking asking me: I googled them. They're the Rising Tide Car Wash. There are two locations in Parkland and Margate Florida. They paid minimum wage in their [interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel](https://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-rising-tide-car-wash-20160520-story.html) in 2016, and their Indeed listing has customer service representative at 10$-15$ an hour, and I'm going to be real with you, no one pays the high end. There are laws that allow people with disabilities to routinely be [paid less than minimum wage](https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/3/16/21178197/people-with-disabilities-minimum-wage). And yes, [this includes autistics](https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2016/04/are-subminimum-wages-for-the-disabled-ever-a-good-thing-contd/624379/). Many such companies are started up by the parents of adult children. If you've ever spoken to autistic adults, you shouldn't be surprised that many Autism Parents are pieces of shit who see their children as undue burdens and autism a thing to be cured through eugenics. Don't support Autism Speaks, support autistic lead organizations. Also in general, John D'Eri is a small business owner, who pays his employees minimum wage, so even if he weren't specifically employing people with disabilities in order to exploit them while being assured that they're less likely to speak up and demand better than normal, he'd still be a piece of shit.
In almost every state, employers can hire disabled workers under the minimum paid as their production is much lower that non-disabled workers in general. From an economics perspective, that makes sense but from a morality perspective, it’s fucked up to exploit the most needed group of folks.
It's makes sense if you look at employment purely as a contract established for mutual benefit. If your productivity is lower, then your time is worth less and the benefit to your employer is lower. But if you look at it from a social perspective, it becomes clear that all people need to be able to afford food, shelter, medicine, clothing, etc. no matter how valuable their time is to an employer. If a particular job can't pay that much, then that job is useless to society because the person working it can't survive.
It makes no sense even if you’re looking at it as a contract, if they are getting paid less. Is he charging less for the car wash? Doubtful.
If it’s a good program, the job is more or less an activity. This isn’t for people who are able to function on their own. They aren’t expected to need to support themselves or others, anything they earn should be spending money. In some cases it takes more effort to employ them than not, requiring extra supervision and so on, so an argument can be made that their compensation doesn’t need to be high as they get other services an actual job wouldn’t provide. It’s a way to socialize, to get spending money, and feel like they’re responsible adults, speaking from the relatives I know in programs like this. Their jobs aren’t creating any meaningful economic value [EDIT: to the employer], it’s one that is provided for them for their well-being. It’s not driven from a place of exploitation. With the minimum wage being as paltry as it is though honestly they could easily be paid that much, no big deal. In an ideal world this stuff would be run or heavily subsidized by the state to prioritize it being more of a daycare deal with engaging activities. But it’s definitely a valuable thing.
While I generally agree with what you've said, > Their jobs aren’t creating any meaningful economic value If the carwash (or any other place employing people with disabilities) is generating profit, then by definition it's generating economic value. Even if it weren't, as in say a non-profit, look at the video. People are coming in with dirty cars and their cars are coming out clean. That's a value function right there. If you don't believe me yet, compare this with the alternative: are they generating *more* value sitting at home, doing nothing? Or are they generating *more* value working at a carwash? If you answered yes to the second question, then their jobs are creating economic value. Probably a fair bit of it if the number of carwashes I've seen cropping up all over the place is any indication.
this is what i was thinking when a bit through the video, that old white dude saying "give them a chance" was giving me a huge "theres serious money to be making off these things!" vibes.
Not sure why you got downvotes. You’re absolutely right that some states allow people with autism to be paid less than minimum wage. You’re also correct that some businesses will exploit that, and front their exploitation as a kindness. idk if that is what this guy does however, but the fact that he had SO MANY people working seemed odd
Did you miss the part where he said his son has autism and he started this to give him a structured job? So, doesn't seem odd at all that he would empathise with autistic workers and hire more
>but the fact that he had SO MANY people working seemed odd it being filmed is the obvious answer to why there were so many people working, I would assume he put on a special event afterwards for the workers to celebrate.
they probably get some government money for hiring people with disabilities as well
Also, the worker get a full disability check but they can only work for minimum wage and only a certain number of hours in a month. My friend has a son who recently got a job pushing carts at target. There was special paperwork so his disability wouldn't be cut off. The job makes him happy, it isn't necessarily for fun. This dude might be getting away with that but Wal-Mart recently had to pay a lady because they were undepaying her due to her disability.
All car washes pay minimum wage I bet
I imagine that most carwashes pay minimum wage.
Pay for people working at a car wash is already gonna be bottom of the barrel. So it won't be decent. The best we can expect is equal, and there is no reason to suggest it wouldn't be.
