#low functioning autistic

[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)

[autibear]

stop calling other autistics ableist for treating their autism like a disorder

I don't care if your autism doesn't make you feel disabled you're a minority and you don't get to call the terminology other autistic people use ableist. Especially terms that are useful for level 3/high support needs autistics

If you don't like the levelling system or support labels and think it's the same as functioning labels don't use them on yourself. Stop calling them useless ableist and harmful

People are pretending this doesn't happen anymore but there are still posts and articles and videos everywhere trying to erase terminology useful to many mid-high support needs

If you think it's bad to talk about our differences you're wrong. We can both be a diverse community and have differences that we label. If you want to pretend we're all the same just because we're autistic you've only spent time with autistic people like you

Some autistic people need levels to understand their own needs or find other autistic people they can relate to

Some people call themselves a person with autism instead because that's what they're comfortable with

Some autistic people don't like that they're autistic and find it hugely disabling and struggle to find positives in it

Some autistic people say they are severely autistic because of how disabling their autism is

Some autistic people look autistic and cant mask

Some autistic people still use functioning labels on themselves because it's familiar and helps them and it's what they're comfortable with

Some autistic people say they have a disorder condition disability or ASD because that's what they're comfortable with

If you want to treat your autism like just a difference we're not stopping you. If you want to treat everyone's autism like just a difference then we have problems

If a label doesn't help you that's fine. Don't speak on how helpful labels that never even applied to you are. If you think all autistics with higher support needs are incapable of knowing what's ableist so you have to talk over them you are wrong.

[cryptid-collective-blog]

heres some positivity for the autistics who are constantly overshadowed by less disabled autistics!

nonverbal (as in always, not sometimes) autistics!

autistics with intellectual diaability!

level 2 autistics!

level 3 autistics!

autistics who call themselves low functioning!

autistics who can't mask!

autistics who can't choose whether to stim or not!

autistics with self injury stims!

autistics who are "stereotypical"

autistics who like stuff thats typically made for kids!

and any autistics that i forgot to mention that constantly overshadowed by low needs autistics!

[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 !

[spacefaringamoeba]

I hate that I'm considered "high functioning". I barely qualify for any "level" of disability in my country and I will never get a disability income. Yes. I'm able to go to work. But I will not be able to hold it for more than a few months before getting burned out and having daily meltdowns. No, having 10 minutes extra work break won't help me. Neither will wearing headphones or carrying fidgets. I'm literally not able to work 40h a week without severe negative consequences... How do i fucking exist in this society!

[psychiatricwarfare]

autism is so fucking hated, you arent allowed to be high functioning because youre "faking it", you arent allowed to be low functioning because youre "faking it" and all of us are expected to just try harder and "stop acting stupid" (which is extra insidious when intellectual disabilities are so commonly comorbid with autism)

oh you need some help with getting things done? grow up

oh you need someone to remind you to shower/take meds/etc? grow up

oh youre nonverbal/nonspeaking or lose speech at times? just Talk

oh you Cant Eat unless its This Specific Food? grow up

oh you dont understand when something is dangerous? stop being stupid

oh you need lots of help with bADLs? youre a leech. do it yourself

oh you need a caregiver in order to keep yourself alive? youre so dramatic, everyone else manages just fine without one, why cant you?

oh you can get around for the most part in day-to-day life but need extra support in some areas? youre just exaggerating, youre not really autistic

autistic people are literally never allowed to just exist in society. we are always expected to prove something, whether thats being autistic or being human beings that deserve respect

youre either not autistic enough or too autistic for allistics and its really fucking annoying. autism is a real disability and those of us who are autistic live with it every single day. it can be extremely disabling or it can be a bit of a nuisance or it could be both or somwhere in between or fluctuate depending on the day

stop shaming autistic people for being autistic in a way you dont like or arent used to seeing. that goes for everyone, other autistic people included

[caterpillarinacave]

one of the weird things about autism is genuinely not knowing if you are capable of doing something or not

[astraltrickster]

I want to introduce a disability concept that I've been calling paradoxical stigma.

What is paradoxical stigma? It's the stigma against:

1) The actually disabling traits of a disability that's in the spotlight for the parts of it that are convenient to accommodate, and/or

2) The diagnosis of such a disability itself,

Due to the assumption that the spotlight renders it "destigmatized" and no longer in need of support.

As of right now, at least around this corner of the internet, the most obvious examples of this are autism and ADHD. It's become disturbingly common for people to treat those like Diet Disabilities That Don't Actually Count. It's been really interesting to watch the popular attitude about these disorders shift from "autism is either a tragedy or an excuse depending on 'severity', and ADHD is just a myth used to drug kids into complicity instead of teaching them actual skills", to "actually these are real disorders that affect people in all aspects of their lives", to "I GUESS they're real disorders but honestly EVERYONE has them can't we worry about more SERIOUS ones?" and...not in a good way.

