#low functioning

[pixierainbows]

wish for smart autism people to STOP saying things like "most autism people actually smart ! ". is not true! is just so erase big part of autism community ! of people like Pixie, and intellectual disability autism people !

STOP say , is not okay ! people like Pixie, people with intellectual disability , are BIG part of autism community ! we deserve be part of own community !

STOP try push out of community, is ableism !

[stealingfromwoolworths]

Im gonna be a hater

I get that autism is a spectrum and all but Jesus Christ some of y’all need to realise that you are in a more privileged position by being low(er) support needs.

Even I, your local whiny bitch who has an army of aids everywhere I go (one is literally watching me type this), have significant privilege over autistic people who are non verbal, autistic people who are not smart, autistic people who live in poverty, autistic people who attend special schools, autistic people who have other disabilities ect.

I can recognise that my situation sucks and also recognise that I have the ability to read and write in two languages, speak (most of the time) English fluently, live decently with disability benefits as someone who is lower middle class and be able to exist within the public school system.

We cannot achieve full liberation for ourselves and other mentally disabled people if we cannot objectively realise that some of us have it worse. I’m so so so so so so so so tired of having to explain this over and over again.

And I love you guys so much but I swear to God a low functioning autistic person explaining how being autistic has worse affects on them and impairs their daily life in a more severe way then it does yours is not invalidating you.

Also a lot of you still have alot of anti autistic ableist sentiment because you are still able to present yourself to the world as neurotypical but let’s not unpack that today.

(NOT TALKING ABOUT ALL LOW SUPPORT NEEDS AUTISTICS‼️ IF THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU ITS NOT ABOUT YOU‼️ IF TOU FEEL ATTACKED MAYBE YOU NEED TO EXPLORE THAT FEELING IDK)

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

“it’s frustrating being a neurodivergent person (in school/academia/medical settings as patient/life in general) because you’re not ‘low functioning’ enough to get support…”

woah people considered “low functioning” don’t miraculously get more support either

understand you’re frustrated and looking for someone to attribute this to but low functioning people aren’t your enemy here unpack your biases & advantage & privilege

(yes, you can simultaneously have advantages & privileges as a neurodivergent/any minority)

[neuroticboyfriend]

i am mentally ill and there is nothing morally wrong with that. none of the words for marginalized experiences are free of connection to bigotry. i am allowed to use the terms that i feel fit my experience best, because it is MY life. no one else's.

you can call yourself whatever the fuck you want, too. mentally ill. disordered. chronically ill. disabled. neurodivergent. a spoonie. crazy. insane. mad. etc. etc. you can use diagnostic labels and symptom terminology. you can call things traits instead. you can use functioning labels, support needs labels, masking labels, etc.

it is YOUR bodymind. what matters most is that your experiences are expressed in ways that are helpful to you, not whether it's what someone else would use for themself.

[catgirl-catboy]

Honestly people should stop seeing autistic people as high/low functioning and start thinking about it like Pokemon stats.

For instance, I have a low stamina stat.   Need to bring my headphones everywhere because loud noise really wears me down.   However, there are some stats I’m quite high in.   I can eat most foods without sensory issues, and I think I can small talk quite well even if I don’t care to.

There is no such thing as the strongest (or most neurotypical) pokemon!  It depends a lot on type matchups, movesets, playstyles.   A Pokemon most people would think of as strong, like a Charizard, might struggle when faced with a rock type.  So! Give yourself an item or teach yourself a new move. 

[voidxbrat]

This is some love going out to other people with severe mental/developmental/etc disabilities! I mean severe like, in of need full-time assistance or *a lot* of accommodations. I mean people who legitimately can’t always control or understand their own behaviors. People who cannot live on their own, or maybe can’t make their own decisions. The people who get left out of everything, by everyone, even those who say to support people with stigmatized mental illnesses and not very nice symptoms and behaviors. Because, for all everyone shouts that they support these things - you really show you don’t very often (even on this site). Something people on here still really need to understand and support, is what *serious* and *severe* mental/developmental/etc disability really is.

