not exactly a neutral party, here, but i’m someone who deals with frequent imposter syndrome around autism because i’m “not autistic enough.” i am certainly seen as capable and high functioning despite being disabled.

so, people tend to think in terms of good or bad and really struggle to deal with the fact that something can be both things. so a lot of people are confused about how a disability could be something to accept or even celebrate.

and i think that is a huge part of the problem. people go through hardships. that is life. it is regularly acknowledged as part of what makes life beautiful. and the hardships people face are different, and affect them in different ways.

neurological differences are one of many unique experiences that can cause immense hardship and also bring immense joy.

everyone deserves support through their hardships. everyone. but for autism in particular and neurodivergence in general, it’s like— it’s not an isolated thing. it’s not, “if you could walk again, would you chose to? if you could see again, would you get the surgery?” it’s like you said, being a different person. effectively ceasing to exist.

“but so many people suffer!” yes! they do! and they deserve to be supported through that as they are, for who they are— not coercively “fixed” according to someone else’s idea of normal. being regularly told i was malformed from the day i was conceived isn’t going to alleviate any of my suffering, dipshit.

it’s also ignorant to look at a DIVERSITY movement such as NEURODIVERSITY and then be pissy that it’s not one size fits all? OF COURSE IT’S NOT.

someone like your friend suggesting that the things some autists want and need are wrong because other autists need something else is so astonishingly missing the point it’s difficult not to get pissed about it. like, duh! fucking DUH. that’s the whole fucking movement, that there are people who have different life experiences and needs and contributions and that we should stop trying to make everyone conform to a narrow idea of what “normal” is.

how the fuck does that translate to ignoring people’s support needs and suffering.

as an aside, one reason i reject the concept of autism as a disability: i’m autistic and adhd. i can speak (usually). there are autists who cannot speak and are nonverbal. but there are also many autists like me who can speak.

… so while being nonverbal is often associated with autism, it’s not a defining feature. to be autistic is not to be nonverbal, and to be nonverbal is not to be autistic.

this is why i personally feel like autism is a type of person. a neurotype. autists have a lot in common with each other and we also have a shit ton of differences among us, like any other group. there are disorders and disabilities that are more common for autists than allists, but that does not make autism equivalent to those disabilities.

and either way, conflating the celebration of autism with dismissing the needs of our most disabled neurokin is ridiculous, ignorant, and disrespectful to all autists.

like, what, i’m not allowed to be proud of my creativity and curiosity because many autists are miserable? like, what the fuck?

thanks for the recommendation! i have been slowly getting into modpacks. just tried this out for a few minutes and already look forward to exploring more tomorrow.