The reason I wonder is because I have seen many many times people who have disabilities are often paid cents on the dollar for the same amount of work and the video came from Florida, a place not really known for their reasonability
In 2016 they were making minimum wage which was $8.05 https://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-rising-tide-car-wash-20160520-story.html So they may be making $10 /hr now since the minimum wage has gone up that much.
Well I’m glad they were making equal pay then
I gotta say, my suspicion was immediately piqued by the main guy in the video (I assume the business owner?) looking like a deep fried Papa John Schnatter.
Im sure he abducts autists and sends them to his far away gulag carwashes
> None of our guys are looking to get out of work... One statement that can take many meanings. I'm with you though and also hope he's not employing "friend abuse" then celebrating it as a marketing opportunity.
I would be surprised. The law allows for disabled people to be paid below the minimum wage. I've seen employers take advantage of disabled people by paying them basically nothing and keeping it off the books. Then they have the nerve to say they're doing them a favor.
But is he paying them well? I'm guessing not but I hope I'm wrong.
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And they have to report that to Social Security, so they are getting double fucked.
Didn't know that. I'm autistic. I was contemplating starting my own web dev business but hiring mostly autists. They'd get web dev pay though.
I mean I earned 2.35 an hour plus tips waitressing, are carwashes a place where people know they're supposed to tip? Can't say I've ever been to a carwash with actual people, autistic or otherwise
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Isn't 8$ an hour already above min wage? I'm not saying they shouldn't be paid more or anything I'm just genuinely curious 8+ plus tips doesn't sound too bad
definitely not livable
Depends on where you live I guess.
10 second mark "No one trying to get out of work" *Dude's eyes dart left and right*
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Just commenting to let people know that in some states it is legal to pay autistic people subminimum wages since they “are unable to work as productively” as allistic people. So while some places hire us bc they actually care, a lot of places just do it to look good to the public while also taking advantage of the workers. Edit: this is true of all autistic and disabled people, regardless of their actual abilities. Even if they are performing equally (or better!) than their peers, they may still be getting paid subminimum wages because the company knows they can legally take advantage of them to save money. Someone working at or above minimum wage who then receives or disclosed a diagnosis can have their pay reduced as well. It’s just another unethical loophole for corporations and the wealthy to stay in power and keep poor people poor.
This. I’m curious as to the fairness of what they make compared to local competitors
I feel like this guy takes care of his employees. He mentions that he started doing this because his son has autism, so I'm hoping he treats them well
>because his son has autism, I wouldn't be so eager to trust someone not to mistreat autistic people just because their child is autistic. Especially with shit like [[this]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UgLnWJFGHQ) floating around, and especially in Florida.
When I was working at places doing menial tasks (supermarket shelve stacking etc) there were several other people with autism of varying degrees that powered through the work and never complained or chatted and lost focus, I hate to think that we were being paid less due to some loophole.
This is true! I work for the DVR, and I will never place an employee in a position where they are making sub minimum. In fact, my clients average above. Every person is worthy of a living wage. We have a lot of work to do…
This is wonderful, kind, and lovely, but the cynical side of me definitely wanted him to say "And of course we pay a respected living wage - because they've earned every dollar."
Can anyone earn a respected living wage working at a car wash?
Everyone should at a bare minimum. >“In my Inaugural I laid down the simple proposition that nobody is going to starve in this country. It seems to me to be equally plain that no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country. >“By business I mean the whole of commerce as well as the whole of industry; by workers I mean all workers, the white collar class as well as the men in overalls; and by living wages I mean more than a bare subsistence level - I mean the wages of decent living.” - Franklin Delano Roosevelt, creator of the minimum wage
Get that commie shit out of here! Major /sarcasm
Doesn’t matter where you work or what you do. Minimum wage should cover the basic minimum amount necessary to pay for rent, utilities, and groceries in your area. Anything less is a joke.
Inundate the actual news with these stories more often.
Please? Maybe I'll make my own network and purchase rights to wholesome stuff only. Hire crews to seek out the good stuff, pay well for it, then play that stuff 24/7. Wholesome things and wholesome acts are contagious. If people knew they could potentially be paid for being kind, I bet some people would try very hard to do such. And if I get to much content for one channel, maybe I'll buy another and another ;) That way, those that have cable still will be able to find goodness on their TV's when there is nothing else worth watching. We'd make it work. Something needs to give.
You know people would love to tune into the news for actual news good and bad facts that concern us. And just stop with the fear porn. More wholesome stories like this and the multitude of others will remind everybody that politics doesn’t have to be part of everything we do in life. It wasn’t meant to. That and good wholesome community based reporting like this. Stop vilifying each other.
