My Take on Autism Pride
I am writing this on April 18th, which, surprisingly, I didn’t know until today is Autistic Pride Day.
Personally, I don’t think of my autism as something to be proud of exactly. But anything that aims to uplift the existence and acceptance of neurodivergence/disability, I’ll take.
The Main Disadvantage of the Neurodiversity Movement
However, I believe that one major disadvantage of some of the neurodiversity movement is that it tends to inadvertently blind itself to those with higher support needs.
I know how lucky I am not to be in that category. That I can verbalize, write, drive, make my own decisions, and work. But there are some of us who are unable to do any of those things. I have personally met a few fellow autistics who are nonverbal, can’t get their bodies to do what they want them to, have little to no sense of danger, etc. And, in my opinion, excluding them is unfair and dangerous.
Autism/neurodivergence is not a fixed condition and can change at any time. Like my hearing sensory issue when I was 10 ½, the ones who start out nonverbal but become verbal later in life, or vice versa, etc.
Do I believe that autism/neurodivergence is inherently bad? No. Do I believe that society keeps the majority of us more disabled than necessary. Very much so.
The Other Dangers of Ignorance
However, unlike what a lot of fellow autistics think, most of that is not deliberate as much as a result of sheer ignorance of how complicated autism/neurodivergence really is. Anytime I start to lose sight of that, all I have to do is remember the kids in the Communication Behavioral Disorder (CBD) program at my elementary school. How I initially thought that they were acting stupid on purpose and were being allowed to get away with it. *Cringe!* But I was just a little kid who’d had very little exposure to disability up until then. Still, that makes any continuous blindness that has ever been present on my part since an inadvertent hypocrisy.
It is that kind of ignorance, and then some, on the part of our government today that is making it dangerous to have autism now. With RFK Jr perpetuating the old disproven vaccine-autism link myth. Going around looking for environmental “causes”. Trying to link certain agents in certain medicines to it. And, overall, screwing around with something that he clearly knows nothing about! As if autism is some simple “problem” that can be fixed.
Ever since coming into the belief, and subsequent acceptance of, my own autism, I, too, now see it as much less of a “problem” to be fixed. And much more of a different way of being that the mainstream world, as it currently stands, is not built to accommodate. And, right now, our government is only making that worse.
Part of Life
Autism/neurodivergence shows up in every one of us as uniquely as the shape of two snowflakes. It’s part of being human, and I’m also increasingly convinced, part of life.
I have worked as a dogwalker for four years now and, in these four years, have met one dog that I could swear was autistic. Or, at least, had a lot of sensory processing issues. He hardly responded to his name. He couldn’t stand to get his paws wet. Like me until I was 10 ½, he seemed to have supersensitive hearing. Unlike most other dogs I’ve met, he couldn’t stand to have his ears scratched. He barely tolerated a long stroke, and yet when I tried that, he very quickly moved away from the motion of my hand. One day when I was walking him, a car with a loud muffler drove by, and I could tell that he was pained by it, poor guy.
My hearing may not be owl sharp anymore but that doesn’t mean I don’t still find certain things, such as loud mufflers, any less annoying. I think they’re very unnecessary, and I really wish they would make those illegal again! Thankfully, at least, there aren’t too many where I live.
Anywhoo, if we’re seeing autism/neurodivergence even in animals, that can only mean that it is, in fact, a natural part of life. And if so, it’s tragic to embrace it as anything less.
Lacy Pierce