Autistic school trauma is:
knowing you’re disliked, but not being able to know why
consistently being called out for your stims because they’re “disruptive” or “annoying”
trying to simply mesh in with others to avoid getting targeted
suppressing your anger to the point that you feel it’s not justified
never being able to form connections no matter how hard you try, and thinking it’s your fault
being able to form connections but never being able to be true to yourself or set boundaries since you’re so used to being disrespected
witnessing ableism from classmates but not doing anything about it because they’ll just invalidate you
never feeling like your opinions can be validated because you’re “weird”
being outcasted by your classmates constantly
having classmates either let you know outright or subtly that you’re disliked
eventually believing that you deserve to be disliked
suffering from chronic low self esteem that affects your grades, your ability to function, and even your ideas of love
frequently getting into toxic/codependent friendships
having teachers criticize you constantly for your symptoms
living from a complex of never being good enough
feeling like you have to reach a neurotypical standard on a daily basis and if you don’t, you’re incompetent
if you’re feeling any of these things because of school, autistic or not, know that what you are experiencing is trauma, and that your trauma is valid. You don’t deserve to be in a school environment where you are consistently criticized or made to feel like you don’t belong nor can’t be good enough. You deserve an environment that makes you feel safe enough to be neurodivergent, to be yourself. You deserve to feel loved, to feel cared for, exactly as you are, with no strings attached.
