This is a letter I wrote about life as an autistic person. Take it as you will.
"I expect nobody to understand this but I want to write it regardless. I have autism, the kind that used to be called Asperger's Syndrome. It means that while I may look like any other person on the street on the outside, inside I am full of pain, sadness, anger at myself and frustration at not being properly understood.
It also means that things like loud noise, bright lights, constant stress take more of a toll and cause physical pain.
Because an autistic person's brain is wired differently, I will not always understand things quickly like a normal person, I can be clumsy, awkward, perceived as lazy or stupid, which makes it very hard to find jobs where our more positive qualities are utilised and we are not bullied, seen as different or meets us halfway in helping to manage our personal sensitivities, triggers and understanding tasks or procedures.
Many autistic people have not had the opportunity to develop their social skills properly, we spend much of our lives isolated because the outside world can be overwhelming, and we miss out on making friends, finding boyfriends and girlfriends who would be willing to give us a chance and building relationships which help us grow, get stronger and believe in ourselves more thanks to the genuine love and support of people who would never give up on us, and we autistics would return that love along with loyalty.
I along with so many others have had our hearts broken by indifference and ridicule by those who are supposed to offer help and support like the DWP, GPs and professionals alike, telling us to think happy thoughts, medicate ourselves and deal with our own problems alone.
It's sad that our world is only growing more selfish, heartless and passively cruel to those whose pain and scars we can't see on the outside."