Published on 12, July, 2020
I was diagnosed autistic not so long ago in my early 40s, the psychiatrist who diagnosed me said I mask phenomenally well that it goes almost undetected.
My family say I should wear a badge that lets others know I am autistic because I can come across rude when shopping or in other social situations where people are new to me. I wore a lapel badge that said I’m autistic to trial it a few weeks and it did make a huge difference when i was shopping, I realised sales assistants willing to help more, more smiley.
The flip side of it is, do I really want people to know I’m autistic ? It feels like a label and does that mean I am giving people an opportunity on passing judgement without knowing me??
Thoughts please? X
Hi Rosina,
I've been wearing the badge below for around 6 weeks now and it's really helped. I also typed a letter which i gave to the staff at my local Co-Op explaining that i'm autistic and might appear anxious, fumble my words, or seem rude sometimes and i'm glad i did. The staff in there are really friendly and i feel much more at ease. I'm happy for others to know i'm autistic but i can understand why others perhaps aren't
Well done, autism is nothing to be ashamed of, it’s all about education. I get that others see us as just another person, disability isn’t always obvious. It’s often not their fault, they just aren’t used to us yet. They will learn!