autism sideblog

i was late diagnosed with autism at 19 years old alongside dysthymia and GAD

i'm a first gen immigrant, i moved to the US at 14 years old

i am currently in my junior year of studying psychology at university with an english minor, and working in a psychology lab as a research assistant

my special interests are cinema, horror, horror cinema, and cameras

i have a huge interest in psychology and autism

i am extremely passionate about social justice regarding any marginalized identity but i am an especially loud advocate for immigrants and people of color, and especially immigrants of color

i am an advocate for neurodiversity but there are still times where i am sad and resentful towards my disability

please be kind and patient with me, i am not sure how my tone comes across, and i don't understand others' tones consistently, either

ABOUT THIS BLOG:

a lot of this is just my journal regarding my own autistic experiences, since it's such a lonely experience

i might talk about psychology research regarding ASD - if you have any scientific work you'd like me to explain or summarize, feel free to send it to me !!!

i'm autistic and english isn't my first language, so please don't over-analyze how i say things, but rather WHAT i say

on the account of my love for social justice and black and white thinking, i might seem stubborn in my opinions. i am very opinionated, and you may not agree with everything i say. i am always open to hearing other people out, though

i am staunchly anti-capitalist but not anti-psychiatry. asks are welcomed about this (and everything else!!)

i might post about self-diagnosis, and not always in an unconditionally positive way

i used to really love his content but i found it harder and harder to enjoy his posts when he often suddenly lashed out at autistic people for being kind of annoying. he also advocated for autistic rights, but it was clear he didn't put much effort into undoing biases abt autistic traits and behaviors. he was almost viciously angry at autistic people for inserting themselves into c punk spaces, though many of the people he mentioned were both autistic and physically disabled. he used autism & autistic as a pejorative, as if you have a pass to do that shit because you reblog anti jfk jr posts. he heavily implied autism isn't THAT debilitating and made it seem like a lesser form of disability. disability lite, if you will. he would refuse to engage with any of this criticism and just responded with ? the fact that his best friend is autistic ???

i'm saying this not to call out this specific person - if you know who this is about, please don't share it anywhere, and don't harass him, ovgiously - but to make a point of how anti autistic sentiments are so insidious and common, even in those who think of themselves as allies. i imagine he would've RIGHTFULLY been disgusted if someone made the posts he made about autistic people directed at the marginalized group he belonged to. in fact, many of these points are unfortunately made about physically disabled people, too, as well as any other oppressed people. but it seems like the autistic perspective falls through the cracks of even the most progressive advocates, as if we're not worth thinking about at all. i get that having us around can be a bit tough, since it challenges your preconceived notions of how you ought to speak and behave, but isn't all inclusion disruptive?

autism isn't just struggling with socialization, experiencing stimuli differently, and being passionate about your interests. there's a reason why all autistic people more or less have these traits, though obviously they vary in intensity and how they exhibit them. they're not really what autism is, only what it can be identified by from an external point of view. the dsm-5 is a diagnostic manual mostly used for insurance companies, with concrete, standardized criteria. it isn't a stand-in for the lived experience of autism.

what is at the core of autism isn't known. there are many theories. but it's no coincidence that the majority of autistic people struggle with things outside of that narrow criteria you may most be familiar with: interoception, proprioception, GI issues, working memory, facial recognition, regulating temperature, bottom-up thinking, sleeping patterns (especially insomnia), and many more. there is something underlying all those well-known traits, alongside these incredibly common ones, as well.

i often see people talk about how autistic people have it better because we can technically go places other disabled people may not. "even if a place isn't autism friendly, they can just push through it". no, many of us can't. i have a friend who's lvl 1 and still can't take any sort of public transportation. she's stuck in a very small village and only has connections outside of it over the internet. even if we could, a place being accessible in the short term while we have to sacrifice our own well being isn't accessible at all. if i have to hit myself in the head repeatedly after going to an event then it's not accessible. not being able to attend it again because i know i can't handle it means it's not accessible.

i have seen much too often autistics trying to prove they are worth to be alive and be accommodated at the expense of higher support needs autistics. i have seen them talk about higher support needs autistics as if they are not important, not deserving of compassion, and not even human. i have seen autistic people say they don't want to be associated with them. that is disgusting. you should know better