Jason Arday #3

[cokeyoakey]

One of the things to come out of the Cartrarian analysis (which I’d not picked up before) is that Arday didn’t even start mentioning autism as part of his “story” until 2017. Not on the Cilla Black show in 2012, not in his 2015 PhD (which only mentioned “learning difficulties”), but only in 2017:

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Cartrarian does say that he obviously hasn’t seen Arday’s medical records (nor had any of the press) - but he is highly sceptical of the autism diagnosis and concluded that some kind of developmental difficulty was more likely.

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Yes, I was going to highlight these paragraphs (above) just before yours as well Tabitha.

Arday talks about having to "mask his autism", when actually he seems to be describing trying to do a job that he's not qualified for.

"What makes the account sound autistic is the interpretative vocabulary subsequently placed around it - confusion becomes “processing delay”, pretending to understand becomes “masking”, and difficulty performing the job becomes the consequence of having to “hide my autism”."

"It looks clear that universities have repeatedly promoted someone who, by his own account, could not follow the ordinary professional interactions his job required. If no contemporaneous evidence of an autism diagnosis emerges, the less flattering possibility is that Arday was sometimes simply confused, out of his depth or bad at his job, and that “autistic masking” converted ordinary incompetence into part of his inspirational brand. Autism made the weaknesses marketable."

 

[emm]

The enmeshment of two protective characteristics is what has been so protective for the individual in this debacle. It has neutralised, obscured and deflected critique.

Dolezal was globally pilloried for claiming a Black identity. Would neurodivergence have protected her from condemnation?
Which protected characteristic is the Trump card?

The coherence of the autism claims are forensically disentangled, and the point is appropriately made that an autism diagnosis is not a free pass to be poor /incapable at the job. Adjustments have to be reasonable not bespoke and holistic to the extent of never applying a quality standard. In my view those with a Neurodivergent diagnosis should be concerned about a spin of ''Why autism is blamed for everything". It will be hugely damaging for those who do not have a fallback protection characteristic.

Cartrarian's article has undertaken an excellent analysis of trying to unpick the autism claim and analyse the other claims of Aspergers Global Development Delay/Learning Difficulties diagnoses.

If an unsupportable claim of a protected characteristic has led to benefits the individual would not have received in the absence of this identity there should be a reckoning.

I always felt so awful for Dolezal, she was clearly really traumatised by her upbringing and finally found an identity that she really felt, understandably imo, and not like she made herself rich with her fraud (as far as I'm aware). I also wonder how much the hatred/reaction is based on her being a woman let's be honest

 

[FrumpyCat]

You have to supply evidence of a DX to access Disabled Student Allowance and while it is possible to get DLA without a DX, it’s almost impossible to get PIP without one. For people who are zero direct experience - disabled living allowance is until you’re 16; personal independence payment is after that. I believe the cut off used to be 18.

AFAIK JA doesn’t write about benefits in his book but I’m surprised by that. Surely the challenge of getting them would be important. Or the impact of transitioning from DLA to PIP.

Are we to assume his family never claimed?

I also don’t believe he was autistic. Not least because he was a massive liar

PIp wasn't introduced until the mid 2010s, so it would have still been DLA, although I can't remember if that would have been reassessed at 16 or 18 or after a time interval.

JA does mention having an assistant/TA, so he would have had a Statement of Special Educational Needs (now EHCP) to get extra help.

To me this makes his wide eyed surprise at the availability of DSA and assessment for dyslexia (iirc to get funding a diagnosis has to be under 3 years old so there would be a reassessment). a little confusing. Especially as the amazing Sandro was there to mentor him. I really would have thought Sandro would have said something.

Although what is amusing me is the claim that he council wouldn't let him paint his bedroom walls in a colour he liked. He could have painted his bedroom with a montage of fluffy kittens or a life-size representation of Morrissey from The Smiths in his declining years, and the council wouldn't give a duck.

 

[emm]

PIp wasn't introduced until the mid 2010s, so it would have still been DLA, although I can't remember if that would have been reassessed at 16 or 18 or after a time interval.

JA does mention having an assistant/TA, so he would have had a Statement of Special Educational Needs (now EHCP) to get extra help.

To me this makes his wide eyed surprise at the availability of DSA and assessment for dyslexia (iirc to get funding a diagnosis has to be under 3 years old so there would be a reassessment). a little confusing. Especially as the amazing Sandro was there to mentor him. I really would have thought Sandro would have said something.

Although what is amusing me is the claim that he council wouldn't let him paint his bedroom walls in a colour he liked. He could have painted his bedroom with a montage of fluffy kittens or a life-size representation of Morrissey from The Smiths in his declining years, and the council wouldn't give a duck.

