Published on 12, July, 2020
And what do you wish they would stop doing/saying?
I wish they knew that we aren’t all like Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory. I wish they would stop saying things like “everyone is a little bit autistic” as it effectively (if not intentionally) downplays the struggles we face on a daily basis.
Great discussion!
There are some points I wish to make on this topic:
Much of this has parallels with the LGBT community and even within the gay community where being gay and a traditional Catholic becomes an issue - or being part of the Irish truth and patriot movement, living abroad as part of the Irish diaspora, being a traditional Catholic and being LGBT (or being gay and not being LGBT) - yet all of these things are not mutually exclusive to each other, according to any standards
IrishInManchesterUK said:Much of this has parallels with the LGBT community
Absolutely! I completely agree! We face prejudice in a similar way to the LGBTQIA+ community too.
Absolutely! There is obviously lots of overlap between both communities too!
As someone who is both, I have noticed similarities too.
Amerantin (former member) said:I think we're much less visible so we're not overtly discriminated against as a group in the way LGBTQIA+ people are.
To some extent yes, however if we were not that visible then why would so many members of our community have experienced bullying and other traumatic experiences? I don’t expect you to answer this, it is just a thought!
For example, many people who could be autistic are described as outcasts etc so people know we are different, they are just not accepting of differences.
Amerantin (former member) said: We face individual microaggressions because of how we present rather than who we are, if that makes sense.
Absolutely! It’s the every day invalidation and gaslighting we experience that has a cumulative effect on our community.
Amerantin (former member) said:If there was more of an autistic or neurodivergent community things could be so much better for us.
Ditto! Community is so important for wellbeing!
I think we're much less visible so we're not overtly discriminated against as a group in the way LGBTQIA+ people are. We face individual microaggressions because of how we present rather than who we are, if that makes sense.
If there was more of an autistic or neurodivergent community things could be so much better for us.