Autism Awareness And Acceptance
April is almost over… do you feel more aware and accepting yet?
To wind up Autism Acceptance Month, I’d like to share some articles about some common experiences amongst Autistics.
As always, these are common, meaning a lot of Autistic people experience them — this does not mean all Autistics experience them.
Hyperlexia
Hyperlexia is advanced and unexpected reading skills and abilities in children way beyond their chronological age.
Hyperlexia is most common in, but not exclusive to, Autistic children.
Approximately 84% of hyperlexic kids are also autistic.
A child can be one and not the other, however; approximately 9–14% of autistic children are hyperlexic.
Micro-aggressions
For many neurodivergent people, especially those who are already part of a marginalized racial or ethnic group, marginalized genders, etc., masking is a mater of keeping themselves safe.
This is especially true when under duress. A person who is both visibly disabled and a visible minority can be in great danger if they behave in a way perceived as threatening in public.
Ableism and racism make people assume someone who is neurodivergent, disabled, and a visible minority is threatening simply by existing in the first place.
The disabled person’s actions will be seen through a racist lens, as onlookers’ prejudgements lead them to attribute the worst possible intentions to otherwise neutral behaviours.
Alexithymia
Alexithymia refers to difficulty feeling, identifying, or recognizing emotions in oneself, and accurately identifying emotions in others.
This pathologization has been used to stereotype Autistic people as “unfeeling”, lacking in emotions, and unable to read the emotions of others.
This is a gross oversimplification that is harmful to many Autistic people.
While some Autistics may struggle to experience or identify emotions in the way that allistics (non-autistic people) do, that does not mean we do not feel emotions, not even close.
In fact, a lot of Autistics experience emotions very intensely, and those who do struggle to recognize and name emotions are not always Autistic.
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