An autistic friend of mine just said this to me āThe harder I work at communication the more people expect from me and the less they are willing to compromise.ā and it is the most fucking heartbreaking thing Iāve heard.
This is very much a thing, though – and Iām sure people across the board with other disabilities can verify that it happens to them, too.
People will turn any progress you make toward being ānormalā – no matter how straining or difficult it is for you, no matter how little it actually helps you – as either inspiration porn, or proof that you donāt really need accommodations, you just need to āapply yourself! :)))))ā
YUP
iāve had good luck with telling them how much effort it is, and using analogies to express things. my favorite go-to example is āyou actually can walk on a sprained ankle, doesnāt make it a good ideaā.
There are actually many sides to autism that many people who donāt specialize in it know about! If you want to get a diagnosis, I would recommend seeing someone who only focuses on autism. It doesnāt sound like the psychiatrist you went to was professional at all, because autism is a lot more than stereotypical behaviors.
While the stereotype is low-empathy autistic folk, there is another side to it! Lots of autistic people like me have hyper-empathy. Thereās also the stereotype of autistic people being picky eaters, but there are also autistic folk who have PICA, which means they eat almost everything, including nonedible objects; thatās why chewie necklaces were invented!
If you think the hyper-empathy wasnāt seen in the assessment, I would suggest you go to a different professional (as it sounds like this one was just looking for stereotypical behavior), and tell them about things that had been bullied out of you. Something for me was that I used to chew on my necklace as a kid (again, see chewie necklaces), but people called me gross, including my mother, so I forced myself to stop. I made sure to bring it up with the person who diagnosed me! It can mean all the difference sometimes, and could help dispell their worry that this may just be some sort of recent thing.
beinggayonmain 