#Autism101 #AllAutistics #ActuallyAutistic
cw bullying, mental health

Another "Please tell your child they are autistic" thread.

My advice to every parent, as a person who was undiagnosed growing up, is to TELL THEM. They need to know why they are different.

1/8

Puberty and being a teenager/managing school social expectations is tough for neurotypical people. It's REALLY tough if you're autistic!! And no matter what, you will probably get bullied for being autistic. 2/8

I was bullied at 13 years old, and went into a year-long depression, had compulsive thoughts, as well as passive suicidal thoughts, and was very very anxious. I thought I was a broken neurotypical. 3/8

No matter how supportive & loving a parent is (my mom was surprisingly supportive for not knowing I was autistic, truly), that is no replacement for knowing yourself that you are not a broken neurotypical because we need to know we're different! And it's actually for a reason 4/8

But if we don't have that information, if something goes wrong because we see things differently or act differently, we blame ourselves. I blamed myself WAY too much. My motto as a kid was "it's not my fault!" when most of the situations had nothing to do with me 5/8

- but I didn't understand that at the time, and no one explained it to me. I was a "smart, gifted, quirky" successful child. I still STRUGGLED so much in school. If I could've been home-schooled ages 12-18 years old, it would've saved me a lot of horribleness. 6/8

We need to know that other people are like us, that other people like us exist and live happy lives. That we have some sort of community. I felt so isolated and school and even at home because I knew I was different somehow and thought it must mean I was wrong, 7/8

even with a very loving and supportive parents, and a relatively neurodivergent family. I was "too much." I felt ignored. Even if it didn't LOOK like that, that was how I felt.

The "autism" label matters. I knew I was different by 7 years old, I just didn't know it was okay 8/8