Thread by @erikaheidewald

i honestly think modern western medicine knows nothing about neurodivergent people and neurodiversity is about more than just our brains - we are different in almost every way so outside of acute injuries, doctors can’t really help us bc we don’t exist in their worldview

i’ve been thinking a lot about the extremely high comorbidity rate with autism, POTS, EDS, and MCAS... that’s every system in your body, every organ. all working differently than in the abled NT “standard.” that’s an entirely different organism that has different survival needs

sorry for the impersonal language, i’ve been fascinated by realizing that my body absolutely does not abide by the rules i was taught about how bodies and brains are “supposed to” function, and it’s illuminating to see it as a different kind of human. i’m not what i thought i was

I've had to learn by trial and error that nothing affects me the way it’s supposed to. medicine doesn’t work or requires a wildly different dose, I am incredibly sensitive to some things and strangely hardy in other ways. the calories in/calories out math doesn’t hold, either.

It's tough to discuss because we live in a society where different means dehumanized, and dehumanized means killed. we lean on “we’re just like you” with a silent second clause, “so don’t murder us.” but denying our difference is killing us, too.

it’s not a coincidence that the same demographic group has so many of the same chronic illnesses, none of which modern western medicine can explain, find causes for, diagnose accurately, treat effectively, or cure. we’re treated like individual medical mysteries, our own islands

autistic people tend to have different sleep patterns and eating habits than NTs. we often have GI issues, which we’re probably trying to accommodate with our picky eating. meltdowns are connected to overstimulation and energy levels & require lifestyle changes to avoid.

autistic burnout is absolutely not adequately explained by medicine. we don’t understand all the ways it affects our health. i experienced apparent thyroid problems in burnout that couldn’t be found in testing, and other autistics have, too. is a healthy thyroid the same for us?

this is anecdotal but three of my grandparents, all of whom were ND, died in their 50s and 60s of supposedly unconnected causes - MS, abdominal aortic aneurysm, lung cancer. why? what happens to us? i think we have different health needs. our systems require a different balance

we’re trying to fix a printer with the owners manual to a fax machine. no wonder we struggle with our health & to get answers or adequate care - the medical establishment hasn’t noticed or doesn’t care that we require our own medicine. they can’t help us if they can’t even see us