Published on 12, July, 2020
(from a discussion I joined in Reddit)
I have been noticing a trend of people who claim that autism is not an disability, I think there were even some people who were asking to remove it from the classification. Do these people not realise the harm they are making to other autistic people, and themselves, just because they have a prejudice against the "disability" designation?
Last year I got my ASD diagnosis, after my social life was ruined by burnouts and horrible blunders.
It is taking all that is in me to admit to myself that I can not do certain things, it is taking all that it is in my self to cope that can not fight my social awkwardness and that this is the only way I can keep socialising with the people. In the best case scenario I end up looking like the "weird one" or the "clown friend" again, it is taking all in me to accept that I have this disability and that I need some accessibility for things.
And yet people keep working to feed this prejudice that many of us have to work against in ourselves.
Every time that I feel I can not express the way I feel or think, it honestly feels like my body is a trap sometimes.
I cannot read body language and vocal cues. Dogs can. I am less functional than a goddamn dog. That's not the fault of society for not being accommodating enough.
I cannot drive at night, bright lights give me an headache and trigger a meltdown. That's not the fault of society for not being accommodating enough.
I cannot stand loud TV or radio. Everybody else can. That's not the fault of society for not being accommodating enough.
I cannot read a map or find my way around an unfamiliar place. That's not the fault of society for not being accommodating enough.
I have poor fine motor control skills. That's not the fault of society for not being accommodating enough.
Something *is* wrong with my brain. I *am* disabled. I need accommodations to function comfortably, and that's okay. It's nothing to be ashamed of because it's not my fault. I did no wrong; I just have a brain that didn't develop correctly. We need to get rid of "AuTiSM Iz MaGiKaL SupErPoWeR". It is not. It's an horrible disability, and my only hope is that someday there will be a way to prevent it.
To be honest, I think that those people saying that ASD is not a disability are either subscribing to the social theory of disability (total lunacy), deluded, or they have such a mild form of ASD that ASD is not a disability for them. I call them the "TikTok autistics"!
I think that the 'social theory of disability' has some merit. In a world perfectly designed for me I would not be disadvantaged or disabled in any way. In a world that banned synthetic fibres, blancmange-like textured food, reliance on non-verbal communication, loud music in social spaces for no good reason, and that allowed written communication for everything, I would not be disabled. If all dogs were too small to pose a threat and were incapable of barking, that would be a bonus.
the perfect world for each single disabled person just does not exist and cannot exist. That theory is complete lunacy, like 99% of modern social science. Disabled people need adjustments and provisions. They also need to accept that some places and activities will be forever denied to them. What disabled people DO NOT need is a theory based on a world that does not exists
It was not posited as a serious suggestion. I am at a loss to how anyone could imagine that to be the case. It was used as an extreme case (not intended to be taken at all literally) to illustrate the valid logic of the social theory of disability. Frankly my dear, my flabber has never been so gasted.
Have you suggested adding a mute button to the moderators/community manager?
On the other two forums I am on... One has a mute button and the other has an ignore list. I find them useful for sure.
I do not care is somebody in the internet says bad things about me. I just wanted to protect my brain from asinine remarks. I already have to suffer a lot of fools in my day job, give me a break.
ok but say you blocked me. And I posted in your thread saying something mean like 'judge dredd is a big X.' (what ever mean thing X might be) You wouldn't be able to see my post but everyone else would. And other people could quote my post. Some person Y might post 'peter said "judge dredd is a big X" ... yes peter he really is.' and you'd see it anyway. On the other hand if any post that replys to or quotes some one you've blocked is invisable to you you wouldn't know person Y and me were slaging you off in your own thread for everyone else to see but you.
I am with you there!