Thread by @FoggyParent

If the "professionals" and the big autism charities could PLEASE stop convincing parents that an autism diagnosis is the end of the world for their child/ family, it would be awesome. The tragedy narrative has to stop. 1/

It is heartbreaking and infuriating how many parents I see who are heartbroken and terrified their kid is or might be Autistic. Shedding literal tears over some concept of "lost normality" and desperate for any hope their child can be saved/fixed/cured of their neurotype. 2/

You know who deserves to shed a tear? A) The Autistic individuals who see/hear/read this crap from their caregivers. B) The Autistic children being raised in households that call them "damaged" to their face and throw them into so many therapy hours they don't get a childhood. 3/

C) The Autistic children and adults who are defenseless against their abusers, stuck in homes that "battle autism" with advice from quacks with unproven supplements and MMS "protocols" involving regular enemas (sometimes multiple per day) and restrictive diets. 4/

D) Late diagnosed/discovered adults who spent their lifetimes being gaslit into thinking there was something Fundamentally Wrong with them who had multiple breakdowns before ever finding out they're Autistic, and the ones who still don't even know they are yet. 5/

There are a lot of people who deserve to shed a tear over how "autism has impacted their lives" but if you're someone who is lamenting that your kid isn't whatever version of "normal" you've got in your head, please refrain. Or at least do it privately and away from your kid 6/

Cuz here's more: E) Autistics who listened to their mom cry because she was so upset that they weren't "normal enough" to meet her standards. F) Autistics who found a public blog with private details about their life that they didn't know existed. Bonus if their bullies knew. 7/

G) Late discovered Autistic adults who were actually diagnosed as kids but had it hidden from them because their ableist parents didn't want them to be "labeled" or "use it as a crutch/excuse" when they're struggling. 8/

My brain is having trouble with the making of the words now, but #AskingAutistics and the #ActuallyAutistic crowd can probably help me continue the list here. I'll check back later after caffeine and whatnot. 9/