Singapore is just a tiny city among the 52 territories in Asia. There is a need to form an international organisation that can outlive any single point of failure within the network, as well as to establish synergies with all the other stakeholders of the 3 billion strong Asian population.
The Asian autism community can band together to gain bargaining power via bulk purchases and service contracts. Pre-orders can fund the development of customised solutions for the autism community. Collective pressure can encourage large organisations and governments to take action. Cross-country collaborations building on a web of trusted partners become possible.
Examples:
- Developing affordable customised solutions with the help of designers and factories in third-world countries:
- high-precision location trackers to locate missing children
- rugged phone and tablet casings to avoid damage to meltdowns
- mechanical horses for therapeutic home use
- apps and sensors running on Artificial Intelligence and Big Data that can identify and warn of triggers for meltdowns
- Establishing a pan-Asia networks funded by philanthropists and investors in first-world countries:
- peer-to-peer insurance
- farming community networks/franchises
- business networks/franchises by autistic entrepreneurs
- foundation to provide scholarships and seed funding for talented autistics
- research programmes for bettering the welfare of autistic people
- watchdog advocacy group to apply pressure on those who harm autistics or damage autism advocacy work
- lobbying group to get governments to pass a universal set of autism-friendly laws throughout the entire Asia