Thread by @MorenikeGO

.
@JillEscher, I see you’ve-not-so-subtly written about me on the @NCSAutismOrg blog in which, among other things, you make a number of inaccurate, sweeping generalizations that erase me & my family’s reality.
You clearly want to talk ABOUT me. How about you actually talk TO me?

According to you, my family & I NEVER have to contend w/anything like “severe social-communication impairments, cognitive deficits, significant challenges in basic living skills, sensory dysregulation & maladaptive behaviors”, so presumably I can easily make time for you, right?

We “Potemkin Village” dwellers love to host dinner guests. I make a MEAN “mild” autism sauce. We can dine while we talk about how I’ve NEVER been at any of my children’s bedsides weeping & praying while they literally fought for their lives.

We can talk about how I have NEVER once experienced the fear of any of my children wandering (adjacent to a busy freeway, no less), & how I’ve never had to install gates, locks, or alarms in my home to prevent elopement. Right?

We can talk about how I have no idea what it’s like for trips to the emergency room & urgent care to be a weekly occurrence…sometimes multiple times per week. You know, since everything is SO “mild” among everyone & everything in my home.

We can talk about how my family has NEVER had ANY experience w/seizures nor w/allergies & intense GI issues nor self-injurious behavior nor pica, incontinence, communication & cognitive difficulties. You know so much about me & about my life; we should have plenty to talk about.

There are some of us who believe in honoring the personhood & privacy of our disabled loved ones & not splattering sensitive details about them all over the internet while crying “Woe is me.” That doesn’t mean you know a D@MN thing about our “mild” lives behind closed doors.

I’m not a narcissist. I’m a mother. And MY CHILDREN HAVE WORTH exactly as they are. I would NEVER disrespect them by calling their lives or ANYONE’S life a “tragedy” & seeking their PREVENTION. “Severe” autistic people MATTER & don’t exist for sympathy points nor dehumanization.

Gonna have to go now, because you’re super-encouraging post has triggered me & I’m fighting & losing the desire not to self-harm right now. (Oh wait…no, I’m not. Us “mild” autistics have no clue what that is, so that can’t POSSIBLY be true. I’ll just go over here & be quirky. 🙄

It is not a “betrayal” of the American public for me to be against eugenics. People w/“severe” disabilities DESERVE to exist & should not be “prevented” from existence. That goes for DS, ASC, or whatever condition. Disabled lives are worthy. Period. #DontScreenUsOut

The amazing Amy Sequenzia is one of my heroes. An nonspeaking “low functioning” autistic woman who is a POWERFUL voice for all, including those who, like her, live with “severe autism.” Disabled people have a right to exist no matter what pro-eugenics folk think. #DontScreenUsOut

Rhema Russell is a beautiful, talented BIPoC teen w/“severe autism.” Her family loves her dearly, as do her many admirers around the globe, myself included. The world is a better place because she’s in it. I would NEVER want her “prevented.” #DontScreenUsOut

The work of @AutisticsSpeak, a nonspeaking BIPoC South African teen, has transformed countless lives. I am so grateful that he wasn’t “prevented” from being born like some would have wanted regardless if you perceive their disability as “mild” or “severe.” #DontScreenUsOut