Sara Is Autistic

Diagnosed in 1993 with ASD, diagnosed in 2017 with ADHD. Neurodiversity advocate, scientist, nerd. Demisexual. She/her

[saraisautistic]

Why do I have “beef” with Autism Speaks? Let me show you, but know that there is a clip in here about a parent discussing KILLING HER AUTISTIC CHILD in this: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Al96VCYOgm8

You know what’s great about the internet? Stuff like this lasts FOREVER. How would someone like me, an autistic, feel if they were looking up Autism Speaks and came across this very popular documentary? Did I not convince you? Here’s another extremely ableist commercial from Autism Speaks: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9UgLnWJFGHQ

While the company has taken these down and apologized, many people will still come across this media and not know any better, as the company’s apology is buried under tons of website pages. Regardless, Autism Speaks continues to:

• Only have three #actuallyautistic employees on their payroll, and only ONE on their Board of Directors

• Encourage traumatic practices like Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA): https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AIA-08-2017-0016/full/html

• Give about 1% of their TOTAL funding to the autistics and their families that actually need it: https://autisticadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/AutismSpeaksFlyer2020.pdf

• Continue to fund research for mandatory curing of autism (don’t get me wrong; I’m for a cure, but that cure should be up to the autistic receiving it and THEM ALONE. I know plenty of autistics who want a cure for their autism, and I support them because THEY are the ones requesting the cure, not their parents or loved ones).

Autistics are speaking, all right. We are speaking out against companies founded on false stereotypes, false promises, and false advertising. If you want to support autism, find organizations led by people who actually have the neurodivergence. Two of my favorite are below:

• Autism Self Advocacy Network: https://autisticadvocacy.org

• Autistic Women and Non-binary Network: https://awnnetwork.org

[saraisautistic]

TW Asperger’s, Nazism, Eugenics:

Even though the DSM-5 has merged Asperger’s with autism, many neurotypicals still use the phrase. A lot of people don’t know the history behind the phrase, which this article explains in great detail. The simple phrase Asperger’s offends many autistics, but other autistics still claim this diagnosis as their own - likely because that’s what they were diagnosed as and they are reluctant to change something that is a part of their core identity.

I was diagnosed with autism, for those wondering, without any functioning label attached, in 1993 - not Asperger’s. Asperger’s is not a part of my vocabulary unless I am discussing something like this. As a classically trained scientist and medical professional, I try my best to keep up with the peer-reviewed literature and form my opinions and vocabulary around that.

'A Nazi in all but name': Author argues Asperger's syndrome should be renamed

[disabeetled]

K so i had someone in a recent post say "i have (x condition) and i just dont talk about it anymore" (cause no one listened.) and while thats a very real, very vulnerable thing to say... its also not how we, as disabled people, as cripples, as a movement, elicit change. please, i beg of you, if you have the lungs to speak, the heart to talk, the voice to be heard, the hand to write or draw, the fingers to type or to sign with... never, ever, EVER shut up about your pain, your struggle, whatever you go through. do NOT let abelist rhetoric silence you. thats how social stagnacy happens. thats how change meets reversals. thats how we lose what very little we have. speak up, in whatever language you can. I beg of you, for you and for all of us, don't let them speak over us.

no matter how unimportant your pain may seem, or how small the microagression was... remember they are but drops in a vast ocean filled to the brim with people who dont understand and who dont care that they don't understand.

you are worth so much more than that. speak up, sign louder. rise up in body, mind, or spirit.

important addendum: if it would activley put you in harms way to speak up, know you are held by all of us anyways. we'll yell louder for you.

[saraisautistic]

LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK!!!!

[crazycatsiren]

Apparently this needs to be said:

Spouses/partners/significant others of disabled people are not "heroes", ok?

[catgirl-kaiju]

I love that literally you can present two autistic people with the same thing, and one will be, like, "I love this thing because I'm autistic." and the other will be, like, "I hate this thing because I'm autistic." and both of them are correct to attribute their feelings to autism because being autistic is just like that

[saraisautistic]

Performative Neurodiversity – the appropriation and watering down of a Human Rights Movement for profit

What are some signs that you’ve wasted your money on a neurodiversity-lite product, book, or class?

