Are we disabled?

Ausomely Autistic said:

I am not saying that people can’t identify as disabled

It's not 'identifying'.  It's what I am.

This sort of expression is very triggering and is negating us and our lifelong experiences.

Have you: been to college, been in a relationship, had a job, had children, purchased a house, moved home, suffered bereavement, been in hospital, been institutionalised - done any of the things in life that bring great challenges for autistic people, in life (not online)?

And of course for some people just getting out of bed in the morning is a challenge.

This isn't a theory, it's real life.

From Wikepedia:

"Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society."

Maybe getting more life experience and the massive challanges we face in life is the key to recognising how disabling autism can be even for those of us who would be classified as having lower support needs.

We need more support, not to be told that we aren't disabled and therefore support isn't required.

If I am in a stressful situation in public now I'm very happy to tell people I'm autistic.

I was in hospital recently having someone talking to me before shoving a tube down my throat and at the very same time another person was talking to me trying to put a needle in my hand.

I was glad to be able to say I can't cope with this at the same time because I'm autistic.

The autism disabled me in that situation and my blood pressure had rocketed.

Don't tell me I'm not disabled when I know that my autism has affected every area of my life and held me back in very many ways.

I have 60+ years of experience of this.

I not telling you how to identify, I am just analysing the meaning of the word disabled.

Wikipedia is not a reliable source of information and also there are many different definitions of disabled, some of which are rooted in the social model of disability.

Hibernating said:

Have you: been to college, been in a relationship, had a job, had children, purchased a house, moved home, suffered bereavement, been in hospital, been institutionalised - done any of the things in life that bring great challenges for autistic people, in life (not online)?

I am much younger than you and therefore have not had some of these life experiences, but that doesn’t mean my perspective is not valid. Equally, some of these experiences such as bereavement for example would be traumatic for anyone regardless of neurotype however I am obviously aware we process everything including grief very differently from the predominant neurotype.

 I am not denying your experience, I am merely stating a different perspective that is one of the main reasons why we are part of this community to share experiences and perspectives and learn from each other.

I agree about wikipedia being an unreliable source.

Different countries classify disability differently and I think you really have to go with the classification of your home country.

I was diagnosed at the age of 50, it was a relief after years of struggle and trying to find out what was wrong with me. I believe you can't have power with that which you can't name. 12 years ago it was a very different picture for ND's particularly female ones, so little was known, let alone accepted. For many things I found ways around, like prefering to be self employed rather than working for others, I found I was more comfortable in customer facing roles when I was behind a desk or counter. When I was younger I used drink and drugs to help me cope, but then there was a big drinking culture among my working class age mates, I would of stood out if I hadn't been drinking.

Poor mental health and excessive hormonal swings disabled me for many years, then after a hystorectomy came fybromyalgia, this does disable me physically. I've gone from being the annoying person who can work and play hard gt up the next day and dig 70 foot of potato trenches on my allotment and then go home and cook the hunglover slugabeds sunday dinner, now I'd be hard pressed to dig 7 foot of potato trenches. Various health niggles have all ganged up on me and I sometimes feel under seige from my own body.

As we get older our health needs change, I really think for women a lot of health conditions get burried by the medical professions short sightedness in thinking that as a woman of child bearing age, everything must be hormonal and can be cured by going on the pill or having a baby and if those dont' work or you refuse them, then you must be "mad" for refusing to fit the norms of the patriarchy. I wonder how many health problems women have are being burried by medical short sightedness and only come out in later life?

I do now class myself as disabled and have for a while mostly due to serious back pain, but the fybromyalgia has really put the tin lid on it, waking up with aching feet and still feeling tired after a good nights sleep, with terrible brain fog and feeling physically like I ran a marathon in my sleep do me in. I can feel like this for days weeks or months and then have a time when I'm back to something nearer my old energetic self. For me autism is the least of it.

I just wish people would stop associating disability with being in a wheelchair and recognise that there are many of us "walking wounded" and that very few of us are stupid.

That’s absolutely fine! We are here to support each other, there is no need to apologise!

I am glad I feel like a safe person to you, that’s a huge compliment!

 I was just asking about Spoon Theory/other types of energy accounting as I know these strategies are commonly recommended in reference to fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome etc, however I was also conscious that you probably have heard all of this before. Also in reality it’s actually quite difficult to apply these strategies in every day life as I know from my own experience that my autistic brain craves constant stimulation and knowledge, whereas other physical needs contradict that.

I am happy to provide advice, validation or just share experiences though including questioning neuro normative expectations!

Thanks AA, and sorry to have dumped on you in my last post, I know you were trying to be helpful. You feel like a safe, thoughtful and understanding person.

Thanks AA, and sorry to have dumped on you in my last post, I know you were trying to be helpful. You feel like a safe, thoughtful and understanding person.

That’s absolutely fine! We are here to support each other, there is no need to apologise!

I am glad I feel like a safe person to you, that’s a huge compliment!

 I was just asking about Spoon Theory/other types of energy accounting as I know these strategies are commonly recommended in reference to fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome etc, however I was also conscious that you probably have heard all of this before. Also in reality it’s actually quite difficult to apply these strategies in every day life as I know from my own experience that my autistic brain craves constant stimulation and knowledge, whereas other physical needs contradict that.

I am happy to provide advice, validation or just share experiences though including questioning neuro normative expectations!