Thread by @quetiapoop

@RheaGalarneau @thegalasisters @RachGalarneau #autismacceptancemonth
#ableism #autism #actuallyautistic This is a thread retaliating to the recent ableism from the people tagged above. Some of their tweets may be disturbing to read. This thread is directed at them.

I am going to tell you everything the autistic community dislikes about your recent tweets, as a diagnosed autistic woman. I am coming here with peace and love, despite your obvious hatred, since I know you’ll attempt to self victimise with one of the following excuses:

a) You will claim I am attacking an “autistic family”- you’re not an autistic family, your daughter is autistic, and I am not attacking her, I am educating you.

b) You will claim I am attacking a disabled woman. You have endometriosis, that doesn’t make you immune to criticism.

c) You will claim I am performing a hate crime- fair criticism is in no way a crime, you are not a minority group that is facing extreme prejudice.

d) You will claim your daughter agrees with you- you have made a fake account pretending to be your daughter. It’s easy to tell it’s you, you only seem to tweet through that account when you’re evading criticism.

Let’s start with the criticism:

Firstly, Autism Acceptance Month isn’t bullshit. Autistic people are not freaks of nature, we cannot change who we are and we need to find a way to integrate into society where we can- that starts with acceptance.

Many of us may struggle, and that’s okay, but that doesn’t mean that we should reject autistic people and their struggles. Your daughter needs as much acceptance as I do, no matter the support needs.

Secondly, if your daughter struggles with independence to that level, that’s not the fault of ASD, that’s the fault of an ID. Therefore, calling Autism Acceptance Month “bullshit” because your daughter struggles with things due to an different disorder is nonsensical.

Thirdly, your daughter is a person, and people deserve privacy. By publicly discussing her personal struggles, you’re exposing her vulnerabilities to the internet and I can guarantee she’d disapprove if she knew what you were doing.

You can’t exploit her personal struggles to drag down other autistic people who are INFORMING you of your wrongdoings. Take accountability and stop exploiting your daughters needs.

Finally, autism is certainly a disability, but there is no cure, there never will be.

ASD is a neurotype, meaning it’s a difference in brain processes. There are no particular genes that cause it, and the chromosomal deletions/duplications that have been found to potentially increase the risk of ASD affect less than 5% of all autistic people.

As well as that, it’s incredibly offensive to advocate for the eradication of ASD. People with ASD are people and most of us don’t want a cure, there’s no need for a cure, there’s just need for acceptance and accommodations.

Now let’s critique this:

Firstly, functioning labels are obsolete. ASD is a spectrum, and that means many “high functioning” people are “low functioning” at certain times, or with certain areas of support (like communication, or sensory needs).

You’re denying the needs of “high functioning” people by using functioning labels, while simultaneously looking down upon “low functioning” people. Please use support labels, instead.

Secondly, it’s extremely belittling to say that it must be nice to have “high functioning autism”. I have level 1 ASD, I face similar issues to your daughter in certain scenarios, you are denying my disability and needs by saying this.

Also, by calling your daughter “unlucky” for her support needs, you’re basically saying that her identity as an autistic person is a bad thing, and it’s certainly not. Autism isn’t a life sentence, autism isn’t a disease, autism isn’t bad.

Thirdly, again, your daughter deserves privacy. Talking about her private struggles to defend yourself online is weird and unnecessary. Don’t exploit her troubles for your gain. At all.

Now let’s look at this tweet:

You don’t speak for autistic people. We decided to promote autism acceptance because that’s what we need and want in society. Just because you have an autistic daughter, it doesn’t mean you have authority over what ACTUAL autistic people do.

Here’s the next tweet:

Autistic people don’t like the puzzle piece logo since it was created by autism speaks. They hold extremely similar beliefs to you, however, so I understand why you’d support them.

They are against the existence of autistic people. They also believe in abusive treatments, that have left thousands of autistic people with PTSD. Why should we mind our own businesses when you’re out here speaking on our behalves when we tell you to stop?

Now let’s unpack this tweet:

A lack of understanding of concepts like death is not a symptom of ASD, this would be a sign of a comorbid intellectual disability. When we ask for acceptance, we’re asking for societal understanding.

This has absolutely no relevance to autism acceptance and it’s your job as a parent to explain these things to your child, don’t shelter her, she’s 15. Treat her like a teenager.

Now this tweet:

We don’t have a vaccine for autism because of reasons I have already mentioned. We do, however, have a vaccine for COVID-19 because that’s deadly and can kill people, autism can’t. Don’t compare diseases to our neurotype.

Again, why do you constantly have to bring in your daughters personal matters to support your arguments? It’s exploitative and weird, she deserves privacy as much as any neurotypical person.

I hope you actually read this. I have consulted the autistic community through reddit groups and facebook groups regarding your ableism, nobody has agreed with you yet. Every autistic person I have spoken to is appalled with you, because you’re blatantly ableist.

We are worried for your child for valid reasons. Please apologise and do better, and maybe people will stop rightfully criticising your awful actions