It is no secret that autistic police brutality is a real problem. From beatings & violent, wrongful arrests to deadly shootings; the aggressive force police use against us, autistics, is our unfortunate reality. In fact, I DON'T FEEL LIKE POLICE OFFICERS PROTECT ME at all, but to be quite honest, it is the exact opposite— I FEEL LIKE I HAVE TO PROTECT MYSELF FROM POLICE OFFICERS. When I look at police officers, I see the grownup versions of my high school bullies. I knew for a fact that the majority of the guys who bullied me in school, the guys who made my high school, my middle school experiences a living hell were going onto college to study criminal justice to become police officers. It does make sense. The tough guys in school. The guys who bullied the quiet, meek girls like myself. They have the exact right type of personalities, the desire & the thrill deep inside of them to want to catch the bad guys. Of course they want to become cops! I have been absolutely petrified, absolutely terrified of police officers my entire life & that is the main reason why. In my mind, POLICE OFFICERS ARE BULLIES, people who misunderstand me, people who mistreat me, people who don't treat me like a human being. And no one, no situation has ever proven me wrong. Interacting with police officers causes me so much stress that my autistic traits become much more exasperated, much more visible than they are typically. But, even with how exaggerated my autistic traits become, I still don't "look autistic" in a stereotypical sense. I spent the majority of my life not knowing I was autistic, but despite that, I still knew that my interactions with police officers were dangerous. While I never act in ways that are considered "typical," that is exaggerated exponentially when I'm faced with high-stress situations, like when I'm in the presence of law enforcement personnel. And when police officers see someone not acting "typical," they often assume the worst & react in ways that put the life & the well-being of an autistic person, such as myself, at risk. I now know that the kind of stress police officers trigger inside of me causes autistic shutdowns. Before I knew I was autistic, I knew that I shut down when in the presence of police officers, but I had no explanation as to why that was. During an autistic shutdown, I more often than not become nonverbal, meaning, even if I wanted to talk, it would be impossible for me to make the words come out. And if I am able to talk during an autistic shutdown, I don't have control over what I am saying, my words often not making any sense. Acting in this way when conversing with police officers is extremely problematic because a person who acts like this is typically on drugs. I'm not on drugs; I never have been & I never will be. It's being autistic that makes me act this way. On top of that, it takes an extremely long time for me to process information & it takes exponentially longer when I'm highly-stressed. So, when spoken to by a police officer, I am often non-responsive. Not because I don't want to respond, but because I physically can't. I simply haven't had enough time to process whatever was just said to me OR that I was spoken to at all. Having an extremely long processing time is very common with autistics, but again, it is also very common with drug users. During the few interactions with police officers I've had in my lifetime, I have been told every time that there was something off about me, that they thought I was on drugs when they first interacted with me. It would have been SO helpful to know that I was autistic at the time I had those interactions rather than for those police officers to automatically assume that I was on drugs. The fact that it is automatically assumed that I am on drugs when I'm not is awfully troubling. This is why soon after I received my autism diagnosis, I designed myself an autism wallet card. This card explains that I am autistic, what autism spectrum disorder is, as well as certain behaviors that I may exhibit that others will likely perceive as unusual, but they are actually very typical behaviors of an autistic woman. I also wear a medical alert bracelet that contains my name, my diagnoses, & an emergency contact number. Plus, it states that I have a wallet card. I did this because I know that it isn't safe to reach for something without asking the police officer for permission first. But, since I often have trouble communicating verbally with police officers, I needed something that would allow me to safely communicate that I'm autistic & I have a wallet card without needing to speak. The reason why I have an autism wallet card & wear a medical alert bracelet is to protect myself from police officers, something that shouldn't be my job or my responsibility to do. Not only is a police officer's job to protect us, but I shouldn't have to disclose my disability in order to be treated with respect or to keep myself safe. My autism wallet card is pictured below (click on it to view it larger). Now, police officers aren't purposely harming autistic people. They simply aren't educated about how to recognize autism & the different behaviors autistic people exhibit. For example, when police officers see a person:
