munciemap
Got something on my mind today, so we gotta have some #RealTalk. It's also a #longread. Sorry. I've heard (thus far unsubstantiated) reports of businesses in #Muncie refusing to hire openly #autistic people with the assumption they can't do a job or they'
Got something on my mind today, so we gotta have some #RealTalk. It's also a #longread. Sorry. I've heard (thus far unsubstantiated) reports of businesses in #Muncie refusing to hire openly #autistic people with the assumption they can't do a job or they're difficult to work with, and that plain pisses me off. Why? Well, beyond my abhorrence of discrimination, it's this: I am autistic. Now I get, I'm risking a lot telling y'all this if for no other reason, apparently some folks have strange ideas of who and what autistic people are (hence the discrimination mentioned above) and what we're capable of doing. I get that this will probably result in some obnoxious but well-meaning advice to change my diet or do yoga or run backwards around the building five times to "cure" myself... or geez, don't even get me started on the anti-vaxx nonsense some folks bring my way. I get that for some people, this means they'll never be able to look at me in the same light, or that a select few might look even further down their nose in my direction. And while all of that sucks, it's also the very reason I have to become a publicly autistic person. Why? Someone has to speak up on behalf of those who can't. Here are some hard facts for you: 1) Autism isn't a disease. Its a neurological type that's different than the majority of people's. It is neither superior nor inferior, just different and outnumbered-- and in a world designed for the majority, that can be a challenge. 2) Point one means that there is no cure for autism, nor should there be. Every time anyone advocates for a cure for autism, you're telling autistic people that something deeply inherent to their personality isn't good enough. Quite frankly, if you feel that's the case, Kurt Vonnegut has something for you to do with a rolling donut. 3) Every person with autism is different, which means autism shows up differently in every person. That means making hard and fast judgments over someone being autistic are fallacy from the get-go, as much as making assumptions based on gender, race, ethnicity or anything else. Which ultimately means... 4) Every autistic person has a different skill set - just like via Instagram ift.tt/2LmA3dt
Got something on my mind today, so we gotta have some #RealTalk. It's also a #longread. Sorry. I've heard (thus far unsubstantiated) reports of businesses in #Muncie refusing to hire openly #autistic people with the assumption they can't do a job or they'
Got something on my mind today, so we gotta have some #RealTalk. It's also a #longread. Sorry. I've heard (thus far unsubstantiated) reports of businesses in #Muncie refusing to hire openly #autistic people with the assumption they can't do a job or they're difficult to work with, and that plain pisses me off. Why? Well, beyond my abhorrence of discrimination, it's this: I am autistic. Now I get, I'm risking a lot telling y'all this if for no other reason, apparently some folks have strange ideas of who and what autistic people are (hence the discrimination mentioned above) and what we're capable of doing. I get that this will probably result in some obnoxious but well-meaning advice to change my diet or do yoga or run backwards around the building five times to "cure" myself... or geez, don't even get me started on the anti-vaxx nonsense some folks bring my way. I get that for some people, this means they'll never be able to look at me in the same light, or that a select few might look even further down their nose in my direction. And while all of that sucks, it's also the very reason I have to become a publicly autistic person. Why? Someone has to speak up on behalf of those who can't. Here are some hard facts for you: 1) Autism isn't a disease. Its a neurological type that's different than the majority of people's. It is neither superior nor inferior, just different and outnumbered-- and in a world designed for the majority, that can be a challenge. 2) Point one means that there is no cure for autism, nor should there be. Every time anyone advocates for a cure for autism, you're telling autistic people that something deeply inherent to their personality isn't good enough. Quite frankly, if you feel that's the case, Kurt Vonnegut has something for you to do with a rolling donut. 3) Every person with autism is different, which means autism shows up differently in every person. That means making hard and fast judgments over someone being autistic are fallacy from the get-go, as much as making assumptions based on gender, race, ethnicity or anything else. Which ultimately means... 4) Every autistic person has a different skill set - just like via Instagram ift.tt/2LmA3dt