[cr-pplepunx]

i cut off a friend because they reposted something that used unemployment as an insult. the sentiment was along the lines of "you still cant get a job". i tried to inform them but they said that im just being ridiculous and insecure, as well as drawing a boundary that it isnt okay to tell them that something they said was ableist.

today they informed me that they have no intention of apologizing because they know for a fact that it wasnt ableist. they believe they have authority over whether it qualifies as ableism because they are autistic and mentally ill. however, they are low-support needs and able to maintain a fulltime job and relationship without detriment to their hygeine or health. personally, i think that since im unemployed and low functioning my voice should maybe take precedence in this kind of conversation. but maybe im missing something with that mindset, so i wanted to see what the internet thinks.

please only vote if you are disabled. reblogs for sample size are highly appreciated <3

[chronicsymptomsyndrome]

Idk if this is controversial but “high/low support needs” doesn’t feel any better to me than “high/low functioning” my brain processes them as the same sentiment. Idk if I’m the only one? Obviously I don’t personally know every autistic ever, but in my experience both firsthand and through six years of community research, it seems to me that support needs/function levels tend to fluctuate throughout a persons life. And it’s all relative. And I think that applies to humans regardless of neurotype, not just autistics. Maybe I’m wrong, I’m not all-knowing, that’s just what makes sense to me.

EDIT: If you see things differently that is valid. If you personally identify with support needs labels that is valid. If they help you navigate the world and your place in it, that is valid. Just like its valid for me to feel extremely uncomfortable and often triggered by them. Don’t try to tell me its not. Again, this is just what makes sense to me. Thanks.

[sicksadstar]

Since we are a mid to high support level system shoutout to the autistics that :

• can't clean themselves correctly (+ too scared to ask for help)

• can't wipe correctly (+ too scared to ask for help)

• have a hard time dressing yourself (+ too scared to ask for help)

• have to be reminded to bathe

• have to be reminded to wash your hair

• have to be reminded to eat

• have to be reminded to brush your teeth

• have accidents

• wet the bed

• don't have great hygiene

[redtail-lol]

The statements

"Functioning labels have done and continue to do harm to autistic people, especially those with higher support needs, and as such allistics should not call people by these labels, and autistic people should not call others by these labels unless they know the individual prefers them"

And

"Functioning labels have done and continue to do harm to autistic people and as such they can be reclaimed by autistic individuals to use for themselves"

AND

"Some autistic people feel that functioning labels are inaccurate for their experiences, and others feel they accurately describe the way they feel, sometimes even moreso than support needs labels."

Can all coexist

[pixierainbows]

Pixie, I am autistic, and considered low support needs/high functioning.

I want you to know I consider you a vital part of my autistic community. You’re as important as a heartbeat. You’ve shown me an autistic journey very different from my own and reminded me to always include high support needs/low functioning autistics when I speak out.

I’m so, so, so sorry for the way the wider community has treated you. Please know they do not speak for me, and I will always consider you part of my autistic family. You’re just as important as any of us.

thank you very much ! :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

pixie is very rare get message so kind and welcoming

Pixie really appreciate this message make Pixie all happy wiggles

[stealingfromwoolworths]

I need some bitches with autism who’s grades are still in primary/elementary school levels to follow me. I cannot with the wannabe Sheldon coopers on this app going “What do you mean you’ve almost finished high school but have a grade two math ability 🥺 have you tried tutoring or asking to be put in special Ed?” What if I set you on fire Rebecca.

Personal tutoring won’t cure my ASD I’m sorry.

