Kevin Davy on Nostr: ActuallyAutistic group I have posted this before, but with the new input of people, ...
ActuallyAutistic group (nprofile…67cd)
I have posted this before, but with the new input of people, it seems time to post it again. Although, edited somewhat from the previous post.
Autism is a neurological difference. We think and process differently. We just don't work in the same ways as others. Most of us, growing up, are more than aware of this, that we are different. But not necessarily why, or to what degree. We just recognise that we are. But, this isn't exactly something that can be discussed. Often the feeling is nebulous at best, other times it can feel embarrassing and far too personal. But in any case, for most of us trying to talk about things like this, especially as children, never ended up being a particularly safe or wise choice.
So instead, we buried the feelings deeply and tried to get on with life as best we could. This was normally done through learning to mask and in avoiding as much as possible those situations where our difference was made painfully noticeable. In fact, many of us get so good at this that we wandered for years, or even decades, through life without ever reaching the understanding that we could be autistic.
But when we do reach this stage, it involves a process of coming to terms with it and understanding what it means. It requires months, often years, of research to come to terms with and to overcome the false stereotypes and ableism that many of us carry. This is what is called self-diagnosis and sometimes it is as far as we go. For many of us it is enough, or we have reached a point in our lives where getting an official diagnosis is not worth it, or even possible. Not all countries support it. Also, many systems, whether on purpose or not, make it all but impossible for people over a certain age, or people of colour, or female presenting, to be able to get officially diagnosed. Or, in many places, it is simply too prohibitively expensive to even try.
This is why most autistic spaces actively welcome the self-diagnosed. Or those exploring the possibility of it, or who are maybe already on the path to becoming self-diagnosed. Because we know that this is a path that many of us have had to travel. That other options are not always available, or even possible. It's also why, not being autistic enough, or not wanting to take up space until officially diagnosed, or even just being curious and wondering, but not wanting to intrude, are not barriers to joining our spaces. The spaces are here for all of you, it is, in part at least, the reason why they are here.
The ActuallyAutistic hashtag and group are clear examples of this. They were created only to separate those who are autistic, either because of official or self-diagnosis and those who may be just thinking, or even wondering whether they are, from the voices of the parents and caregivers of autistics and the so-called experts, who are themselves not autistic and who might otherwise speak over us. They are not there to separate us, but simply to allow us a safe space within which to explore and talk, whether that turns out to mean that you are autistic, or not.
#Autism
#ActuallyAutistic
I have posted this before, but with the new input of people, it seems time to post it again. Although, edited somewhat from the previous post.
Autism is a neurological difference. We think and process differently. We just don't work in the same ways as others. Most of us, growing up, are more than aware of this, that we are different. But not necessarily why, or to what degree. We just recognise that we are. But, this isn't exactly something that can be discussed. Often the feeling is nebulous at best, other times it can feel embarrassing and far too personal. But in any case, for most of us trying to talk about things like this, especially as children, never ended up being a particularly safe or wise choice.
So instead, we buried the feelings deeply and tried to get on with life as best we could. This was normally done through learning to mask and in avoiding as much as possible those situations where our difference was made painfully noticeable. In fact, many of us get so good at this that we wandered for years, or even decades, through life without ever reaching the understanding that we could be autistic.
But when we do reach this stage, it involves a process of coming to terms with it and understanding what it means. It requires months, often years, of research to come to terms with and to overcome the false stereotypes and ableism that many of us carry. This is what is called self-diagnosis and sometimes it is as far as we go. For many of us it is enough, or we have reached a point in our lives where getting an official diagnosis is not worth it, or even possible. Not all countries support it. Also, many systems, whether on purpose or not, make it all but impossible for people over a certain age, or people of colour, or female presenting, to be able to get officially diagnosed. Or, in many places, it is simply too prohibitively expensive to even try.
This is why most autistic spaces actively welcome the self-diagnosed. Or those exploring the possibility of it, or who are maybe already on the path to becoming self-diagnosed. Because we know that this is a path that many of us have had to travel. That other options are not always available, or even possible. It's also why, not being autistic enough, or not wanting to take up space until officially diagnosed, or even just being curious and wondering, but not wanting to intrude, are not barriers to joining our spaces. The spaces are here for all of you, it is, in part at least, the reason why they are here.
The ActuallyAutistic hashtag and group are clear examples of this. They were created only to separate those who are autistic, either because of official or self-diagnosis and those who may be just thinking, or even wondering whether they are, from the voices of the parents and caregivers of autistics and the so-called experts, who are themselves not autistic and who might otherwise speak over us. They are not there to separate us, but simply to allow us a safe space within which to explore and talk, whether that turns out to mean that you are autistic, or not.
#Autism
#ActuallyAutistic