Autism Training & Education:
Police officers across the country & around the world are just not being properly educated or trained on how to treat & interact with autistic individuals. In fact, the type of & the amount of autism training that police officers receive is variable in different police departments in cities across the country. Plus, it's usually voluntary, not mandatory. Another problem is that the education police officers receive on autism tends to be tacked onto the end of the training on another topic. When this happens & only a short discussion is had about autism, how are police officers supposed to get the training, we, autistic people so desperately need them to have? On another note, it's hard to even pinpoint what constitutes as effective training. There is very limited research on how well various kinds of training programs work & ineffective training does more harm than good. There is also some research that suggests that while proper autism training makes police officers understand autism, it still doesn't make them any less likely to use force on autistic people. There really needs to be police training on autism that is standardized across all departments nationwide. However, some experts & advocates say that the best way to decrease violence is to minimize interactions between police & autistic people altogether. That just doesn't seem like a viable solution to me though, especially for autistic people like me, who drive. The Blue Envelope Program: The Blue Envelope Initiative represents a collaborative effort aimed at fostering a safer & a more understanding environment for autistic drivers during motor vehicle operator interactions & traffic stops. This program was just introduced in Massachusetts, the state in which I reside, earlier this month. It involves a Blue Envelope, which is intended to hold a driver's essential documents— a license, the car's registration, & a contact card. However, the significance of this envelope isn't that it is just a storage solution. This envelope features critical communication guidelines on its exterior, specifically tailored to assist law enforcement officers in recognizing & adapting their approach when interacting with a autistic drivers. While the thought behind this program is great & it shows that Massachusetts is trying, as an autistic driver, I don't love everything about the Blue Envelope Program. This is why I have a problem with the Blue Envelope Program:
Also, ever since the Massachusetts Police Department announced the introduction of the Blue Envelope Program, I have been reading numerous comments online from allistic people about how people who require a Blue Envelope in order to have simple conversations with police officers shouldn't be allowed to get behind the wheel. These comments are extremely hurtful & extraordinarily ableist. The people who made these types of comments clearly don’t understand autism or how it impacts people. I probably will get a Blue Envelope to keep in my car only because Massachusetts police officers recognize its purpose. But, it will either remain empty or I will put a few of my autism wallet cards inside of it. I don’t love the idea of keeping my driver's license anywhere other than my wallet. When Interacting With Police Officers, Autistic People May:
Key Facts About Autism, Disabilities, & Police Officers:
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Temple Grandin, that is. When many autistic people disclose that they are autistic, a common question they receive is, "Have you heard of Temple Grandin?" If you don't know who Temple Grandin is, she is an American animal science professor, public speaker, & author who is widely thought of as the "face" of autism. So, when many people think of autism or autistic people, they think of her. This is why many autistic people are asked if they have heard of her when they first disclose that they are autistic. When I was asked this question, I had not heard of her, probably because this was towards the beginning of my autistic journey of self-discovery. All of the literature I was choosing to read were written by women in their thirties & forties. Women who were much closer in age to me & therefore, their life experiences were very relatable to mine. Temple is in her seventies, so I know her life experiences are drastically different from mine growing up. However, as time went on, I have learned more & more about her & now I can tell you that there is so much about her that just doesn't sit right with me. Many other autistic people look up to her & call her a "hero" or an "inspiration," & this may surprise you, but Temple Grandin most certainly isn't a hero of mine. Before I tell you why that is, I would like to tell you about the positive things Temple Grandin has done for the autistic community.
