probably gonna get slammed with anon hate for this but like…
much of the ableism towards Autistic people doesn’t happen “because we’re Autistic,” it happens because we’re weird.
now consider that… and now consider what some of the most common insults are here on tumblr.
weird, gross, embarrassing, cringeworthy… all insults based on that same idea of “you are different and we don’t like you.”
and now consider the constant mocking of “just trying to be special” and “Not Like Other Girls™” that is constantly seen on tumblr.
from early childhood, we are taught and conditioned to know that any deviation from the norm will be punished. for Autistic people, who make up a big portion of what is usually thought of as tumblr’s userbase, this conditioning is often increased tenfold by coercive “therapies” such as ABA and Social Thinking.
the fact that so much of tumblr’s culture is based on strict deviation from the norm– often citing “weird, embarrassing, cringeworthy, just trying to be special” as offenses– is regressive. and as an Autistic person, I would go so far as to say that it is at least somewhat rooted in ableism.
if you’re Autistic and you do this, especially if you’re a survivor of coercive behavioral and social treatments designed to make you “normal,” please think about why you take part in this treatment of others. I know you’ve been hurt, and overcoming internalized ableism is hard. I’m here to help.
if you’re allistic and you do this, please stop. just stop. we’ve already been through enough.
also yes, allistics can reblog this. please do, in fact.
This is absolutely true, and something I’ve been too unsure how to articulate, so thank you.
Yes, don’t mock other people’s special interests. But also don’t mock people who don’t seem to do anything but watch Minecraft youtubers, or talk to you for hours about, I don’t know, MLP or their favorite wrestler.
Yes, don’t mock people for sensory issues or for stimming. But also don’t mock the middle schooler who still sucks his thumb, or that kid who shrieks every time there’s a loud noise, or anything you haven’t necessarily diagnosed in your head as autistic.
It’s as simple as not mocking “weirdness” that isn’t harmful.
Don’t mock people for being autistic, yes, but don’t make it “it’s okay for them to be weird, as an exception, just because I know they’re autistic. This is acceptable because it’s autism.” Maybe, instead, question why it was ever unacceptably “cringey,” and why you needed to know.
Don’t make exceptions for us in “cringe culture”: create a culture in which (aside from any genuinely harmful difficulties/behaviors, I have some, that’s different) we’re not weird.
This is such an important post! I won’t judge anyone who doesn’t, but if you have room for it on your blog, please share; it would improve many of our lives materially.
I’ve been told I don’t get to say “special interest” unless I am diagnosed with autism, despite that my disability is neurological and I can only pay attention to two fandoms at a time and have been in both for nine years, and that’s the newer one.
It’s kind of irksome.
Who said that? If they are autistic I will metaphorically punch them in the metaphorical teeth.
No one has the right to fucking gatekeep language like that. No one. But people who aren’t autistic, at the very least no one will take them seriously if they stupidly try to white knight for us and gatekeep words they think belong to us. Autistic people, someone might actually take seriously (on tumblr, at least.)
“Special interest” is English. It means an interest, which is special. That’s it. No matter what reason you have for an obsessive focus on a specific interest, it is your special interest. Autistic people are not the only people on the planet capable of focusing on one thing we care about above almost everything else.
(Also, I know that “white knight” comes from a really shady and ugly part of society. I don’t frankly care. I think using the term to mean “trying to win woke points by defending people who don’t need defending on a point that shouldn’t be defended” is a fine use of it, and the main problem with the people who originally popularized the term is that they used it to mean “trying to look like a decent human being by defending women against the shittiness of men while being male.”)
So I went to the eye doctor, right, and I sit down to fill out the paperwork like you do and the lady was like “Thanks, Doctor Doctor will be with you in a moment” and I was like why did she say doctor twice that’s weird but then I looked at the business cards on the table and his name was actually Dr. Chad Dockter and I looked around and the other assistant caught my eye and just nodded like “You just had the moment didn’t you”
Hello everyone, so starting a few months ago, I started recieving these strange calls on my cellphone from strange numbers. The line would be dead on the other end until today… I discovered something really really uncomfortable to know… My mom had sent me a message regarding this…
Urgent Very Urgent … Please pass around to your family and friends…!!!
People have been receiving calls from +375602605281, +37127913091 +37178565072 +56322553736 +37052529259 +255901130460 or any number starting from +375, +371 number +381 One ring & hang up. If you call back, they can copy your contact list in 3sec & If U have bank or Credit card details on your phone, they can copy that too…
+375 is from Belarus. +371 is code for Lativa. +381 Serbia +563- Valparaiso +370- Vilnius +255- Tanzania These calls may under ISIS Don’t answer or Call back.
Also, Don’t Press #90 or #09 on your Mobile when asked by any caller. It’s a New Trick of Terrorists to access your SIM card Make calls at your expense and frame you as a criminal.
Forward this message to as many friends as U can to stop it. Reblog to save a life!!
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD
Reblogging this to help out, ok guys? It is really important so forgive me that its not Mysme related, but still, try and spread it!
If you’re not a business or hospital, if your phone is just a residential landline or cell phone, #90 or #09 do nothing. It’s only multi-line phones where you dial 9 to get an outside line where these could *possibly* give anyone access to long distance calls at your expense. Long distance calls. That’s all these codes do, AT WORST.
This took me a whole minute of my time to look up, guys. Don’t pass on a scam notice without checking it on Snopes first. It clogs up the airwaves and gets people used to not taking actual dangers seriously. It’s not harmless.
And OP, seriously, your mom forwarded an email to you? Isn’t Tumblr enough of a hellsite without Republican Conspiracy Grandpa Mail getting reposted on here?
CRITICAL. REASONING.
How did anyone see this and ~not~ know it’s a hoax?
Paranoia (not clinical). there is so much scare-mongering going on that non-tech people are afraid of everything tech, and the lack of “fact-checking” (because if you look it up you are implying the other person is a liar so it’s a faux pas to actually look for facts – your friends wouldn’t lie and you don’t want to imply that they are dumb/misinformed/twits). Plus – people are gulllible, particularly when it comes to things they are already a bit afraid of. Recognizing scams is USUALLY pretty easy – but sometimes it isn’t. So they err on the side of being scared and assume all accusations of scam are real.
Despite the increase in reported prevalence of autism spectrum disorder, there is no direct evidence that this corresponds to an increase in the prevalence of the autism phenotype—that is, the symptoms on which the diagnostic criteria are based. This is due to several factors. Firstly, the increase in the prevalence was reported during a period of repeated modifications and often broadening of diagnostic criteria,4 which clearly affects the reported prevalence.1112 Secondly, increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorder is associated with diagnostic substitution across categories. It has been estimated that one third of the prevalence increase of autism spectrum disorder between 1996 and 2004 could be attributed to diagnostic substitution,13 and the increase in autism spectrum disorder has been suggested to parallel a decrease in learning disabilities and mental retardation.1415Thirdly, prevalence is also sensitive to referral patterns and availability of services.16 Finally, methodological differences in case ascertainment and assessment alter prevalence—for instance, the availability of, and discrepancies within, official records give rise to large variations between measured and actual prevalence in similar geographical regions.17
“
There aren’t more autistic people, there are just more diagnoses.
Because sometimes what you need most is to marvel at the sight of an enormous python coiling and uncoiling its long, muscular body to clime up a coconut tree in Thailand. It’s snek parkour:
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 
You must be logged in to post a comment.