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Sia - the diagnosis

Dawn
over 1 year ago

When I woke up yesterday morning I had never heard of Sia or the film Music (Yeah ok!  I was born in the 60s and am behind the times, it would seem, lol).  Goggle tells me that Music has been a bit controversial.  I watched the film last night I see why.  No, "crushing" autistic people "with love" mid meltdown is the last thing anyone should try.  Bloomin' dangerous!  No, she didn't pick an autistic actor and yes, the character Music does only seem to be there to further the stories of the other protagonists. So, ooooh yes, I do see why.

Anyway, Sia was brought to my attention because apparently, she has just announced that she is late diagnosed autistic!  That said I see posts here a year old on the topic, so I'm a bit confused.dot.com as to how recent this really is.

Sia says she's on autism spectrum two years after Music controversy | Metro News - dated this week

With that the Metro approached the NAS for comment on being late diagnosed from some actually late diagnosed people.  Amanda and I from the Now I Know campaign obliged. Actually, I quite like the article.  They've picked three very different experiences.  And it is great to be given the chance to open public eyes, so I'm happy about that.

What it's like to be diagnosed as autistic as an adult | Metro News - today

I'm curious now though to see whether and how perceptions of Sia might have changed. And whether people think it will be helpful for the public to know her story in the same way that other public figures disclosing their diagnosis, say the lovely Chris Packham, Christine McGuiness, Melanie Sykes and Fern Brady, have done. 

I understand Sia later apologised for her approach in Music and recognises now that she is both in recovery from alcoholism and getting to know her autistic self.  As a Spiritualist, I do rather believe that the path of change and growth is open to all, and we don't have to suffer forever for their mistakes.  We've all made them, after all.

So, what are folk's feelings about the latest celebrity autism reveal, given the context?

Parents
  • over 1 year ago

    Honestly I got diag'ed in the 90s but thought it was a misdiagnosis for years because I didn't fit the profile of what I was led to believe autistic people were like. If I had to create a portrayal of an autistic person back then it wouldn't look like me that's for sure, in fact it probably would also have been a problematically narrow view cherry picked from bad sources and stereotypes too.
    So I know from first hand experiences we as autistic folks don't often recognise our internalised abelism until we really know and accept ourselves first.
    Honestly if Sia gets better with how she talks about us, given the huge platform she has and actually learns better then I can forgive that because it was an uncomfortable road of growth I had to take too.

    But that is just as an autist myself regarding the internalised abelism side of things if she is genuinely on the spectrum. I don't think it's my place to say whether she's forgiven for other problematic elements of that movie or it's advertisements or not.

Reply
  • over 1 year ago

    Honestly I got diag'ed in the 90s but thought it was a misdiagnosis for years because I didn't fit the profile of what I was led to believe autistic people were like. If I had to create a portrayal of an autistic person back then it wouldn't look like me that's for sure, in fact it probably would also have been a problematically narrow view cherry picked from bad sources and stereotypes too.
    So I know from first hand experiences we as autistic folks don't often recognise our internalised abelism until we really know and accept ourselves first.
    Honestly if Sia gets better with how she talks about us, given the huge platform she has and actually learns better then I can forgive that because it was an uncomfortable road of growth I had to take too.

    But that is just as an autist myself regarding the internalised abelism side of things if she is genuinely on the spectrum. I don't think it's my place to say whether she's forgiven for other problematic elements of that movie or it's advertisements or not.

Children