#autism misconceptions

Hey guys, April is autism awareness month - an event that i mostly try to avoid (except for content made by autistic people) because of how saturated it is by people saying wrong and harmful things about autism and autistic people. 

I was sent a message asking if I could talk about some myths and misconceptions about autism though, and that sounded like a good idea! (spoiler alert for one point made in the video: lots of autistic people prefer autism acceptance month, instead of awareness.) 

 Useful links: 

Many, MANY autistic people, including myself, are against the use of “high” and “low” functioning labels, as well as the terms “mild” and “severe” to describe autism.  These labels are harmful, inaccurate, and invalidating to many autistic people, and I’m here to give some examples of why that is.  

First, let’s look at me:  I am a “Level 2″ autistic according to the DSM 5, and my family, doctors and therapists all agree that I fit the “Level 2″ criteria more than the “Level 1″ criteria that many autistic people who are considered “high-functioning” fall under.  “Level 2″ means I have “moderate support needs” which is much more true than the “high-functioning” label the general public likes to slap on me because I can speak with my mouth parts and am not intellectually disabled.  This label is invalidating because I DO need help and support with many things in order for me to survive, but the “high-functioning” label means I am unable to get the support I need because I’m not found eligible for it since I’m “too high-functioning” to qualify.  This causes many problems for me in daily life because of the way I’m seen in the general public’s eyes.  

Now, here’s something else the general public likes to do a lot: The general public likes to slap the “low-functioning” label on autistic people who are nonspeaking and/or intellectually disabled, which invalidates their strengths, the things these people CAN do.  Many people seem to think that the “low-functioning” autistics are incapable of doing anything, but that’s not true at all!  In fact, there are many nonspeaking autistic advocates out there!  There are nonspeaking autistic people who have written books, or are good at art!  While their support needs should ALWAYS be met (by people who know what they’re doing, of course), instead of putting the focus on what they CAN’T do, the focus should be put on what they CAN do.

These labels are also inaccurate, each autistic person has areas where they would be considered “high-functioning” as well as areas where they would be considered “low-functioning” and their “levels of functioning” will also differ from person to person, as well as from day to day.  This DOES NOT, however, make autistic people any less human, or any less worthy of a happy, fulfilling life.

NT’s, please listen to autistic people when they try to tell you something...we are people too, and we deserve to be treated respectfully, just like everyone else does.

ah yeah, i’ve got a few ideas, just got to properly write them, so it’ll probably be towards the end of the month!