This thing about the wall painting is (imo) also indicative of people he is appealing to. Not people who have ever lived in a council house and imagine these are the rules (full disclosure I never have either but I know from family/friends etc that these are not rules that exist) but people who have no connection/awareness of it at all

 

[boombalat]

This thing about the wall painting is (imo) also indicative of people he is appealing to. Not people who have ever lived in a council house and imagine these are the rules (full disclosure I never have either but I know from family/friends etc that these are not rules that exist) but people who have no connection/awareness of it at all

... rather like the Hoop RInser-in-chief who managed to hoodwink gullible middle-class ppl that her slop-and-mush cookbooks were anything other than a pisstake.

 

[MoistPlinth]

My son was diagnosed at 2.5 - although at 2 he was diagnosed with Social Communication difficulties. There was no waiting list then, I spoke to my HV of my concerns at his 2 year check, and she referred him straight to a paediatrician who diagnosed him. The paed also told me not to let the LA send him to mainstream school, as he was non-verbal and still in nappies. She said it was much easier to move from special school to mainstream than the other way. She was also very helpful in getting my son his Statement (as it was then)

I still have every single letter from the paed, speech therapist, Statement, EHCP etc, and my son is 24.

I've worked with kids in a mainstream primary that couldn't read properly in year 6, and no way were they going off to uni.

JA reminds me so much of a woman I know, who was a buller. I called her a symptom stealer, because whatever someone she knew had, she'd then have it too, but obviously so much worse. Or her kids would have it, worse of all. Autistic kids, so easy to manipulate into telling people what she'd told them they had.

 

[boombalat]

Well, well, well. Cofnas' suspension has been lifted.

I wonder if the investigation into him not being the best man for the job will continue...

 

[Valiofthedolls]

If you can’t be arsed to read the substack I linked to (and I don’t blame you becuase it is super long), here are the highlights:

• Arday didn’t claim to be autistic until pretty late in his public story
• his description of his diagnoses are woolly/ incorrect/change all the time (for any diagnosis, you get a letter explicitly stating what your DX is
• autism was a kind of ’we didn’t know at the time but it‘s obvious now’ for the guy who inspired Pinball Wizard.
• pretty much every single dramatic happening in his life is mirrored in a Home and Away episode

I read the whole thing- tho it took a while! Thanks so much for posting the link @VeniVidiVicki

This part really resonates.

 

[i'm.just.highly.selective]

Although what is amusing me is the claim that he council wouldn't let him paint his bedroom walls in a colour he liked. He could have painted his bedroom with a montage of fluffy kittens or a life-size representation of Morrissey from The Smiths in his declining years, and the council wouldn't give a duck.

I've missed his actual claim of this, but it sounds a lot like the sort of thing a parent will say to a child when they don't want to tell them 'no' and/or deal with a tantrum about it - you're not allowed to do something because of someone else's/a higher authority's rules.

 

[VeniVidiVicki]

My son was diagnosed at 2.5 - although at 2 he was diagnosed with Social Communication difficulties. There was no waiting list then, I spoke to my HV of my concerns at his 2 year check, and she referred him straight to a paediatrician who diagnosed him. The paed also told me not to let the LA send him to mainstream school, as he was non-verbal and still in nappies. She said it was much easier to move from special school to mainstream than the other way. She was also very helpful in getting my son his Statement (as it was then)

I still have every single letter from the paed, speech therapist, Statement, EHCP etc, and my son is 24.

I've worked with kids in a mainstream primary that couldn't read properly in year 6, and no way were they going off to uni.

JA reminds me so much of a woman I know, who was a buller. I called her a symptom stealer, because whatever someone she knew had, she'd then have it too, but obviously so much worse. Or her kids would have it, worse of all. Autistic kids, so easy to manipulate into telling people what she'd told them they had.

I have a lever arch file of letters and assessments. It’s absolutely exhausting being a parent of an ND kid and fighting for them. And none of them go from barely functional and tit smearing to oxbridge professor.

It’s just such a bleeping Reform narrative. Try harder and you too can go from being non verbal to a highly paid intellectual!

None of the omnicause lot seem to have figured that out tho

 

[InkHeart]

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Yes, I was going to highlight these paragraphs (above) just before yours as well Tabitha.

Arday talks about having to "mask his autism", when actually he seems to be describing trying to do a job that he's not qualified for.

"What makes the account sound autistic is the interpretative vocabulary subsequently placed around it - confusion becomes “processing delay”, pretending to understand becomes “masking”, and difficulty performing the job becomes the consequence of having to “hide my autism”."

"It looks clear that universities have repeatedly promoted someone who, by his own account, could not follow the ordinary professional interactions his job required. If no contemporaneous evidence of an autism diagnosis emerges, the less flattering possibility is that Arday was sometimes simply confused, out of his depth or bad at his job, and that “autistic masking” converted ordinary incompetence into part of his inspirational brand. Autism made the weaknesses marketable."

This is the problem, when his confusion is chalked up to autism (instead of not understanding things because he isn't super intelligent), then it becomes ableism to say that Arday is bad at his job. So no one wants to risk their job by raising the concern that he isn't good at his job.

 

[Valiofthedolls]

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Yes, I was going to highlight these paragraphs (above) just before yours as well Tabitha.

