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| The light spectrum ranging from Ultraviolet (invisible to the naked eye) to visible to Infared (also invisible to the naked eye). Google Image Search |
I'm going to go out on a limb here.
This "What's your superpower?" question has become quite popular.
"What superpower do you wish you had?"
One response by some autistic adults has been "Autism is my superpower."
I cringe, because I, being autistic, see my autism as anything but.
I am disgusted by how there is little tolerance for a middle ground or common sense these days.
I suppose if you went to college, are gainfully employed, don't have SPD so severe you can't go out into public without help, are married and even have kids, you will view your autism through mostly rose colored glasses. I say mostly, because I DON'T want to undermine the fact you do struggle to do what non-autistic people do with less or no effort each day.
If you drive, own a home, have friends, love dogs and are connected to your community-online and IRL, I am guessing that you will view autism as a processing error, "A Mac in a PC world".
It's people like me, the ones whose autism trips them up at every turn and decides every decision and limits their life, who get removed from the narritive.
We don't make phone calls, attend autism conferences or belong to support groups.
Someone is caring for us financially, emotionally and in some cases, physically.
We aren't disabled in such a way as to be institutionalized, but there is no way we could live on our own. There are too many "what-ifs" to consider.
Our families are terrified about what will happen to us when they are gone. My parents ARE gone.
I see those more physically and intellectually impaired thrive in business, knowing that there is a family member who has the skills to help their adult child begin a business.
I remark how happy I am for them, meaning it.
I feel bad for those who are worse off, such as the kids and adults being shocked into compliance at the Judge Rotenberg Center. I e-mail and sign online petitions- those of us who can't use the phone. I pray. I let them know they aren't forgotten.
When I speak to other autistic adults about my life, I'm surprised how I have to educate even them.
Autism is described as a spectrum.
On the light spectrum, there are six visible colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet (purple). Indigo is a shade between blue and violet that is held in debate as to whether it is a stand alone color. Gracias, Wikipedia!
Then there is that of which is naked to the eye. Ultraviolet rays, infrared rays, X-rays and microwaves.
Well, I'm somewhere on that spectrum. I'm invisible until I cause a burn.
That burn can manifest in the form of a meltdown or a blog post.
Autism is a DISORDER. You are only deluding yourself and denying other autistics their experience if you deny that autism is disabling to some degree, for anyone with it, or they wouldn't even be diagnosed.
For those who can't even afford a diagnosis and are desperately seeking one, for those needing autism related services and therapies, why should insurance cover something some genetically privileged people call a superpower, gift, identity *SOLELY*?
Obviously, having autism myself, I know about the positives, though they stand in the minority. I can bathe myself, clothe myself. I am credited with seeing the world from a unique perspective, for not being "run of the mill", as my dad put it. For the latter I am especially pleased-and troubled.
I don't have a "tribe". I don't have "a people".
As long as the neurodiverse populace keeps suppressing my reality and that of others, our narritives will remain overshadowed.