I see too many ND community members leaving the community for the wrong reasons.

People feeling like they aren't doing enough for the community, or that others are doing more:

Sometimes taking care of yourself is enough. That's self-advocacy.

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People feeling like they messed up & have to leave:

Twitter in general, even ND Twitter, can be really unforgiving of saying the wrong thing in the wrong way, even when meant well, or maybe even just a bad take.

But we are ND! Don't forget what that means!

That means we must be compassionate with ourselves & others & allow room for people to learn & grown from mistakes.

By our nature we may say the wrong things sometimes. We may hurt people unintentionally.

That doesn't make our presence in the community worthless.

That doesn't negate the power you add to the community simply by existing within it. That doesn't negate the people you help feel less alone by sharing your experiences.

We must stop tearing ourselves & each other apart over the things the NT world sees as a problem.

If you mess up with communicating online & you are ND, cut yourself some slack.

If someone else messes up with communicating online & they're ND, cut them some slack too.

In fact, cut everyone some slack, whether ND or NT (or maybe just not yet realizing they are ND).

We spend our lives being shut out of so much, for simple mistakes made due to our neurodivergence.

We need to stop shutting out ourselves & others from the communities that finally make us feel included & connected, over these same mistakes.

Don't let the NT mindset infect us.

If we want the world to accept neurodivergence, we must first build a robust system of accepting ourselves & others within our community.

No one should feel pushed out over mistakes, or over "not doing enough."

Some people dedicate whole careers to advocacy, while others spend free time in their lives engaging online with the community & nothing more.

Both kinds of people are advocates. Essential ones. Even times when you can do nothing more than care for yourself, you are an advocate.

Advocacy is many things, on many different levels.

Don't let the rhetoric of the NT world get in your head & convince you that you aren't doing enough or that your mistakes make you unworthy of having access to a community.

I'm tired of seeing our community dwindle. I see big accounts publicly taking steps back from the community or from claiming advocacy, or deactivating their accounts altogether.

We need numbers. We need YOU. Mistakes don't invalidate the value you can still add to the community.

Don't silence yourself. Don't let yourself be silenced by someone else.

We are ALLOWED to be imperfect. We should celebrate our imperfections. That's advocacy. That's neurodiversity acceptance.

If you are leaving the community, you are cutting yourself off from necessary supports that only your neurodivergent comrades can provide. Everyone deserves a place to feel they belong.

If you need a break, by all means, give yourself that self care.

But community is self care too. It's part of the human hierarchy of needs. It can be a huge benefit to your mental health to engage with like minded people.

Please think critically before leaving. Message me or someone you trust in the community. Please try to stay. We need you.

There is room for everyone who wants to be here.

This goes for the autistic, ADHD, and greater neurodivergent communities.

#AutismAcceptanceMonth #Neurodiversity

And one more thing about self compassion and feeling like you aren't doing enough:

That's NT talk. That's society getting in your head. You know what you need, you know your limits. Trust in yourself. Take care of yourself. That is the number one job of any self-advocate.

Be gentle with yourself and trust that you are doing everything you can.

Laziness is a myth. We are all doing our best with what we have.

You are enough as you are.