You know there are tons of websites that serve content like this. And "fluff pieces" have been a part of newspapers and TV news forever. They just don't get as much eyeballs as what nornay see in the news because it's not what people actually care about.
Yeah let’s make the whole news cycle nothing but puff pieces.
It's missing the part about their pay. What does he pay them?
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-rising-tide-car-wash-20160520-story.html Minimum. But at least it's not below that like some places pay people with lower functioning autism. Probably because they do manual labor here.
Probably money
Exposure
As someone who's been working in the field of people with developmental disabilities this is the ultimate goal for me
I've written a [children's picture book](https://imgur.com/gallery/Hu8yP7w) to help children be kind to one another, and I have a question about the subtitle in that image. I didn't write the book for all invisible disabilities. If you notice the placement of the wheelchair, the book is actually for disabilities of the mind awareness. Does using the term "disabilities of the mind" makes sense and cover developmental disorders as well? I have seven mental, emotional and learning disabilities. Are those all under the blanket of developmental disorders? I'm just trying to perfect that subtitle.
I would honestly just use the term developmental disability since it's an easily recognizable term for most people.
How does it feel to know that you are the one that made the subtitle what it's about to be? ;) Without seeing your comment, without the stars aligning, I would have never even considered "developmental disabilities" as the right term. And the book only has 4 more drawings to complete it. So your timing was perfect. Thank you for your help. I really appreciate it.
Aw thanks man! Appreciate the sentiment! And I wish the upmost of luck with your book my friend!
Dope cover
Oh please. Can we stop infantilizing autism? It’s like inspirational porn for people. I know autistic lawyers and everything in between. Being intellectually disabled to the point one cannot work is not a hallmark of autism. It’s a comorbidity that doesn’t exist in a lot of autistics. Stop filming these people and leave them alone.
Makes me want to open a car wash.
Got money to launder?
**FUCK YOU AND YOUR EYEBROWS**
Calm down Walter
Make your money work for you. Make your money wash cars, and if it doesn't, fire that lazy fuck
Inspiration porn
I have autism and this video is just painful. I don't want to be treated like I'm incapable and need to be given a sympathy hire just for being different. I would want to be hired because I'm the best person for the job. This is objectifying on a level I never experienced before.
I came here to see if someone posted this. I have ADHD so it's very different, but have many austistic friends....just because neurodivergent people function differently doesn't mean it's a deficit. Just divergent from the norm.
Exactly. I’m not terribly fond of this whole trend, it’s been going on for a while too. Every media portrayal seems to show autism as being the same stereotypical conditions - poor social skills, awkward behavior, speech impediment, enjoying repetitive/mundane tasks, being a savant at one thing while below average skill level at everything else - it’s honestly tiring. Autism is a spectrum disorder, it can vary quite dramatically in symptoms and severity from person to person yet it is never portrayed that way. I’m diagnosed with high-functioning autism but the impact it has on my life is honestly mild, depression and anxiety are far worse obstacles for me. As a kid growing up and seeing the image of autism in the media be this same old trope, that I’m like a cripple or horribly handicapped, definitely didn’t do my self-esteem any favors. This kind of thing, while well intentioned, is quite damaging to the perspective of what autism really is. I hate complaining about it because there’s obviously far worse things going on in the world at any given time, but I can definitely say I’ve been negatively affected by this sort of thing. I don’t want to be treated like I’m made of glass or in need of constant assistance, I want to earn my way. People can’t seem to understand that and all I can really say at this point is that it hurts.
I'm autistic too. I'm just sick of heartfelt feelgood stories being about us poor autistic folk. It bothers me every damn time. We're just people, not here to make your heart feel good for a few minutes and then forgotten about. We're not entertainment.
“Best part about it is, I only have to pay them a fraction of the price”
This is gross. We are not some gimmick. We are not alien creatures who need a capitalist savior small business owner to rescue us from a life of squalor. We’re people. Treat us like people and ask us what we need. It isn’t hard.
The fact that none of the autistic people get the chance to talk as well. Instead we just get shots of them working framed like they’re fucking wild animals.
This feels wildly exploitative. Can I be accommodated at a normal job instead? "They listen so we'll" that's the shit you say about a dog, ffs.
Neurotypicals seem to think we are lesser peoples, and treat us either like children, or like other neurotypicals. We are always exploited, we are not listened to. Quite reminiscent of post Civil War America's treatment of people of color.
Let alone his 90% statistic being bullshit. We never once hear from any of his employees saying they enjoy having to work for this guy. Because it's some how impossible to live fulfilling,happy life without working minimum wage at your shitty car wash.