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

i love all the autistic people who have been called “low functioning” and “severe” entire life who identifies with it despite autism community backlash

i love all the autistic people who have been called “low functioning” and “severe” entire life who hates it who do not want to be called that what so ever

i love all the people with intellectual disabilities who are okay (maybe even like!) with being called “stupid” because they see it as true because nothing wrong with being stupid nothing wrong with not smart, who hate being told “we’re all smart in our own way ;)”

i love all the people with intellectual disabilities who hate being called “stupid” who just want to be genuinely called “smart” once in their life

i love all the people with I/DD who is okay with being I/DD, who likes being I/DD, who is proud of being I/DD

i love all the people with I/DD who don’t want to be I/DD, who hates being I/DD, who just want to be “normal,” who will choose to be “normal” if they can

same for high support needs disabled people

same for nonspeaking/nonverbal & minimally speaking/verbal people

i love people who cannot speak with mouth words who call themselves nonspeaking

i love people who cannot speak with mouth words who call themselves nonverbal

i love people who cannot speak with mouth words who call themselves mute

i love the duality and diversity of us

[mage-propaganda]

This might be a controversial post to make but…

Does any other mid/high supports needs, or low functioning, individual ever feel unsupported by disabled/mentally ill communities? Like, I feel like I get spoken over and looked down on a ton by people who are low supports needs/high functioning.

I mean, it’s really noticeable to me in the autism community. It feels sometimes like the only people who are visible are high functioning individuals. They definitely have a place in this community, I’m not saying they don’t or aren’t valid or whatever. But I’ve had conversations in which I’ve been dogpilled for calling myself low functioning, or where I’ve had to really defend autism being considered a medical disorder (instead of being demedicalized) from high-functioning people, who won’t even listen to the issues it causes me half of the time. And if you don’t experience much in the way of issues, or need much in the way of support - that’s fine! I’m glad for you, but goodness am I tired about talking about how difficult it can be to get proper accommodations, or how difficult some of the symptoms can make just functioning in every day life, just for Susie Functions Fine to come around and look down on me for it.

I’ve noticed this in physically disabled communities. I’ve gotten, like, “oh, you can’t drive? My cousin has seizures and she can drive fine.”. Which is great for them, but I can’t. Like, I’ve literally been called less Valuable as a person…not (just) by abled people, but by other disabled people who just happened to be able to function better than I can with that specific disability. Chronic pain, autoimmune disorders, and the like. It just feels very tiring not only being disabled, but being lower functioning when it feels like a large chunk of your own communities are against you for…being impacted by your own disabilities.

Idk. I’ve heard a lot over lower functioning/high support needs individuals talk about this anymore, but sometimes it feels like I’m alone here. This week in particular it’s been rather tiring.

[s1l4s-l1k3s-t0m4t03s]

today crow ate 2 bags of carrots, a rabbit chocolate (caramel, he cant have any other flavour), a small bowl of lettuce and 2 pretzels im so proud i want to cry 😭😭❤️❤️ hes been refusing everything lately but he didnt today <333

[cr-pplepunx]

[id: a cropped screenshot of a snapchat message replying to another. the blue message reading "You are not going to sit here and tell me im saying ableist things. That is not okay". the red message (me) responging "im sorry, i thought you meant it when you said i should call you out if youre ever unknowingly perpetuating ableism. what isnt okay is telling a marginalized person theyre being ridiculous when calling out rhetoric that actively harms their community." end id]

nah because what in the actual fuck. i told them its ableist to use unemployment as an insult even if youre using it towards an abled person. i explained calmly and clearly when they didnt understand.

and they respond with telling me that i am being ridiculous, that it isnt okay to call out ableism (despite their previous conflicting statements), and that i am only saying this because i am insecure about being unemployed!

what an ableist assumption. im not insecure about being unemployed. if i respect anything about myself, its my disability. but even if i was insecure about that, it wouldnt make using unemployment as an insult any less ableist and would only be a very low blow.

this is someone who i have always seen as very kind and respectful. theyve always delonstrated an interest in being an ally to disabled people. they called me their best friend.

but i had to block them today, because i just cannot agree to disagree on this and i just cannot beg them to believe me about my own marginalization.

this fucking sucks!