Why Temple Grandin Isn't My Hero:
While, yes, Temple Grandin, one of the first openly autistic people, has done many great things for the autistic community, she will most certainly NOT be my hero until she changes her ableist views about autistic people. WELCOME to the first Autism Acceptance Month blog post of 2024! Today, I wanted to take a few steps back & go over some autism terms & what they mean. I use many of these terms throughout my blog & I try to provide definitions as I write. It's always good to take the time to pause & review what some of these terms mean though. And there's no better time to do that than when we're kicking off Autism Acceptance Month! Important Autism Terms & Definitions:
Happy Halloween! Well, maybe it's a Happy Halloween to you, but it's not for me. I've never liked this haunting holiday. So, there. I've come out & said it. I don't like Halloween! Now, having said that, if you're a Halloween-loving person, that's no biggie. In fact, one of my closest friends has a Halloween birthday & I just love her excitement around this frightful day. But, for me, Halloween just isn't my day. And that's okay, too. This Is Why:
I don't dislike everything about Halloween, so this is what I do like about the holiday:
Halloween Challenges For Autistic People:
How You Can Help:
As my eighth grade school year neared its end, there was so much excitement & chatter among my classmates about high school. High school. Now those were two words I never wanted to hear. If you had asked me about anything having to do with high school that year, one of two things would have happened:
Throughout my life, each transition that I've experienced was harder than the one before. Now, I know why. Autism. We're known for having a tough time with change. Middle school wasn't a time that I would ever want to relive (I mean, who would?), but high school? Now that was terrifying. Eighth grade was the first time I ever had a male main subject teacher. My science & homeroom teacher, Gil, really took a liking to me. He gave me special treatment & gave me privileges that no one else in the class was allowed to have. He even intervened in situations where I didn't think it was necessary. He simply wanted to be there to take care of me. Being someone who didn't (& still doesn't) trust men, I considered myself pretty lucky to have had Gil be my first experience with a male teacher. He's retired now, but I've been able to reach out to him a few times since my college graduation to thank him for being so good to me. Anyway, Gil knew that I was nervous about going to high school, so he met my parents, my grandparents, & me one day over spring break to give us a personal tour. He used to work at the high school, so he knew it pretty well. My town was growing so fast, that the eighth grade needed to be moved to the high school for several years because there was no longer room for it in the middle school. By the time I entered eighth grade though, the grade had moved back to where it was supposed to be. I'm not sure how much that tour helped my transition to high school because just the idea of going to high school was SO upsetting. I knew I had no other choice because staying in eighth grade forever & skipping high school weren't viable options either. Having that love, care, & extra time from a teacher who could've been spending his spring break doing so many other things meant so much to my family & me. My First Day Of High School: Now, this is something I hate to admit, but on the first day of high school, as I was walking to the bus stop, there were big, ugly, fat tears that wouldn't stop forming. Like many parents, ever since I started school, my mom has always taken a picture of me on the first day. I couldn't pull myself together enough to take a picture that morning, so my mom took a picture of me after school instead. To this day, when I look at that picture, all I see is a sad, scared girl hidden behind the smile on her face. See below↓. On that particular morning, my next-door neighbor was looking out her front door at me walking to the bus stop, full of excitement for me. My neighbor was someone I have been very close to ever since I was a toddler, but I couldn't manage to turn to look at her for even a brief second because my face was so streaked with tears. Luckily, my mom could be my voice that morning, providing an explanation for my strange behavior which was completely embarrassing. What Exactly Was SO Terrifying?: There were three main things that were upsetting about going to high school.
I know that this is a very vulnerable & heartbreaking post, especially for those who know me personally. Please know that everything written in this post was written with my heart & soul & is absolutely true. School is very, very difficult for us autistics & my experiences are illustrations of why this may be. Some time ago, my parents' financial guy had made an offer to assist my brother & I if we ever wanted it. My mom took me to see him today because for awhile now, I've had concerns about having too much money in the bank. The reason why? I'm in my thirties now & I have barely spent any money ever since I started earning it when I was a teenager. In simpler terms, I'm really, really, really good at saving money. This Is Why I'm Such A Money Saver: I cannot depend on myself to make money. I became very aware when I was looking for my first "real" job after college that no one wanted to hire me. I don't blame them because if I was someone who was in the hiring position, I wouldn't want to hire myself either, as sad as that is to admit. I really, really, REALLY struggled with this. I was raised in an Asian & a Jewish household. I believe that those two backgrounds expect more from their children than any other background does. I even struggled emotionally that I went to a lowly state school rather than a college that was more highly respected. How many high school seniors get into every single one of the colleges they apply to? 