#autism thread: I don’t have words to tell everyone what my heart wants to say. So I can only humbly do my best and surrender the reaction...

Autism is a word that describes a myriad of ways someone’s brain functions outside of what is considered typical, which also means autistic people can have needs that are atypical. Autism doesn’t cause suffering. Suffering comes from unmet needs.

When you say you want a “cure” for autism, what I hope you mean is you want to end discomfort created by these unmet needs. Cool! Me too! I hate being uncomfortable. But we can reframe that.

The solution isn’t to end the need. The need is part of what makes me special and unique. The solution is to identify and MEET the need. OUR needs. (Or let us meet them our own way, even if it’s not what would meet yours.)

Autism doesn’t need to be “cured”. It’s not a disease. Autistic people need to be HEARD. Here’s a cool thing happening if you want to listen. https://tiltify.com/@beckspectrum/autistic-now cc @autselfadvocacy