speaking about ourselves

Speaking about ourselves is important, as we are the experts of ourselves, and we can share so much insight that can’t be gathered any other way.  The people who speak about us have a very limited outside view.

For example, if someone judges my behavior against what they consider normal for themselves, they can misunderstand a lot of what I do.  I might do a similar thing for a totally different reason.  I have ways of experiencing the world that might be very different from theirs.  Assumptions are too common, and being different is viewed by many as being lesser than.

But fortunately, many people with autism and other differences and disabilities know that it’s valid to deviate from the norm.  In fact, normal is killing us.  The world needs something new.  “To get something you never had, do something you never did.”

welcomed

One of the first resources I read about autism by an autistic person that felt fresh and exciting, and that welcomed me in, was this essay The DSM-5 Autism Criteria Rewritten From a Neurodiversity Perspective.  It’s by Yenn Purkis.

I remember my good friend sharing the link with me.  I remember the pleasure of reading this essay for the first time and feeling my ideas shift from a prejudice of “autism is a bad thing that a few people can be ok with” to “autism is a difference like many others, with benefits and drawbacks, and people with autism are valid.”

The shift in my consciousness was like a flower opening, or a door opening and warm rays of light pouring in.

thank you

I’m grateful to people who are vulnerable and brave to speak honestly about what’s unpopular to speak about.  Speaking about ourselves is risky because problems with power mean others might use what we share against us later.  And being misunderstood can hurt.

But someone out there might need these facts or a mental shift inside of them.  So I keep trying.  That’s love and community.