🙋🏻♀️ I didn't have any reach schools & I didn't take any AP classes in high school because I wouldn't have been able to handle the pressure of either one of those things. Ever since I graduated from college ten years ago, I have had an intense amount of pressure put on me by my family & by myself to achieve things that were just not attainable. That really ate away at my self-esteem. My self-esteem wasn't good before this, but this made it a whole lot worse. For many years, my parents would say to me, "Aren't you scared about what's gonna happen to you when we die? Don't you want to make a living?" And for years, I avoided answering that question because I had no answer that would be acceptable to them, no answer that would be acceptable to me. The truth was, I was petrified & I still am. But, until I received my autism diagnosis last year, I had no understanding about why I was never able to reach the types of goals I went to college to achieve, why I am a college-educated person who can't support myself. It was EXTRAORDINARILY frustrating. College & Financial Independence: Achieving financial independence is what everyone strives for & it is a big reason why many high school graduates go on to college, isn't it? Well, let me tell you this. A college education doesn't buy you financial independence. It just doesn't. What a college education buys you is simply that: a college education. Yes, many jobs require a college degree & having a college degree can get you a higher salary than you would've had without one, but having a college degree doesn't get you a job. That was one of the first lessons I learned when my college commencement was upon me. I was an art & graphic design major, so my mom suggested that I call several design firms in the Boston area to see if they were hiring. Trying to be a good daughter, I unhappily obliged. I've always had problems talking to people & making phone calls to people I don't know personally causes anxiety on such a high level that I can't put it into words. None of the design firms I called were hiring, which surprisingly gave me great relief. This was something I never expected, but I knew it was because of the feelings of panic I endured when I thought about life after college. My college experience was absolutely terrible, so the whole four years I was there, I kept thinking that things would get better once I graduated. Well, they didn't. I believe that in general, companies want to hire people who:
I Wasn't Made For The Corporate World!:
Both corporate environments & supervisors, whether I'm interviewing or working at a job, cause me to freeze, become nonverbal, get tongue-tied, panic, act in unexpected ways, & a plethora of other things that give a bad impression. Whenever I try to explain this to people, they just don't get it. Most people work because they have to, not because they want to & they do what they have to do to make a living. But, if all of those things have always happened to me when I'm either interviewing for a job or working for a supervisor, how is that going to work? Job Interview Experiences: I have been told so many times to just practice, practice, practice. But, I believe that in this instance, practice isn't going to help. There's no reasoning with anxiety & until I have reached a specific required comfort level with the person who is interviewing me (something that both takes a very, very long time & isn't possible), everything I've hypothetically practiced will just go out the window at the time I need it most. Plus, that's not even taking into consideration that if I don't actually want the job, I'm not going to be able to convince someone else that I want the job. Now, if you're thinking, "How could you not want the job?!" Wanting the job & wanting money are two totally different things. I have never interviewed for a job that I wanted because every job that I've ever interviewed for was a job that I believed I was better off without. Experiences In The Workforce: I strongly believe that I have never been a good employee, so that in turn makes me not a good employee. I know now that much of this has to do with being an unawarely autistic employee. I have been told the following things from various supervisors:
What I Need In A Job: If I'm not able to be in control of when, how, where, for who, & with who I'm working all of the time, it's not going to work for me. I know that chances are, unless you're self-employed, you don't control all of those things. For an autistic person, not having control of all or at least the most important of those things all the time will cause autistic burnout. This is why many autistic people:
Autistic Burnout Is: The complete physical & mental exhaustion that autistic people experience from trying to live in a neurotypical world &/or from masking their autistic traits too often. This is often a problem for autistic people in the workplace & is often why they often don't have enough sick time or their job performance might be lower than it should be. 💔💔 This is the heartbreaking reality for many autistic people out there & this is why we need more support. 💔💔 The past week has been incredibly stressful for me. A little over a week ago, one of my dogs woke up from his night sleep covered in his own urine. This is the first time he has ever done that in his lifetime. He's never even done that when he was a tiny puppy, prior to being fully potty-trained. He's always warm (dogs' body temperatures are warmer than humans' body temperatures), but this particular morning, he felt warmer than warm. I put him in the bath tub while I called his vet & figured out what to do with him. Unfortunately, his vet wasn't able to get us in until 7:20 that evening. I wiped him down, but didn't give him a full bath because he hadn't quite had his flea & tick topical on for long enough before being able to be bathed. Plus, with him needing to go to the vet that evening & me being the germaphobe that I am, I wanted to bathe him after he came home from the vet rather than beforehand. I have to tell you, that day was the longest day ever. My little guy; who will be turning ten in a week; is typically such a lively, happy, energetic little man; but