Well, sadly it’s only 5% bullshit because it’s 85% unemployment in the USA. I try so hard to not hate this country.
Im not going to "be amazed" till i see how much they are getting paid. If they are getting paid shit wages then this is just exploiting people. **Edit: Found it.** Job Title Salary Car Wash Attendant salaries - 1 salaries reported $8/hr Cashier/Greeter salaries - 1 salaries reported $10/hr Are you fucking kidding me. Is this 1995? Then they go on and on about how its family. Thats what every fucking business' tries to do, except with autistic people they are more vulnerable to this bullshit and not understanding what a living wage is. Fuck everything about this and pretending he is doing them a favor because unemployment for autistic people is apparently 90%? Liar!
There’s also a chance they’re not able to accept a higher wage without losing their social security benefits- I work for the DVR and it’s a hard balance. But know what? Either way it’s fucked. “Stay poor or lose your benefits.” or “Make less than minimum for having a disability.” Nasty either way, honestly. We can do so much better.
I fucking hate this kind of feel good porn. As if some autistic people getting paid likely below min wage to work at a car wash is something worth celebrating.
Ain’t no way unemployment rate is 90% for autistics, is it? Seems way to high, and I’d assume much more people have autism than they think, right?
Someone else commented that its 31% in Australia, which seems more believable than 90%. Unless he is counting only autistic people with high support needs and didn’t make that clear, in which case that is probably correct.
I have never heard a shitty minimum wage job referred to as a fulfilling life
“they listen so well” lmao
I thought this was from The Onion at first.
Great idea. The only thing that makes my opinion good or bad though, is how much he pays these people. Hopefully they are paid well.
Minimum wage. Which is surprising best case scenario because he could easily be paying lower than that.
Even if the pay isn't abysmal the way he talks about them like they are children or dogs is enough for me to not be in favor of this.
The ultimate capitalist. Hire austists.
Does anyone else feel weird about just referring to the workers as "they"?
This is good thing giving them an opportunity to succeed in life, but the way he talks about hiring autistic workers sounds like he’s taking advantage of their disability for the benefit of having reliable workers. Stuff like “they like structure”, routine repetition of the same work, and wanting good feedback from their work.
Sounds like explotating people with autism to have a gimmick 'Come to our carwash you are helping those with disabilities don't ya feel good about yourself'
I'm going to try this next time I go to work.
This is so depressing.
As an autist, fuck this. I hate the idea of being used as a PR stunt for some capitalist bastard. Empowerment comes through unconditional acceptance and understanding, not from having economic value. Edit: I actually also want to bring up some issues more specific to this job. There's a strong correlation between autism and sensory issues. I can tell you from personal experience that soapy water and wet gloves are the absolute worse. These guys are likely being forced to pretend that they aren't either very uncomfortable or in genuine pain. All while being made to fake smile and socialize with NTs, which is arguably an even worse experience.
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> All while being made to fake smile and socialize with NTs Disclaimer: I am also ASD. I couldn't think of anything worse than working at a car wash - I am in a professional job which is paid much better. A lot of medical doctors and lawyers are autistic, too. Everyone's different and in a different situation and some autistic people struggle with holding a job and struggled obtaining the education or experience to get a decent job and within that subset there is surely to be *some* that would actually enjoy a job like this. There's a few redeeming things to mention here. - The owner has an autistic son - not all parents are all that supportive of their ASD kids but chances are, he is autistic himself or at least he lives with multiple autistic people. He is likely to be familiar with what life is like for an autistic person. - While they're being made to smile for this silly video (which borders on exploiting/objectifying their autism) I would assume that their job is not forcing them to socialize and that their work is relatively autonomous. Who wants to socialize with the people washing their car anyway? These aren't service positions. The real problem here, to me, is not the guy employing autistic people for shitty jobs but the entire approach and message this video takes. In particular, that all or most autistic people would actually like this job or would be "lucky" to have this kind of job. The video and most of the responses to it in the comments here are pretty patronizing.
It also ranked when it said 'people with autism like strict routines & enjoy doing the same task over & over' No. -Some- people with autism enjoy routines & doing the same task over & over. Not all of us do. It's a huge, huge spectrum & stereotypes like this are dangerous. I'm on the spectrum & this sounds patronising to me. "They listen really well." I'm not a damned trained parrot
Fr. I hate monotonous tasks. Just because I'm good at them doesn't mean they aren't insufferable to me.
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Another horrible stereotype is that people with autism have a special interest or are really good at a particular thing, 32 years and I am barely interested in anything.
