#benevolent ableism

[autisticventpage]

[captainclickycat]

Some neurotypical: Autistic people are soooooo smart and superior to us normos!! It’s so cool how their brains are all specifically wired for maths and science!!!!

Me, a 29yo Autistic, being confronted with a maths problem designed for twelve-year-olds:

[metapianycist]

i saw a "not disability... different ability!" bumper sticker today and made the loudest fart noise possible in my mind at the vehicle

hypermobility gives me the Different Ability of becoming injured by things that don't injure most people. executive dysfunction gives me the Different Ability™ of immediately forgetting what someone has just told me. 🙃

i regret to inform you, driver, that "disabled" is a very important word for many of us in describing ourselves, that can be a source of pride. because disabled experiences aren't inherently less valuable than abled experiences. and sometimes we think our disabilities (like chronic pain) just fucking suck.

just let us call ourselves disabled, y'all

[autisticventpage]

Whoop, there it is! 🐸☕

[chin-up-and-drown-slower]

Are you a parent of a disabled child? If so, I’m going to need you to forget you’re a parent for the next five minutes or so and just be a person reading a blog.

Notes on how to (and how not to) be an ally for disabled people.

[autisticadvocacy]

You might think you are being nice, but please, don't stop disabled people in the street to pray for us.

[metapianycist]

highlights from the ellen autistic barista video (the interview, not the video Carly Fleischmann made of sam) :

“kids who were with autism” (the manager says this entertainingly awkward phrase to describe the camp for autistic kids where he met sam)

the manager hired sam (autistic person) without an interview basically because he’s autistic and felt bad for him?? (that is the impression i get from how he wanted to make sam’s dream come true by hiring him?)

sam’s manager: “sam has made me a better person”

ellen: “you’re an inspiration, sam” 

sam stims openly at work and that’s pretty rad. it’s also cool to see him rock back and forth on national TV and not be shamed for it.

this segment would have been infinitely better if they didn’t use words like “inspiration” or act like sam exists to teach NTs (including his customers) to be better people. also, if you’re telling a story of “autistic person gets job despite being told he was unemployable!” maybe autistic people should be your target audience. it shouldn’t be a feel-good segment made for NTs to give themselves backpats for giving us basic decency. :(

[grumpyfacedegalitarian]

No, mental illnesses aren't responsible for every act of violence.

Not EVERY bombing, shooting, or anything like that is linked to mental illnesses. But SOME of them are. The sad fact is that mental illnesses can have devastating effects on both the people who have mental illnesses, and the people around them. No, not every mentally ill person is gonna snap and kill someone. Mental illnesses come in many forms, and each one has different symptoms. Just like non-mental illnesses. But it's important to remember that they're called 'mental illnesses' for a reason. They're illnesses. And they need to be treated. TL;DR, stop acting like all mental illnesses are harmless. Stop acting like they only affect the people who have them. Some of them do, some of them don't. This is coming from a mentally ill person who has to take six pills at night just to function.