no but seriously i’m #ActuallyAutistic and i’m TIRED of being told i’m bad at empathy / can’t read cues / am rigid

bc so often when allistic ppl are told to accommodate / prioritize autistic needs, or understand autistic views, they just lose. their goshdarn. shit.

just saying.

like how are we the ones prone to “tantrums” & “acting out” when we react to living in a world not made for us

but when we ask y’all to at least try to follow our lead & step into our world when something is DIRECTLY ABOUT US... it’s just too much?

i’ve masked & followed rules & forced myself into harmful situations again & again just to be able to LIVE & BREATHE within an allistic framework

but to tell a story abt someone in my community, it’s not feasible to create an autistic framework that works for autistic actors?

& the audacity of saying to nonspeaking autistics “this wasn’t the role for ppl like you” as if it wasn’t EXACTLY THAT? as if nonspeaking actors have an abundance of nonspeaking roles to pick from out there? what?

people who are already marginalized by the structure of mainstream / allistic media should NOT be excluded from the few opportunities they might have to tell their own stories, to be allowed to be nonspeaking & actors. this should be obvious.

if you prioritize the convenience of allistics & refuse both to adapt to our needs & to listen to & learn from our criticism... idk how you can possibly think you are doing this FOR us.

#SiaDoesntSpeakForUs and that’s that. she speaks for herself & her own convenience

also don’t tell me i have ~special abilities~ i’m not a gd x-man

i have neuro traits that make it difficult to exist in a society adapted for different needs. it HURTS & it’s exhausting. there’s nothing wrong w my brain, but i am disabled by the way it works in this context.

the solution to this is not to exclude me, or to tell me my super special brain means i’m only suited for certain things.

the solution is to create adaptations so that i can interact with the world on equal terms, even if i don’t interact in the same ways. equal =/= same.

(also i’m referencing my own experiences, but as a mostly-speaking autistic, someone like me is also wrong for the role. functioning labels suck, but i’m speaking & so it’s not my story to tell. see how easy that is to acknowledge?)

(my god it’s almost as if i can conceptualize that others are ppl too & have experiences which differ from mine - & to accommodate them i need to listen & learn abt their views & feelings, not just act on my own presuppositions.

EMPATHY y’all. pls learn.)

those are my feelings. putting this thread containing the words & feelings of nonspeaking / partially speaking autistics here too. bc we shouldn’t speak for the voiceless, but find ways of accommodating & amplifying their chosen means of communication instead. https://twitter.com/aspiehuman/status/1330201161056608259