Does anyone else get frustrated at the perception of autism, and how it's only 'acceptable' to the general public if you have low support needs, and/or you have photographic memory, or can solve complex math problems or whatever else. I often apply the public's standards for autism to myself, and internally describe myself as having the 'bad kind' of autism. Being autistic didn't give me a unique and valuable perspective on life, nor did it give me a special talent. Sometimes I feel like I'm missing out, like I'm the outlier for having regular degular autism but I know that's not true haheaha. Undeniably though, it still hurts to know that while autism is currently being discussed and showcased in mainstream media, the type of autism that is displayed is often the 'good kind' of autism, where the autistic person does not inconvenience the neurotypicals around them, and provides some service, whether that's their intelligence, or some kind of unique skill. None of the autistic person's struggles are ever shown and they are essentially portrayed as a neurotypical person with a few quirks. Overall, I guess what I'm trying to say is that the media's conditional representation of autism tends to annoy me, and I'd like to see more representation of the average, non-ultra smart, non-ultra skilled autistic person and their experience. If anyone has any recommendations of autism representation they personally like, please let me know.
