#Autism Acceptance

[fallenstarcat]

sometimes i feel like people forget autism is a disability. and that’s not a bad thing! i’m all for disability acceptance, im proud of my disabilities. but i feel like we forget autism can hurt.

it hurts that i have to put more time and energy into socializing than others.

it hurts when i need to move so bad, usually cause im overwhelmed by either my surroundings or emotions, that i thrash and hurt myself.

it hurts that i cant be in places that are too loud or too bright, which on bad days can be as simple as a small, quiet noise or dim lights.

it hurts that i struggle to tell when im hungry, thirsty, tired, etc. so i can’t properly take care of myself. it doesn’t help my insomnia and i get very nauseas and get UTIs.

i 100% believe in autism acceptance. i don’t want a cure. but i also want us the acknowledge that it can hurt. it doesn’t mean my entire life will hurt, but some parts will. and i want a community where we can see both sides, see the hurt, and celebrate it anyway.

[autiebiographical]

Autism has long been synonymous with "struggle". If you don't struggle, if you're successful or you're just happy with life people are less likely to recognize you as autistic, except for other autistic people.

I swear, we have an autism radar. Autie-radar? Autie-dar?

[itsaspectrumcomic]

Every month is autism month for me!

[ID: A comic titled "April is Autism Acceptance Month!"

The narrator, a light skinned person with brown hair, says "You might see some places "lighting it up blue" or sharing puzzle piece imagery this month, but a lot of autistic people prefer to avoid that due to its association with Autism Speaks." Within the speech bubble is a blue puzzle piece with a red cross next to it. The narrator continues, "Autism Speaks sees autism as a disease that needs to be cured and eradicated, which it isn't. So to avoid that, we generally prefer RED instead!" The words "red instead" are shown on the narrator's shirt.

The narrator continues, "or the golden infinity symbol: (it's gold because au is the symbol for gold in the periodic table." There are illustrations of a gold infinity symbol and the periodic table symbol for gold, made to say "autism", next to the text.

Text continues "Not every autistic person celebrates autism acceptance month which is fine! It's optional :)

At the bottom, the narrator wears a red shirt with the gold infinity symbol on it and says "whether you celebrate or not, I hope you have a lovely month." End ID]

Thank you @teatual for the description!

[anexperimentallife]

And if you want to "light it up," please do red, not blue. When we see the puzzle piece or "light it up blue," both of which are promoted by anti-autistic hate groups, that tells us you don't actually care about or respect us.

Not gonna argue about this; I'll just block.

[dimentiorulesblog]

“Autistic people need special accommodations” and “autistic people should not be infantilized and talked down to” are schools of though that can and should co-exist.

[theorahsart]

Way way back I drew a comic explaining what we really mean by ‘The Autism Spectrum’ and posted it here back when Tumblr was Huge. Then the comic really blew up!! Last year I did a remake of the comic, with some updated language, and using Mia, a character from a graphic novel I made. Figured I’d share for Autism Acceptance Month!

[wheelie-sick]

I don't really care if someone uses the term "autism awareness" instead of "autism acceptance" and I honestly think both are important

a lot of people, including myself in the past, say that people are now aware of autism and we just need acceptance but I disagree.

me and my mom were having a conversation a while back and she was talking about the fact that people know the word "autism" but don't know what autism actually looks like. when my mom was raising me people were very aware that autism existed but would constantly chastise her about how she was being a bad parent when my autism was visible. multiple people suggested that my "behavior problems" could be solved with a belt.

those people knew about autism but they didn't see my autism. my autism was visible but they saw it as "behavior problems" and "defiance" and "disruption" not autism. they didn't know what autism actually entails.

being any level of visibly autistic will put you in this situation even today. people might be aware of autism but not aware enough of autism to know that the way I'm acting is just autism.

we do need autism awareness. people need to know what autism actually looks like. people need to know more than just the word.

[autball]

A non-exhaustive list of the ways autistic people may show empathy even though we are assumed to not have it.

