Before you pursue a formal autism diagnosis, it's important to be aware of some of the ways in which having autism on your medical record can potentially be a threat to your long-term well-being & safety.

Because yes: Having a formal autism diagnosis can result in exactly that. Some countries refuse to allow Autistic people to immigrate to them. They see us as "burdens".

If it's discovered that you're Autistic after you move there, they can, & will likely fight to, deport you.

A couple examples of such countries are New Zealand & Australia.

This is a recent tweet from an "Autism Mom". I agree with her - I DON'T speak "for" non-speaking Autistic people. But neither does she.

Why? Because through #AAC, they can speak for themselves.

Here's a thread of quotes EXCLUSIVELY from non-speaking Autistic people. Heed them. "I am the autistic you insist on calling 'severe', 'trapped', 'a burden'. ... You love talking about me but you don’t want me to be part of the conversation. ... I am the autistic supposedly too 'low-functioning' to deserve to be heard." - Amy Sequenzia

When #AutismAwarenessMonth is a time of year that thousands of Autistic people hate the most, you have to consider the question:

"Why?"

If you don't already know the reasons, this is a thread for you. April is a month when allistic people are the loudest in speaking over Autistic voices; when Autistic ppl watch progress unravel while being bombarded by people with good intentions & able1$t impacts who double down on the harm they cause instead of letting Autistic people lead.

Many people are pushing for the relabelling of #AutismAwarenessMonth to #AutismAcceptanceMonth, the reasoning being that we are past the need for awareness & that acceptance is more important.

I disagree. While well-intentioned, I believe that this perspective has a major flaw. Because autism awareness spear-headed by non-Autistic people has been persistently more harmful than helpful, I get why many Autistic people want to distance themselves from the mainstream approach to autism "awareness". I'm one of those people!

However...

To the non-Autistic "autism parents" who get defensive at Autistic people like me when we point out your impact, claiming that we "don't know parenthood" so have no say - you know Autistic parents of Autistic kids exist, right? So why do I see you speaking over them too? You deserve community & support. Your child deserves deep understanding of & respect for Autistic culture. Autistic parents of Autistic kids can help you to access both.

So why don't you learn from them? Where does your cognitive dissonance & defensiveness truly stem from?

Whenever I see people (including many Autistic people) saying things like "autism isn't a disability", it's extremely clear to me that they are centering a very narrow lived experience of autism that is heavily sheltered by privilege. [A thread] One reason why so many "autism parents" tend to instinctively shut down Autistic people online is because the Autistic people who are dominating online conversations about autism are disproportionately more protected by certain privileges than the children of these parents...

I want to speak about "Aspie Supr3macy".

I had an Aspie Supremaci$t ranting in my comments last week because I spoke about how Autistic people are far more likely to be trans than allistic people, and how supporting trans Autistic people is important for Autistic liberation. He insinuated that "aspies" are separate from & inherently better than everyone else. Accused other Autistic folks of making themselves "victims" by speaking out against harmful systems. Said "aspies" are often ryt-wing due to (what he insinuated was) superior thinking. No joke.

Demand anxiety/avoidance is common with autism. So much so that "Pathological Demand Avoidance" (PDA) has been increasingly recognised as a sort of "profile" of autism. While I'm opposed to the pathology paradigm, this is something that influences my life deeply, & has for years. Autistic people tend to have highly sensitive threat responses - think "fight/flight/freeze/fawn"... This is relevant in the context of demand anxiety. What might cause an autist's nervous system to flip into survival mode could just be another casual task for someone who's NT.

Dissolving institutional ableism in education would benefit ALL students.

It'd benefit all *teachers* as well.

But the education system is designed so that reform is unsustainable; the very foundations are ableist. Abolition & imagining fully new possibilities must be the goal. Students' learning thrives in contexts where there's connection & acceptance of differences.

How can they thrive when the teacher-student ratio is high as 1:40?

When teachers are burnt out?

When what's taught is rigidly applied without room for those whose minds are different?

I've noticed some Autistic people trying to clap back at ableism from neurotypicals by subverting ableist logic and claiming that Autistic minds are actually superior to neurotypicals.

Warning: That thinking is eugenicist territory, and anti-neurodiversity. Eugenics involves using "science" to manipulate the human population in a way that dehumanises and disenfranchises those with traits deemed inferior, and promotes and perpetuates those with traits deemed superior.

By design, eugenics is ableist and racist.

The number of autism "professionals" who have reached out to me in absolute horror once they realised how inadequate their training on autism had actually been, is alarming.

The worst part? Most "professionals" never realise at all. Courses on autism are usually riddled with stereotypes & ableist microaggressions, written by non-Autistic "professionals".

Most students take those courses as absolute fact because they've been conditioned to never question the things they're taught.

Autism influences sensory processing, imagination, relationships, talents, passions, weaknesses, sensitivities, interests... It is therefore part of my identity. It's not ALL I am, but the extent to which it shapes *who* I am and my daily lived experiences cannot be disregarded. So, yes. My autism DOES define me. Telling me it doesn't is more insulting than you might think. To wilfully disregard the depth with which autism shapes a person's lived experiences means to dismiss who they fundamentally are as a person.