the life was completely sucked out of him. I had never seen him this lethargic & sickly before & that was quite scary & stressful. He didn’t pick up his head if someone walked in or if his name was called. But, it was even more alarming that he didn’t want belly rubs. That boy is the king of belly rubs. Even with the number of dogs I've cared for, I've never met a dog who loves belly rubs more than my sweet Teddy. When it was finally time for Teddy’s vet appointment, my mom & I both took him in. Based on his appearance as well as my observations that I shared with the vet, she thought that due to the area we live in, he probably had a tick-borne illness. He was brought back for a urine test & couple of blood tests (one of which was to check for tick-borne illnesses). Teddy tested positive for two out of the three tick-borne illnesses that he was tested for. Specifically, ehrlichiosis & anaplasmosis. I am super religious about combing my boys & checking them for ticks every single night. Plus, them being all white helps tremendously with being able to easily spot something like a tick on them. Not only that; I apply a flea, tick, & mosquito killer & repellent topical on them twice a month during the warmer months of the year; & I don’t allow them to romp around in tall grass, in wooded areas, & in all other places where ticks are likely to be. I did everything right & I never saw any ticks on him. The first day that I really thought he was almost all better was yesterday (exactly one week since symptoms started), but until I saw major improvements, I was stressed to the max. That would stress anyone out, autistic or not. With that in mind, let’s take a moment to talk about stress, how neurotypical people deal with it, how autistic people deal with it, & how I deal with it. What Is Stress?:
As explained by the World Health Organization: Stress can be defined as a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation. Stress is a natural human response that prompts us to address challenges and threats in our lives. Not everything that we experience that causes stress is negative. Here are some examples of negative & positive stressors. Negative Stressors:
Positive Stressors:
The Impacts Of Different Intensities Of Stress: Mild Stress: This type of stress typically motivates the individual to work as hard as (s)he can to achieve some type of end goal. Severe Stress: This type of stress is typically debilitating for both the individual & his or her performance. How Stress Affects Autistic People: Because autism tends to reduce the resources a person has to cope with challenges brought on by stress, an autistic person's experience with & their ability to handle various stressors will likely be much different than it would be for an allistic, or a non-autistic person. Autistic Comorbidities: In my blog post about why most autistics don't want a cure for autism, I mentioned the fact that there are a lot of comorbid disorders that tend to accompany autism. Some disorders that autistic people are at higher risk for are mood disorders. In fact, it is estimated that 10 to 50% of autistic people develop depression in their lifetimes & about 5% of autistic people develop bipolar disorder in their lifetimes. In the general population, prevalence rates for depression & bipolar disorder are much lower & are estimated to be up to 7% & less than 1%, respectively. Other mood disorders that autistic people are at a higher risk of developing include, but are not limited to anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), & obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Autistic people who are verbal & who do not have intellectual impairments are at a much higher risk of developing mood disorders than those who are non-verbal &/or are intellectually impaired. Due to the high prevalence of mood disorders in autistic individuals, stress could be highly problematic to cognitive, physiological, & behavioral functioning in the autistic population. Common Stressors For Autistic People:
Common Ways Autistic People React To Stress:
Studies Indicate That Autistic People Have Heightened Responses To Stress:
How Stress Affects Me: I have never been able to handle stress well. Stress tends to cause me to get flustered & prevents me from being able to think clearly or rationally. Depending on the intensity of the stress I am experiencing, it may cause shutdowns, which prevent me from being able to communicate verbally or non-verbally with others. Meltdowns are an extremely rare occurrence with me, but stress has caused meltdowns to happen in the past. My Most Common Stressors:
While some of the above stressors also may stress out allistic people, it is important to remember that I experience stress on a whole different level than what is considered normal. For example, there have been times in the past where I was trying to have conversations with my supervisors, but was unable to form simple coherent sentences due to the panic that resulted from my supervisor simply being in the same room as me. Another good illustration of how stress affects me is I have been told from multiple police officers that they thought I was on drugs during their initial interactions with me. I have never been on drugs in my life, but clearly, police officers stress me out so much that interacting with them causes me to act like I'm under the influence even though I am far from it. There will be a future blog post written about issues surrounding police officers & autism where issues like this will be discussed further. Today is April 23rd, my younger brother's birthday! Thinking back, to when I was a little girl, there were two memories that could've been my first childhood memory. The only reason I don't know which one was my first memory is because they both happened the same year, at around the same time of year. One of those memories was visiting my mom & my baby brother in the hospital right after he was born & the other was visiting the house I grew up in before it was ready to be lived in. What does my brother's birthday have to do with autism?
