Blogtastic

THAT’S NOT PRODUCTIVE.

This incredible 95-year-old transwoman flight instructor found love late in life– only to be denied social security benefits by the government because she’s not cisgender

GO OFF SIS 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾Read it and then read it again.

Here’s a quote from Girls with Aspberger’s Syndrome: Early Diagnosis is Critical (written in 2012. That’s only 4 years ago!)

“Parents notice that their daughter may not identify or want to play cooperatively with her female peers. She may consider that the play of other girls is beneath her—boring and inexplicable—and prefer to play alone so that she can do things her own way. Her interests can be different from those of other girls, not necessarily of focus but of intensity and quality. There may be a determination to organize toys rather than share them and not play with toys in conventional ways. For example, she may collect over 50 Barbie dolls yet choose not to enact with her neighborhood friends “Barbie getting married” but instead arrange the dolls in particular configurations. She may even use her dolls to re-enact scenes from school to try to decipher the codes of social conduct experienced during the day. She may prefer nongender specific toys such as Lego or playing with toys associated with boys, such as construction sets and vehicles.

The girl with AS may not be interested in the latest craze for girls her age to be cool and popular. She may also be averse to the concept of femininity, choosing not to wear the latest fashions, fancy or frilly clothing, or clothing with bright colors or complex patterns. Her preference may be for practical, comfortable clothes with many pockets.”

Okay, just because my daughter likes to play with Legos and cars, it means there’s something WRONG WITH HER?! Just because she likes practical clothing and not ‘the latest fashions and frilly clothing” (WITH POCKETS!) there’s a problem?!

Seriously. I have a problem with that. My daughter has varied interests that cross gender lines. That doesn’t necessarily mean she automatically has AS or needs therapy! O.O

And:

“While boys with AS may fixate on facts (and some girls with AS can also have an encyclopedic knowledge of specific topics), many girls have an intense interest in reading (and some are hyperlexic, exhibiting a precocious ability to read). They may develop an amazing vocabulary and escape into fiction, enjoy a fantasy world, talk to imaginary friends, and write fiction at an early age. “

Instead, he is highlighting the common patterns among AS individuals and how they may be different than neurotypicals. That is not to say that neurotypical individuals cannot engage in things differently than what is more typical of their gender. All he is stating is that those are more common signs spotted with autistic individuals than neurotypicals. It is descriptive rather than a value judgment of these individuals.

For example, I'm female with AS and I can see myself in what he has described, but I also know neurotypical women that were tomboyish too. How I was tomboyish was different than most tomboys because I was more focused on interests than the social aspect. Diagnosis can be important because it gives insight and tools for the AS individual to navigate in a world where the majority of people have differences from them. Sometimes this might require therapy to develop coping mechanisms, but many neurotypicals need therapy too, and it's not an indication that something is wrong with the individual.