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
I don't wear a badge or a lanyard, however I do carry an Autism card in my wallet though. While I'm not afraid of my Asperger's Syndrome, there are some people in my city would would probably knock ten bells out of me if they saw me wearing a badge or lanyard.
What would cause anyone to harm someone with a disability just because they are letting the world know they may communicate differently?
There are some areas where I live that, even if people consider you to be "different", they'll beat the s**t out of you - I know this because it's happened to me on a few occassions.
Strange thing is I've spent time in both the Philippines and China and yet I felt safer there at night than I did in some of the local areas here in Southampton!