Growing up, April 23rd was the day I disliked most & I feel really terrible admitting that, or typing that out. Now, I'm trying to come across in the best way possible because I love my brother & his birthday is definitely a day to celebrate. When we were kids, our grandparents would always come visit from New York & Pennsylvania for our birthdays too & that was always a really special treat. I would give anything for a visit from my grandparents, something I didn't get nearly enough of. The reason why I disliked April 23rd so much was because of one simple reason: having to say the words, "Happy Birthday!" to my brother when I got up in the morning. I had so much anxiety over that that it caused me to dislike that day so much. In fact, I even remember there being birthdays in the past where I didn't wish him a happy birthday at all & then I got in A LOT of trouble for it. I'll tell you this: I wanted more than anything to wish my brother a happy birthday, but I just couldn't. Like, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get the words to come out. At all. It was horrible because it made me feel & look like a terrible older sister & person, but having to initiate conversation first in the morning, even something as simple as wishing him a happy birthday, was an incredibly uncomfortable thing for me to do. When it was my parents' birthdays, I had no trouble wishing them a happy birthday, but when it came to my brother, it was SO dang hard & I didn't know why. Until now. There were multiple reasons why this was, but I think the main reason was the fact that he was close to me in age. It had always been very difficult for me to relate to & to converse with people who were my age. The other reason was the fact that he was just so different from me. He was so loud & rambunctious as a child that it was extremely intimidating, so the idea of needing to be the one to initiate conversation was absolutely terrifying. Even as we grew up & he became less that way, what I remembered was what he was like as a little boy, so I wasn't able to change the way I felt or reacted when April 23rd came around. Once he went off to college & then after college, when he entered the workforce, April 23rd was a much easier day for me because I didn't see him first thing in the morning, so could either text him or say, "Happy Birthday!" at the same time my parents did. Saying "Happy Birthday!" at the same time as other people wasn't an issue. It was saying it individually that was a problem for me. Now when I think back, it makes me so sad, the number of things I got in trouble for when I was a little girl & even when I was older, because we didn't know I was autistic at the time. This is just an example of one of those things. Multiple times throughout this blog, I have referenced the three levels of autism, but what exactly do the levels of autism mean? And what's the difference between them? Let's get into that right now. Each person who received an autism diagnosis after May 2013 (when the DSM-5 was published) was diagnosed with level 1, level 2, or level 3 autism. The difference between the levels is simply the level of support that a person needs in his or her daily life, with level 1 autistics needing the least amount of support & the level 3 autistics needing the most amount of support. I am a level 2 autistic, so that means that I fall right in the middle. Level 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder:
Level 1 autism was formerly known as Asperger’s syndrome, high-functioning autism, or the mildest form of autism. It is very important to remember that these terms are no longer used & using these terms are actually harmful to the autistic community. You can read more about that in my prior blog post about the harm of autism function labels. Although there isn’t just one set of characteristics that level 1 autistic children AND adults have (remember autism is a spectrum with a very wide array of characteristics), there are some traits & experiences that level 1 autistics tend to have in common:
Level 1 autistic people might also experience depression or anxiety that is the direct result of social difficulties. They also tend to get bullied or left out of social situations, which can lead to mental health issues & difficulties later in life. I personally experienced very severe bullying from early childhood all the way through college, with the worst of it being in my mid-teens & beyond. I will get more into this in a future blog post. Level 2 Autism Spectrum Disorder: Level 2 autism is where I fall on the autism spectrum. This level is in the middle of the spectrum & usually requires substantial support for independent & successful daily living. Level 2 autistics tend to experience all of the level 1 characteristics, but to a greater degree. They also might have more noticeable stimming behaviors (sometimes called restricted or repetitive behaviors). Stimming isn't something to get rid of unless it causes harm to the autistic person or to the people around them. Hair pulling, biting, slapping, & banging the head against something are all examples of harmful or dangerous stims that should be gotten rid of or exchanged for another stim that isn't harmful or dangerous. Level 3 Autism Spectrum Disorder: Level 3 autism was formerly known as low-functioning autism or severe autism. However, it is very important to remember that these terms are no longer used & using these terms are actually harmful to the autistic community. You can read more about that in my prior blog post about the harm of autism function labels. Level 3 autistics require very substantial support for daily living. This means that they would benefit from more assistance & more accommodations at home, at school, at work, in the community, in relationships, etc. in order to live as independently & as successfully as possible. Level 3 autistic people may also need a lot more supervision, even in adolescence & adulthood than level 1 & level 2 autistic people do. Level 3 autistic children AND adults tend to experience all of the level 1 & level 2 characteristics, but to a much greater degree. Some other common characteristics of level 3 autistics are:
