Thread by @NeuroRebel

I’m really bothered by something that I’ve seen happening for years on my page…

On my FB page, I regularly share posts from other Autistic People, because I don’t want my voice or opinions to be the only ones featured there.

Often, when I share something from another page (& sometimes even when I share my own experience), someone will come & pick apart the language people use, critiquing how people describe their own experiences, saying things like “I wouldn’t describe it that way” etc.

The other thing that will happen is when I share something, is someone will start inserting a bunch of meaning into the post that wasn’t there, saying there’s implied meanings that aren’t even mentioned, despite most Autistic People being very direct.

This really bothers me, because many Autistic People have trouble communicating. It can be hard for us to find the words.

I spend a great deal of time deciding what words I want to say. & if the words aren’t “perfect” (or I over think them), I’ll likely won’t share at all.

When I first started on social media I knew what I wanted to say, but often was afraid to share it, because of how this community piles onto people when they disagree, & the fear of having every word picked apart by people waiting to overanalyze everything I would write or speak.

I’m a “hyper verbal” Autistic (supposedly words come more easily to me - I’ve been told) & I’ve struggled to dance around “saying everything correctly” for years (& have been dogpiled many times when I got it wrong & people assumed bad intentions).

What are we doing to those who struggle with words more than I do?

What are we doing to those NEW to these online spaces, if they don’t understand all the “rules” yet?

Why do we make so many damned unspoken “social rules” & complain when nonAutistics do the same to us?

#ActuallyAutistic #AskingAutistics - WHY are we doing this to each other, & can we PLEASE knock it off??!