Are these exclusive to autistic people? No, not at all, we're just more often pathologized for them.

If I'm in a relationship with someone who does this, does that mean I just have to suck it up even if it doesn't work for me? No, it doesn't, but you do probably have some adjusting to do. You'll need to treat it as a mutual miscommunication instead of something it's all on the autistic (or ADHD, or whatever) person to fix. You'll have to change some of your expectations and get comfortable asking for (and explaining) the show of empathy you need - and you may even find out that the way you show empathy isn't working so great for them either. 😉

[Image description: AUTISTIC EMPATHY CAN LOOK LIKE… - Infographic by Autball.

White translucent boxes with black lettering inside on a magenta to purple diagonal gradient. The first four boxes read: (1) I’ve been through something similar, so maybe sharing my story will help; (2) Ooh, I know how to fix that! Maybe helping them solve their problem will make them feel better; (3) Oh man, now I have big feelings too! I just feel this so much!; (4) My favorite thing always calms me down, so maybe it’ll help them too. I’ll ask them to do it with me. These four are grouped together with a blue line and labeled: Misinterpreted as “Making it All About You.”

The next four boxes read: (5) I’m not sure how to help, so I’ll leave it to that person who looks like they do; (6) When I’m upset or overwhelmed, I prefer to be left alone, so I’ll bet they would like the same; (7) If I get involved, I’m gonna become overwhelmed myself, and that will take attention from them, so it’s best to just stay out of it; (8) I’m not sure how to help, and I usually make it worse when I try but get it wrong, so it’ll be better for everyone if I just do nothing. These four are grouped together with a blue line and labeled: Misinterpreted as Cold and Uncaring.

At the bottom is one last sentence, in white bold lettering, that reads, “Just because we don’t show it the same doesn’t mean we don’t feel it.”]

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

@theconcealedweapon

Life in an Autism World

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

autism awareness & autism acceptance not either or. not mutually exclusive. can coexist. need coexist.

“there enough awareness for autism already 🙄 we need acceptance”

ok. you aware of high support needs autism? aware what that even means? not “need reminder take meds need remind take shower” “high” support needs autism, but “need full physical help do bADLs lack danger awareness may accidentally hurt self or even kill self without support” high support needs autism? not just higher support needs people who can be independently online do advocacy, but those who need help from others even be online, or those who cannot be online at. all.?

aware of nonverbal nonspeaking people? not just nonverbal nonspeaking people who can write grammatically correct cannot tell apart base on writing. not just nonverbal nonspeaking people who can be online who can advocate online.

aware of nonverbal nonspeaking people who cannot communicate in way that easily understood, either for now, or ever? aware of nonverbal nonspeaking people without functional communication, aware of how without functional communication, how that drastically limit communication, even though behaviors are valid communication? aware of nonverbal nonspeaking people who may never use AAC fluently even with best support?

aware of technically verbal but very limited verbal autistics who may only able say wants & needs but not other things and certainly not online advocacy, “despite being verbal”?

aware of just how much our life depends on caregiver/carer/PCA/etc? aware how vulnerable that make us? aware of abuse from caregivers? aware of caregiver burnout from lack of support for caregivers, & how that impact our care we receive? have you even heard of term respite care? aware of those of us who cannot separate ourselves from caregiver? aware of those of us who cannot participate in autism community without caregiver?

aware of visibly autistic people? aware how we not automatically believed? aware how we often bear blunt of violence because we most easily identified target because we visible? aware visible =/= get support, aware that many those diagnosed severe who now adult so no longer qualify for services under 21 year old, languish in hospitals because nowhere to go? aware how long life saving necessary waitlists are? aware that even to this day parents have to fight school fight day service fight government fight insurance for them give their nonverbal nonspeaking child AAC & be properly taught how use it? actually, are you aware of how properly teach AAC to nonverbal nonspeaking, developmentally delayed child who may or may not have intellectual disability?