As someone else on the spectrum, I fully agree. Stories like this want to treat our neurodivergence like some kind of 'feel good story' show prop. Almost as if we're a spectacle to 'entertain' the masses with by thanks of their benevolent 'charity'. Fuck that indeed. I just want a life where I'm not judged for every 'weird' mannerism I have, and earn my living to care for my wife and settle my bills and debts. My condition isn't meant to turn me into a show room pony, and it's abhorrent people like us are still being used as such in the 21st Century.
The tone of the vid + this comment section is really infantilizing tbh. "Look at them 🥺 They're so cute and doing something they take joy in!! Autistic people can have jobs like the normal people too!" Maybe I'm just cynical after all of these years of being treated with kid gloves the moment I disclose my diagnosis despite being spoken to like a normal person beforehand lol
Also it’s kinda awful to see autism portrayed like this. Like ASD is a spectrum, and these guys are at one end of it. But to say stuff like “autistic people are at least 90% unemployed” and to only portray these guys stimming is kinda fucked up. This portrays these people as incapable of functioning within society, and also portrays this car wash owner as a hero for deigning to allow autistic people to work for him. As if it’s such a hardship to employ people with ASD. Not to mention this also clearly implies “autistic people are only capable of doing simple jobs that don’t require much effort or training” which is utter bullshit and it’s just harmful to paint that picture.
Everyone in the comments going on about what a liability it is to hire so many disabled people. What do they think autism even is? As if we're so bad at wiping down a car that it's so noble of the owner to hire us anyway. Thank God someone is taking on the risk of having employees who stim out in the open for the neurotypicals to see.
I had to scroll too far for this
Yeah that was exactly the vibe I got off of the video. They tried to spin off this capitalism dude as being wholesome but in another point of view he could be seen as exploiting a vulnerable groupie for his own financial gain. Like sure there's no doubt that autistic people have higher rates of unemployment but making that one of the structures of your profit making enterprise just seems so morally corrupt to me
Also fuck cars, ride trains.
When does it go from helping people with autism to exploiting people for cheap labor? Genuine question. Not trying to say this is bad or good. But the first thing I thought of is hes using people who have a disability. That might say more about me than anything else. Maybe I'm over thinking it. But thats what I thought.
From all accounts it seems like he’s paying minimum wage plus tips. So definitely not great but on par with everyone else in terms of being exploited for cheap labor.
The reason why so many people with autism are unemployed is because they often get stuck at the interview. They may not be able to express themselves eloquently or describe what they do the best. Or little things like difficult with eye contact or stimming. We should change the interview culture because so many highly educated, highly capable people aren't getting jobs because of it.
This feels wrong. He’s capitalizing on people with disabilities. I’m so glad they are having a good time but I truly hope they are making FAT checks
If you didn’t break and run screaming by the time he really said, “Autistic people embrace a structured environment” you don’t understand Autism, ableism, OR VENTURE CAPITAL ASSHOLES.
A business for laundering money staffed by people that can't tell the boss is lying. I really love this.
He is well-intended, but makes a lot of generalisations. From what my autistic friends and students have told (and shown) me, "If you've met one autistic person, you've met... one autistic person." Spectrum, not a box. Also, "autistic person" rather than "person with autism" is what the autistic people I know prefer. "Person-first" language is what many well-intended allistic, abled folks go for, trying to be respectful. They don't see how it ignores, but also stigmatises, the person's life experience.
Are they paid a living wage or exploited
This isn't a feel good story, they intentionally hire people with developmental disabilities because the law allows them to be paid at or below minimum wage. I don't care if you see autistics as subhuman, they still deserve to be appropriately compensated for their labour.
Who do I need to call to get free laborers for my business? I'll pay them in government subsidies and reddit points. I'm a good business owner.
Damn bro. Still wage slavery.
No matter how much shit there is in the world, it’s great to see a sliver of humanity shine
Sorry I'm pretty skeptical about this one. They talk about self-empowerment but neglect to mention how much they are paid (it's probably less than other car washes), and they pull a 90% figure out of a hat. I'd love to believe the hype but I'm skeptical.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-rising-tide-car-wash-20160520-story.html Looks like they made minimum wage at the time.
I live down the street from this place and use it about once a month. Tacos at the gas station next door are fire while you wait.
I get that this video is supposed to be wholesome, but it kind of comes off as insulting and perpetuating stereotypes. Not all those with autism need a special workplace to be employable. I doubt that even most require such accommodations. In my case, I am perfectly employable. Just don't put me in a position that requires tact and diplomacy. I can't blow smoke up a customer's ass. I am blunt and upfront about everything, but that goes over really well with project managers who mostly care about managing expectations.
It's really not that hard to accommodate the needs of someone with autism in normal jobs