Let's Talk Autism

It's a no from me dawg.

I've decided to start sharing some of my sensory issues in hopes that it might help somebody else identify their own struggles.

Growing up with a twisted idea of what Autism actually was and not becoming aware of my own neurodivergence until later in life, listening to and reading about lived Autistic experiences was one of the biggest things that really helped me on my own path to self discovery.

Well...

Most people still think that you can be "more" or "less" Autistic, and so they label us as "high functioning" VS. "low functioning", but the truth is that those terms are actually very harmful and outdated as nobody with Autism is truly functioning at 100% capacity in the society we live in.

What we know today about masking (the conscious or unconscious suppression or hiding of elements of a person's Autistic identity) is really helpful in not only de-stigmatizing the stereotypes we see perpetuated in the media and the lack of representation for different experiences, but also giving people a fighting chance to learn about their Autism when in most cases it would be brushed off as just anxiety and depression.

Instead of using high & low functioning labels, start saying "high masking" or "low masking" - you can even use the terms "high support needs" or "low support needs".

Some Autistic people can drive while others cannot. Some Autistic people can live alone while others cannot. Some Autistic people can work while others can only do that a couple times a week or not at all. Each Autistic individual is going to have their own unique experience, there is no such thing as "one size fits all" when it comes to disability.

(Photos taken from Google)

For a really long time the one and only thing I have ever been sure about wanting to do with my life is advocating for mental health and neurodiversity, but up until now I haven't felt like I could comfortably and safely put myself in that type of spotlight.

So thanks for joining me here, I hope that together we can learn from eachother and boost the voices of neurodivergent people - we need more media representation that isn't perpetually based on stereotypes and I hope this page can be a small start in the right direction not only for myself, but for MANY people from all different walks of life.