actually, aware of autistics with (correctly diagnosed) intellectual disability & how they make up big amount of autistic? aware of institutional systemic & legal impact of mental [r word] right & the human rights abuse justified using r word right? wait, you aware that r word come from old term for intellectual disability, that, actually, still in many laws because no one bothered updating, right? aware of what severe profound ID look like? and aware they real and they still human deserve education deserve life deserve care, yes?

aware of early diagnosis 20 30 or even 10 years ago, not same as now, even less resources & knowledge about autism now? aware that while gender race class 1000% impacted diagnoses, a lot of early diagnosed people early diagnosed because… they die without support unlocked by diagnosis, right? but also, aware that in old times, early diagnosis often did mean doom, not because autism bad or anything, but because severe lack of support & diagnosis can literally bar you from so many things including basic education?

aware that for many people in special education, which impact specific group of autistic people, they not get degree when graduate high school, they just get certificate, which limit their educational & employment opportunities & others?

aware of life saving importance and necessity of masking for autistic of color especially Black autistic people, despite stress inducing traumatic? aware that live in broken system be victim of hate crime & police brutality just as traumatic often even more traumatic than masking? aware that many Black & other parents of color forced to teach their child masking because of this?

are you aware of most marginalized autistic people? aware of leadership of most impacted?

aware you can and need to care about autistic experiences & form of autism you not experience? aware that you can and need to do that without try twist your experience into our experience into our words our community?

aware that advocacy goes beyond about you?

aware that you can’t speak for all autistic? aware that you shouldn’t speak for all autistic?

are you aware of when you need to stop talking & listen & amplify others? aware of when and how to decenter self?

aware that even this long post, barely scratch surface? still so much to say?

[better worded version of original post]

[boughkeeper-dainsleif]

thinking about the time i said to a couple people that i can't drive due to my autism, and one of them said something like "i don't have a choice bc my parents made me drive". that bothered me for a while, and continues to bother me. i don't have a choice either. if my life depended on me driving, i would die.

it feels to me like whenever i say "i can't do this because of my autism", allistics (or often times lower support needs autistics) assume that i have actually just decided not to do something, instead of understanding that i am physically incapable of doing it, even if my life depended on it, even if i desperately wanted to.

i wish allistics understood that an autistic person's limitations cannot be changed with motivation or different choices. sometimes it feels like other people have a harder time accepting my needs and limits. than i do myself.

[autiebiographical]

I grew up in the 90s where I constantly was told to "Be Weird!" Apparently I was supposed to be neurotypical weird, not autistic weird.

[anexperimentallife]

Reminder that Auti$m $peak$ is an anti-autistic hate group that has zero autistic people on its board, and which focuses on the "burden" we present, and that the puzzle piece and "light it up blue" campaing are from them.

If you're looking for colors or symbols to show acceptance and support for us, please use the ones we, the autistic community, have chosen: Gold (because the chemical symbol of gold is Au), and the infinity symbol.

Thank you.

[pheyphem]

dan acknowledging the autism is so just like. whiplash to me /pos. cause i’m so used to the topic of autism in general being something that is kinda danced around and not rly acknowledged, so seeing autistic traits in him and then him going “yeah . fish autism” idk it just feels rly nice and refreshing i’m rly grateful for it

EDIT: read this pls it’s important :) /gen

[theorahsart]

Here's a comic I made a few years ago, explaining autistic meltdowns and shutdowns in detail! They can be pretty different to what you might expect- I didnt even realise I was experiencing them for years. I thought they were panic attacks that just happened to last much longer than an average person's, or that I was very sensitive- newsflash, it was actually autism lol

[weirdplutoprince]

Bchan is a 15 year old girl who just found out she's autistic. Keep up with her highs and lows in a world where "normal" is not the norm!

Since I'm still working on the 'Autistic? Me?' reboot, for this autism acceptance day I've put up all the original 19 episodes for free on Gumroad and Itchio!!

You can donate if you'd like, but I thought it'd be nice to make them available before I edit out the site. :)

Happy autism acceptance day, everyone!