It comes up...partially as a legitimate backlash to people with these disorders who think that invisible disability and/or neurodivergence begins and ends at their experience, and...yeah, that's a problem all right, in fact if I had a dollar for every asshole who looked at my struggles with things like keeping my space clean or not fucking up my medication doses DUE TO ADHD and went "well I have the same diagnosis and I don't have THAT problem to THAT extent, obviously you're just lazy and careless", or saw me having an AUTISTIC meltdown and called it "bullying" or worse because I get loud and insisted that I NEED to CONTROL that CHOSEN BEHAVIOR if I want to not be a Bad Person, or heard about how AUTISTIC overstimulation defense measures play into my trouble with cleaning and insisted that well THEY'RE autistic too and don't have that specific problem so this is clearly weaponized helplessness because I just don't WANT to learn to do better, I'd...probably have a lot more assistive tech. I also get really, really frustrated and upset when people use RSD to mean "if you ever criticize me that's the height of ableism, no matter how much I'm actually fucking up and hurting you" - especially since it's so often invoked as a defense against being lightly criticized for ACTUALLY harmful behavior and as much as it sucks there IS no substitute to make that more emotional-dysregulation-friendly beyond basic kindness in criticism. That attitude exists. It's bad.

And yet, theoretically, I think we could all agree that the response to that should NEVER be to reinvent the old "ugh, those aren't REAL disabilities, those are just EXCUSES that LAZY PARENTS make for kids being kids, what they need is DISCIPLINE" stereotype of the 90s-2000s, just now aimed at those same kids as adults, in ostensibly supportive spaces - or arguably worse, to revert all our understanding of support needs to the externally judged high-functioning/low-functioning dichotomy.

What really sets this apart as paradoxical stigma, rather than just garden-variety lateral ableism, is that 1) we CAN theoretically all agree that reinventing those stereotypes is a terrible response, yet many people do it anyway, and 2) these stereotypes are invoked not only because of that intracommunity misbehavior, but both within and outside of disabled spaces, because of the illusion that you can bring up those disorders and have them taken seriously because fidget toys and stim videos and weighted blankets are popular now. An event having quiet rooms, or backlash to Autism Speaks being visible outside of autistic spaces, will be taken as "proof" that autism stigma is over forever and anyone who complains about it is just a whiner who doesn't know how good they have it...even when what they're complaining about is, say, being barred from migration. Paradoxical stigma is enacted by people who think that they, alone, are standing up against someone who's throwing others under the bus to continue to progress their own limited agenda...when in fact they're speaking a very popular shitty opinion, that MANY of the people making that claim would disagree with HEAVILY once separated from the "crab bucket reflex".

As a personal example, the result is that when I'm looking for assistance, I'm...hesitant to bring up those diagnoses, because I know I'm going to be written off as "obviously a high-functioning low-support needs scammer who just doesn't WANT to CONTRIBUTE TO SOCIETY and EARN things" - even by people who otherwise agree that people should be allowed to survive even if they truly are the living strawman lazy bum who has nothing wrong with them but just WANTS to lay around eating junk food and doing drugs all day, AND that disability deserves to be respected, isn't black-and-white, and affects everyone differently; somehow when these combine in the context of my diagnoses that have had a very sanitized version of themselves "destigmatized" on TikTok, they cancel out into blatant reactionary sentiment indistinguishable from what I'd hear from my shitty token Republican uncle.

So, that's paradoxical stigma. Feel free to use the term if you find it useful.

[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)

[stealingfromwoolworths]

LSN (Low support needs) autistics will say the absolute weirdest shit to HSN (high support needs) autistics.

Like I’m HSN and my only friend at school is LSN. She is very nice normally but recently she told me that I am “really autistic” and that I make her uncomfortable by acting “too autistic” when I run around with headphones and grunt and laugh. I do it because it makes me happy and regulates my emotions. She said I embarrass her by being really autistic. She told me this and laughed as if it was funny. So much disconnect. I’m so tired. Somedays I just want to completely isolate myself from LSN who think that they understand my experiences just by virtue of also being autistic.

‼️THIS POST IS NOT ABOUT ALL LOW SUPPORT NEEDS AUTISTICS‼️IF ITS NOT ABOUT YOU ITS NOT ABOUT YOU‼️

[foggyroseblood]

I don't remember who said it but whoever suggested to use "high masking" and "low masking" instead of low and high functioning i love you so much. Its the only words I feel really work for me. I was diagnosed with "high functioning autism/aspergers" which the 1st one just didnt fit me i felt bc it just isnt true and the 2nd word has nazi history so um no thanks. Lots of people use low and high support needs now but those don't work for me either. Like i would be considered low support needs i guess but I do need lots of support with daily things i definitely do not have low support needs if i take the definition litterally. I am high masking.

High masking suggets that i look like i am high functioning and okay although i am not and that's very validating

[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

[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

[gillipopmoji]

honestly I'm tired of the person first/identity first debate. the default shouldn't matter very much as long as you listen to what the person in question wants. shout-out to anyone who uses any of the following terms:

person with autism.

autistic person.

autistic (noun)

autistic (verb)

has autism

is autistic

suffers from autism

gifted with being autistic

on the low end of the spectrum

on the high end of the spectrum

very autistic

has a little bit of autism

profoundly autistic

high functioning

low functioning

low support needs

high support needs

gifted

not normal

weird

neurodivergent

disabled

differently abled

ableminded

not disabled

has a touch of the tism

neurosilly

neurospicy

special

special needs

normal

some other word/phrase I've never heard

[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.