Arday talks about having to "mask his autism", when actually he seems to be describing trying to do a job that he's not qualified for.

"What makes the account sound autistic is the interpretative vocabulary subsequently placed around it - confusion becomes “processing delay”, pretending to understand becomes “masking”, and difficulty performing the job becomes the consequence of having to “hide my autism”."

"It looks clear that universities have repeatedly promoted someone who, by his own account, could not follow the ordinary professional interactions his job required. If no contemporaneous evidence of an autism diagnosis emerges, the less flattering possibility is that Arday was sometimes simply confused, out of his depth or bad at his job, and that “autistic masking” converted ordinary incompetence into part of his inspirational brand. Autism made the weaknesses marketable."

So, if we are to believe this, makes you wonder how he got through his viva and all those intense academic interviews. Or any face to face interaction with students.

Did they just ask him a load of questions and then let him come back ‘about two days later’ to answer them, once he’d understood what it was they were saying (by which time he’d lost the context)?

*Tho I fully believe that at least 90% of the time (plus 20%, to plagiarise some of his invented research data that added up to errr…110%) he had no bleeping clue what was going on/was incapable of doing what his job required.

 

[TrashleenMoron]

It’s just such a bleeping Reform narrative. Try harder and you too can go from being non verbal to a highly paid intellectual!

Just like how Jack Monroe was perfect for the Tories.

 

[FrumpyCat]

I've missed his actual claim of this, but it sounds a lot like the sort of thing a parent will say to a child when they don't want to tell them 'no' and/or deal with a tantrum about it - you're not allowed to do something because of someone else's/a higher authority's rules.

This when JA was an adult. A story about painting his childhood bedroom with his brother or some other balls. Target audience, people who have never been in a council house let alone lived in one.

 

[zcfthc5]

None of the omnicause lot seem to have figured that out tho

Omnicause is such a great term ty for thisss

 

[hereforthechaos]

You have to supply evidence of a DX to access Disabled Student Allowance and while it is possible to get DLA without a DX, it’s almost impossible to get PIP without one. For people who are zero direct experience - disabled living allowance is until you’re 16; personal independence payment is after that. I believe the cut off used to be 18.

AFAIK JA doesn’t write about benefits in his book but I’m surprised by that. Surely the challenge of getting them would be important. Or the impact of transitioning from DLA to PIP.

Are we to assume his family never claimed?

I also don’t believe he was autistic. Not least because he was a massive liar

I got extra support and small amount of funding at university but I had to go to an external assessment centre as well as provide evidence before it was awarded. It was so traumatic I wished I hadn't applied although it helped long term.
Also similar age to JA I did not receive an autism diagnoses as a child I was "difficult".
And to echo what others have said autism is not an intellectual deficit or learning disability by itself, however many individuals may have both a learning disability and also being autistic.
Nothing like making a minefield of an area harder to families and people seeking diagnoses and support

 

[Valiofthedolls]

I have a lever arch file of letters and assessments. It’s absolutely exhausting being a parent of an ND kid and fighting for them. And none of them go from barely functional and tit smearing to oxbridge professor.

It’s just such a bleeping Reform narrative. Try harder and you too can go from being non verbal to a highly paid intellectual!

None of the omnicause lot seem to have figured that out tho

Think this links’s been posted before, and I have no clue/interest in what this dude’s background is- I’m just going off the fact I’ve already listened to multiple vids whose synopses/synopsae/synopsi?! he posts here and what he presents here’s an accurate representation of their contents (I found this because, struck by the number of times Arday describes his diagnosis in “old money”, I searched for Arday’s name with that elevator speech/meaningless keynote bollox phrase and this link came up).

He provides a transcription in v brief synopsis for multiple Arday vids, in chronological order. https://lukeford.net/blog/?p=199606
It’s well worth a look.

The below is why the whole thing is so, so pernicious. (ETA: he provides all YouTube links but this one’s subsequently been set to private)

 

[minimaz]

This is a ridiculous interview on the today programme with Alexandra Pringle a former publisher at Bloomsbury, apparently we shouldn't expect memoirs to be true but we should expect biographies to be true. So you can just make up whatever lies you want about yourself and publish it.

Also we should have had drastically lower expectations for Arday to be truthful because was autistic, I have never before heard autistic=fantasist

 

[Tabitha D]

As an aside, the ludicrous Jolyon is taking quite a kicking over on X for his latest finger-pointing about the media.
I don’t think it’s going quite how he envisaged.

 

[minimaz]

As an aside, the ludicrous Jolyon is taking quite a kicking over on X for his latest finger-pointing about the media.
I don’t think it’s going quite how he envisaged.

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I cannot stand supercilious people like Maugham who think anyone with a different world view than them is just uneducated rum and if they only saw the real truth then they'd leave behind thinking in any other way than he thinks is acceptable.

Its judgemental attitudes like his that caused things like Brexit and the rise of Reform , trying to pretend like what people were experiencing was just due to racism or them just being a but old or thick and telling people they're wrong rather than trying to understand where they're coming from or address problems.