Final Thoughts: The levels of autism are the medical community's way to help clarify the needs & abilities of autistic individuals. It is also important to remember that individuals across all areas of the autism spectrum have amazingly unique strengths & abilities that neurotypicals often do not have. We need to remember to recognize & support these strengths & abilities as well. Regardless if someone is a level 1, a level 2, or a level 3 autistic person, all autistic people experience this world very differently from each other. We all may struggle with daily living, but in very different ways. In my previous blog post about Autism Speaks, I briefly mentioned that my life would be so much easier I wasn't autistic & that I wish I wasn't autistic, but I didn't get into why I feel that way. Let's take a moment to get into that now. Why I Wish I Wasn't Autistic:
I know I am not like most autistic people, but this is truly how I feel about being autistic & how I think being autistic hinders my life. I would be elated if there was a cure for autism, or even if there was a medication (with minimal side effects) I could take that could get rid of my autistic traits, but, at the same time, I know that that isn't going to happen. At least not in my lifetime. I am someone who was brought up to be accepting of all people: different religions, different backgrounds, different cultures, different disabilities, etc. So, whether you are autistic or not, all I ask is that you are accepting of me regardless of whether you think similarly or differently from me. I am using Splashed With Water as a way to educate, but also to share what it's like to be an autistic woman & thinking these thoughts is part of what being an autistic woman is like for me. Now that we've covered why I DO want a cure for autism, let's talk about why most autistics disagree with me.
Why Autistics Don't Want A Cure For Autism:
You'll find that throughout this blog, my personal opinion often differs from the opinion of the autistic community as a whole. When that happens, I'll do my best to cover both sides. I hope doing it this way was helpful to you. This also shows you that all autistic people are different from one another, just like how all neurotypical people are different from one another. What Are Autism Function Labels?: Autism function labels are used by allistic, or non-autistic people, such as parents, family members, friends, caretakers & medical professionals; to describe an autistic person's abilities. If you refer to someone as having "high-functioning" or "low-functioning" autism, for example, you are using autism function labels. What Is "High-Functioning" Autism?: "High-functioning" autism isn't an official medical diagnosis, but is a term that allistic people use when talking about autistic people. When people talk about an autistic person who is "high-functioning," they are referring to someone who despite his or her autism, is able to read, write, speak, & handle daily tasks such as eating, getting dressed, & personal hygiene independently. A "high-functioning" autistic person can also live independently. People may also call "high-functioning" autistic people mildly autistic, less autistic, or something similar. These terms essentially mean the same thing as "high-functioning" autism. "High-functioning" autism is just the term that is used the most often. What Is "Low-Functioning" Autism?: "Low-functioning" autistic people are usually unable to live independently & will require support from a parent or caretaker throughout their lives. "Low-functioning" autistic people are either nonverbal or they have much more pronounced communication impairments. People may also call "low-functioning" autistic people severely autistic, more autistic, or something similar. These terms essentially mean the same thing as "low-functioning" autism. "Low-functioning" autism is just the term that is used the most often. How Are Autism Function Labels Harmful?: Autism function labels are harmful because they cause ableism, or the discrimination of disabled people. How Autism Function Labels Harm "Low-Functioning" Autistics
How Autism Function Labels Harm "High-Functioning" Autistics
What Does the Autism Spectrum Look Like?: Many allistic people would be very surprised to learn that the autism spectrum is NOT linear & the below image is absolutely NOT what the autism spectrum looks like. The autism spectrum looks more like this ↓. More specifically, this graphic is what MY autism spectrum looks like because it illustrates my specific abilities, as well as my challenges. As noted below, the more white space a particular area of the spectrum contains, the more I struggle with that particular situation or activity & vice versa. You will not be able to find another autistic person out there who's spectrum looks exactly like this because each & every one of us is different from one another. What Terminology Should We Use Instead of High-Functioning & Low-Functioning Autism?: Instead of calling us high-functioning or low-functioning, please simply call us autistic or if you need to be more specific, refer to us an autistic person with low support or high support needs. This makes us feel less judged about who we are as people, but still lets caregivers, teachers, or employers know what to expect in terms of how much support & what type of accommodations we may require. |
AuthorHello! My name is Kim, I didn't know I was autistic until I was in my thirties, & this is my story. Categories
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