Understanding It's a Spectrum

One of the hardest things to comprehend about Autism and ADHD and other neurodiverse disorders is how greatly affected the individual is by their condition.

Sayings like "It's not Dis-Able but I'm Able!" or "Autism is a super power!" or even "Everyone needs a little bit of autism" can be quite hurtful to hear.

How? It dismisses our daily experiences and how much we are impacted by our disabilities.

SOME autistic people are not affected by their disorder day to day.

In fact, they may even find their unique skill set as a "positive" in their careers. Like sensitive hearing for a wildlife photographer or strong morals in an advocate.

But the statistics are damning. With a devastating 80% of autistic adults unable to get meaningful employment, the reality is, a majority of us are struggling to just survive daily life.

Comment on a post and accidentally remember a fact wrong and get downvoted by hundreds of people?

Short attention span is disabling to the point of daily injuries while cooking in the kitchen or walking about your home?

It goes beyond a saying on a t-shirt. It's a slap to the face for those of us who sincerely are affected by our disability. Who in every waking moment are trying their best to live their life DESPITE their disability.

Ignoring the ugly truths does not make it go away. What our community needs is REAL hope.

- Instead of telling us it's a superpower, give us reasonable accommodations.

- Instead of holding "positive vibe" events created by neurotypical people, have Autistic people run and create it and the neurotypical people SUPPORT THEM.

- Give us the tools towards independence. Don't assume we will never reach it.

What's going to change our lives isn't giving us "fake" encouragement, but proving the negative voices in our heads wrong.

We constantly hear in our head things like:

"You make life harder for everyone."

"They don't want your opinions, they can't even understand you. Just be quiet."

"You're annoying. Why can't you be still for once?"

The list goes on. Our symptoms are directly related to how we experience life.

Don't feed those voices. Don't feed our fears. Instead prove to those ugly voices we hear that it CAN be better for us. There IS more to life than feeling unaccepted. That there ARE ways for us to be happy and people are willing to help us get there.

Because at the root of it, that's all we want. To be happy. Believe that we can and that we can help ourselves get there.