it’s autism acceptance week!! some information and reminders for our non autistic allies:
- autism speaks is horrendously harmful to the autistic community. I won’t go into it here but research it if you’re curious!! don’t support them or donate to them.
- “light it up blue” and the puzzle piece symbol are both disliked by the majority of autistic people, as they were both coined by autism speaks as well as the ironic fact that blue lights can be extremely unpleasant and painful to autistic people with sensory issues. The puzzle piece implies that we are a puzzle to be solved, which removes agency from autistic people and is generally hurtful and disheartening.
-autism acceptance week > autism awareness week!! this one doesn’t need too much explanation, acceptance is always better than just awareness (:
- better symbols to show your support include the rainbow infinity symbol!! this symbol was coined by neurodivergent people and is a much more appropriate and appreciated choice than the puzzle piece.
- asperger’s is a term a lot of autistic people are trying to phase out of language used for ourselves, as it was coined by a man who was extremely involved with nazis and has roots in eugenics. It's origin is complicated, but overall it's a label most autistic people dislike for many reasons.
- high functioning and low functioning are also labels we are trying to get rid of as they remove agency from autistic people with high needs and diminish the chance of accommodations for low need autistics. (low needs is the new high functioning and high needs is the new low functioning!!) these new labels address the needs of autistic people without referencing functioning abilities, which are often arbitrary as our needs are more important than our ability to process things (:
- autistic people are sexy and awesome and deserve your patience, respect, and support!! want to show your support in the little ways? ask your autistic friend questions about their special interest(s) or hyperfixations!! try to up your use of tone tags, as they’re necessary to many autistic people. and just be normal about us!! dont act like we’re special or more worthy of attention than others, and don’t ignore us or throw us under the bus. happy autism acceptance week!!
please reblog to share this so it reaches more people (:
I have ADHD and I find myself distracted (calmed) by social media when my social anxiety flares up. What tools would you suggest I use to help me pick my head up from my head and be more social?
hey fun fact did you know that if you're on the schizophrenia spectrum, have psychosis, have psychotic symptoms or traits, etc, that you're loved and your symptoms and traits should not be vilainized or seen as evil or ugly?
Being black is getting treatment for everything except your mental health.
Being black is knowing there's something wrong but your family cracking it down to white washing
Black ppl deserve access to diagnosis. Black ppl's mental health is just as important. Being mentally ill or neurotypical isn't "white sh*t" and perpetuating that racist stereotype will only hurt our community.
This post is for the mentally ill and ND people who do harmful things. Those who struggle with anger, aggression, and violence. Those who are manipulative, who do and say things that hurt people. Those who do all these things and more - who don't get why it's harmful due to havig no empathy, sympathy, compassion, remorse, etc.
Doing things that are wrong doesn't make you any less deserving of a good, safe, and fulfilling life. It doesn't make you a monster. It doesn't mean you deserve pain or discrimination. It doesn't mean you deserve to be alone, ostracized, and discarded. It doesn't make your existence wrong.
You're still here with the rest of us. You still have needs, wants, and rights. Some of the things you do may not be good or excusable, but you are a whole person. You are a whole person, and you deserve better. And I hope you get that someday, whatever it means to you.
I want to talk about autism stereotypes, and my experience with them.
In many ways, I am what many LSN autistics bash as being a stereotype. I am nonspeaking. I am in special ed. I have high support needs. I take comfort objects to places with me. I enjoy "childish" things. I have big and obvious stims. I have violent meltdowns. I am on the asexual spectrum (greysexual). And more things too!
In many ways I am also not what is considered a stereotype. I am gay. I am trans. I have had a partner before. I dye my hair. I have peircings. I wear a large variety of clothes, and love fashion. And more things too!
As an autistic who has lots of traits that are often bashed for being stereotypical, I feel like the autism stereotypes need to stop being treated as such a horrible thing. I am quite "stereotypical", and a lot of other autistics are too.
I do think it is a problem when the only kinds of autistics being represented are all the same. That is incredibly harmful.
But if there are lots of autistics being represented, let's not bash the "stereotypical ones", thanks!!
Autistic people of tumblr, how many of you have been told something along the lines of 'you're not Autistic, Autistic people don't act like that' etc. ?