Hello, everyone, It’s been a bit since I’ve said anything here. After I graduated from high school, I customarily resigned from my position as administrator. I was given the option to stay on board (given the circumstances), but for a variety of personal and organizational reasons, I ultimately made the decision to step down. This month, I reapplied and rejoined the staff team as a representative, mainly to continue writing.
Anyway, let me start with a story. I’m casually scrolling through Reddit on Saturday morning, and I come across a scientific study stating that autistic drivers were significantly less likely to have tickets or accidents than allistic people. Intrigued by this, I glance at the paper, and then at the comment section. The first ones were some casual criticisms of the study, some making me wonder if they even looked at the study, but whatever.
A few comments down, and there’s already discussion about which autistic people should be allowed to exist, if any at all. They’re discussing a clear cut genocide as a move necessary for a utopian society. I won’t get into the intimate details of their arguments, but I’m sorry to say that I see this sort of discourse everywhere.
It’s astounding that, in our age of unprecedented social progress, this is still considered acceptable. Neurodiverse people, regardless of age, nationality, race, religion, etc. still have to face those believing that they do not belong on this earth; and unfortunately, many are made to internalize these beliefs. Sadly, this is one of the reasons why we hold a Disability Day of Remembrance each year.
Neurodiverse people face the great adversity of trying to live in a world that is, at its most fundamental level, not built with us in mind. Employers can turn us away. At one point, some hospitals were able to decide that our COVID wasn’t worth treating. Scientists look for ways to eradicate us. Politicians refer to us as a “disease”. “Therapists” can abuse neurodiverse children to make them “normal”. Celebrities make films about us that misinform and cause even more hatred, but I digress.
My point is that fear, distrust, and hatred of neurodiverse people have been normalized across all aspects of our society. Because of this, these terrible discussions become seen as acceptable. It’s an atmosphere that makes us feel ashamed for drawing breath.
We live in a world where we can hardly go a day without a reminder of those who think it’d be better off without us. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t get under my skin sometimes. It’s exhausting on an emotional level to have to constantly justify your own existence and address all of the lies told about you.
If there’s one thing I could say to every neurodivergent person out there, it would be that they are worthy, they deserve to have their voices heard, and to stay alive, even in the face of everything. I know how painful it can be sometimes, but don’t ever lose sight of what could be, and the people working to make it happen. That’s why we do what we do.
This is a bit off topic but I want people to know what I’ve been up to. Again, I know I’ve been quiet lately, but I want everyone to know that I haven’t stopped working. Within days of arriving at Purdue, I discovered a needless ableist statement targeting autistic people in a survey involved with the orientation program. Naturally, I went up the ladder with this issue until said survey was removed (of course, nobody knew how it got in there in the first place). I’ve also become an executive of the local autism advocacy group, and am doing my best to help reform it from the inside out. On top of that, I've done quite a bit of public speaking inside and outside of FIRST at several panels, etc. to continue furthering the agenda since my resignation. I’m dealing with some pretty big challenges activism-wise at the moment, but I’ve also got even bigger opportunities.
The future is bright. Stay strong, people.
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