I have autism. Do you know someone with Autism? If so, click here!?

Question by Evie: I have autism. Do you know someone with Autism? If so, click here!?
For a very long time, I had been treated as a disease instead of a person. Everything I did in an attempt to communicate was dismissed as “wrong”! Yet, it seemed, I was the only one who felt that I was attempting to reach out at all. In my mind, every time I tried to “shake hands” I was emotionally punched in the face.

I’m not sure how to put this next bit, so try and stay with me… ^_^

I was raised by a severely mentally ill drug abuser, who was very cruel(extreme psychical, emotional, and sexual abuse) and distant. Yet, overtime I went from being a horribly socially inept NT hating outcast with NO interest in people-to a highly social, successful, happy, well adjusted person who accepted autism as a personality trait-not a flaw needing to be fixed(I’ve also lead long term, fulfilling romantic relationships). Mostly, I did this alone, by my own choice.

I have a little idea…

So many people I speak with say things like:

“You don’t look autistic to me.”

“Well, YOU know, you’re not really autistic.”

“The ‘cure’ that we are talking about is for actual autistics; not people like you.”

“Autism, eh? So is that like being retarded?”

And on the other side we have these equally ignorant statements:

“You have autism? You must be a genius.”

“I wish I had autism so that I could do really neat things like paint master pieces and learn a language in a week just like you.”

“You must be the next step in evolution!”(no, really, someone said that to me!)

These individuals have no idea of my personal struggles! How hard I had to try to just manage basic communication, etc. It offends me! I often catch myself saying “If only you knew.”

My mother drugged me heavily, and put me through many other non effective therapy techniques. Things like forced eye contact, forced affection, etc. Even though it was obvious my mother was very abusive, and it was apparent that she made me worse during therapy sessions, I was not listened to because I had AS. My therapist was not at all shocked when my mom told her about her favorite “treatment”. She would beat the crap out of me, then force me to hug her and say “I love you.” over and over again. Dr. Sarah even made comments like “Well, it’s not like she’s really human anyways.”

I didn’t know how to communicate my needs for a very long time, so people assumed what it was instead of asking. When I finally found a way to convey my feelings, I was ignored(often because ASD needs are different from typical needs).

My idea is simple.

I was horribly abused. Yet, despite this, I can function very well in society today! My belief is that I pulled through because I had a friend with AS. It’s not having more people like myself that made the difference. It was the attitude. When her family showed open acceptance(as opposed to forced normalcy), I flourished-even though I only spent a minuscule amount of time with them.

I was thinking… What if… I made a You tube series or a Vlog, etc about life with autism, with the intention being focused on a “Understanding” perspective for NTs?

For example, to help parents and teachers get into my shoes, what if I described an imaginary world where autistics were the majority and NTs the minority? A place where everything had “texture warnings” and NTs were labeled? Not to be cruel, but to show them that we are trying, and that it’s often difficult trying to function when every attempt you make to reach them is treated like a social no-no. Would it help them?

What do you think? What would be helpful?

PS: I’m not interested in cures. To cure me would be to remove my personality completely and replace it with another.

Best answer:

What do you think? Answer below!