Published on 12, July, 2020
Sometimes I wish, if I was going to have a disability, that I could have one everyone agreed was difficult. With autism, some people act like it's an absolute curse, and others say we need to celebrate neurodiversity and that there's nothing wrong with being autistic and it shouldn't even be thought of as a disability, that sometimes it's even advantageous, and that I'm being a mega drama queen for being upset about it. I mean, I find myself getting really sad and angry with myself for the way I am, but then I hear a lot of people saying there's nothing wrong with being autistic, so I try to be positive, and then just when I'm doing well being positive, I'll hear someone say autism is 'every parent's worst nightmare' or something along those lines. And then I go back to being despairing. I just don't know what to make of it. Does anyone else feel messed with by this?
The truth is even the most brilliant people on the spectrum wouldn't get a diagnosis unless they were seen to be impaired in certain areas.
Yes, that is the bottom line really. The very fact that we have a diagnosis means that we have an impairment in functioning.