Worth a read: so many companies claiming to specialize in autism don’t even have a single autistic on their board of directors. Even the largest companies, like Autism Speaks, only have ONE autistic on their board and THREE autistic employees total. Remember: the key to inclusion is nothing about us without us and more than one in a room.

[anexperimentallife]

[saraisautistic]

One of the best “arrows in our quiver” are the autistics who share their experiences. Many neurotypicals think that autistics are cold, apathetic, and narcissistic. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Oftentimes, we are actually OVERempathetic, relating and caring for others so much that it depletes our social battery down to zero. I can’t tell you how many times I have lost sleep or cried over someone losing their loved one to covid (for context, I was a covid researcher during the beginning of the pandemic - in a vaccine hesitant area - and had to interact with patients on a daily basis). I had never met these strangers beforehand, but seeing their pain and suffering shook me to my core, every time.

[crazycatsiren]

Many disabled people can appear visibly "fine". I can, too, and I'm a full time mobility aid user.

Don't judge a book by its cover.

[irlwakko]

Things to start calling allistic people IMMEDIATELY:

people with allism

people suffering from allism

people trapped in allistic bodies

low-functioning allistics

the boringly abled

“he’s mostly normal, he’s just got a lick of the ‘lism”

[anxietyproblem]

[saraisautistic]

Me whenever I start blabbing about my special interest to neurotypicals.

[saraisautistic]

So I have severe emetophobia. My mom threw up and it’s in the outdoor trash. I know this. She made me take out her trash and I start retching, nearly throwing up myself because of how strong of an aversion I have to vomit. SHE SEES THIS AND STARTS CRACKING UP AND ACCUSING ME OF FAKING IT. Now I’m lying on the bathroom floor in a cold sweat, waiting to throw up myself.

[saraisautistic]

PSA: if an autistic tells you that they had trauma from ABA, it is insanely ableist to reply “but you had so much fun in ABA and it helped you so much!”

The reality is, children don’t have the complex reasoning and logic that adults have. Things that may seem “fun” to them currently can leave lasting effects as an adult. I cannot remember ANY of my ABA sessions. This is likely because those memories are repressed.

Many so-called “autism moms” absolutely hate having their worldview challenged. It’s helpful to remember that damaging practices such as lobotomies and shock therapy were also once considered humane. By challenging an autistics view and personal experiences on ABA, you are invalidating their experience and telling them that you would rather have them present as neurotypical than be their authentic selves.

Consider this peer-reviewed journal: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AIA-08-2017-0016/full/html?fbclid=IwAR3vN0MwnuJKqtpB1ml0W3WdY5wqofD_3XvsqwfNhtnaQvbxQxM2IVzwGlo

[daughterofanarcissistwoman]

[saraisautistic]

The lived experience of autistic teachers: a review of the literature

Did you know that many autistics hold jobs in society? It’s a small fraction of us, sure, but we have the extreme privilege of learning from these wonderful individuals. Here is an example of how autistic teachers view their job and how inclusion plays a part in their everyday lives.

[saraisautistic]

Let’s face it - many of us know a neurodivergent child. We may have even been one ourselves! Growing up in the nineties (yes, I’m one of those “danged millennials” people love to complain about, although I’ve never had avocado toast in my life), I was often shamed, ridiculed, and bullied for my differences. I grew up in a world where suppressing my autistic traits was the standard practice; the more neurotypical I presented, the happier my peers were, and the less I got bullied.

Today, we are beginning to recognize and accept that varying neurotypes exist - and not only that, but they should be celebrated as well. Imagine if we all thought the same - what a boring world that would be! Society is beginning to not only recognize different neurotypes, but celebrate us for being our authentic selves as well. Society still has a LONG way to go, but we are beginning to see a positive shift - and that’s something we can contribute to, one person at a time.

[autisticadvocacy]

Opinion | The U.S. Must Invest in the People Who Care for Children’s Mental Health

Ways to make the work more sustainable for new and experienced therapists.

“If we believe that children are our most precious resource and that there is a child mental health care crisis, we should invest in those who care for our children."