“To be honest, I love having a label”
Tyler works everyday with people with disability and self-identifies with Autism. How does he change people’s views? He says that he does not inform some of his friends about his disability until later on in their friendship. When he does tell them about it, their views on people with Autism change because the taboo is lifted and they can openly discuss it with him. Being ‘label-free’ to some of his friends, and later intentionally talking about his disability, shows the people around him that disability was already part of their life. This, he says, changes their views towards other people with Autism and Aspergers, because they are not, [as he jokingly put it] “diseased” or off-limits.
Tyler continues to say that Arts2Gether is “showing that people can achieve no matter what… if their brain is wired differently or physically disabled… it makes no difference”. Even though Tyler identifies with disability, he liked our idea of a label free space: “A space where people can make artwork, and people are defined by what they do rather than how they are perceived”. His call to others is a critical perspective which was able to be expressed in the space (Bigby et al, 2013), “think about yourself and what benefits you” otherwise people with disabilities won’t meet their needs because society doesn’t necessarily account for them. He is encouraging people from his community to support themselves first, and lead the way in the transition to inclusion.

A new perspective of the different