Here we go. Another year, another Autism acceptance month, where companies and allistic saviours will climb back onto their high horses and try to tell the world "what the Autistic people are trying to say but can't" (translated: what we want to make our lives easier, usually at the cost of the Autistic people we claim we're helping)
Online, as with every year, I see other Autistic people retreating, hiding away, and I see others preparing themselves for the mental torment of fighting these people off for another month.
So before I start, let's address something. I've said it before, I'll say it again, and I'll say it in the clearest way possible.
IF YOU ARE NOT AUTISTIC, YOU DO NOT KNOW BEST. IT DOES NOT MATTER IF YOU "LIVE WITH AUTISM", OR IF YOU ARE AN "AUTISM PARENT" - YOU DO NOT KNOW BEST.
YOU DO NOT HAVE THE SAME LEVEL OF LIVED EXPERIENCE THAT WE DO AS AUTISTIC PEOPLE, DO NOT DARE SPEAK OVER OR CORRECT US.
Now that we have that out of the way, onto the rest of the post.
So as with every April, I'll do a quick address on Autism as a whole.
Autism is a developmental disability. It is a spectrum, however that spectrum is not linear, which is why many Autistic people take issue with the "functioning" labels. Many people visualise it more like a colour wheel, where you can have "more" of one thing (say, high support requirement for social skills) and "less" of another (such as having more sensory tolerance than other Autistic people might)
Another one I've seen a lot of in the last year is the "Asperger's" terminology - this is a retired term, as it is named after Nazi scientist Hans Asperger. Please stop using it.
Though the term "Autism" is broad, it covers EVERYONE on the Autistic spectrum, so don't try to use one of the fancy taglines a bunch of neurotypical people tried to impose on us, just call us what we are: Autistic.
Next and finally before I make this a more specific post on masking, though this does not apply to all Autistic people, an overwhelming majority who I know prefer the identity-first term AUTISTIC PERSON, not the person-first term "person with Autism" - there are a variety of reasons, my personal one being that "person with Autism" sounds like I caught a disease. You HAVE, say, COVID-19, you ARE Autistic. There is a difference.
with all that out the way, let's get on to the more specific post for April, masking.
what is masking?
Masking is when an Autistic person has to hide their Autistic traits, or "act neurotypical" in order to effectively fit in. Some are better at it than others, but in all cases, it causes burnout. Painful burnout.
It takes a lot of focus and energy, and leaves us feeling incredibly drained, unmotivated, and usually causes other mental health issues in its wake, as the process of masking in itself makes us feel as if we are simply not good enough as we are, hence we have to hide such large and core parts of who we are.
why do Autistic people mask?
In our current society, though it is slowly becoming acceptable around the world to be anything you want as we actively attempt to stamp out (granted, not terribly successfully yet, but progress has been made) homophobia, racism, sexism, and to some extent, ableism (I'll get back to this in a moment), for whatever reason, it is still considered a social stigma to be Autistic.
In my life alone, I've heard every response under the sun to me saying I'm Autistic, ranging "but you don't look Autistic" to "oh I'm sorry to hear that"
if THAT is how Autism is viewed in society, ask again why we feel it's necessary to hide that part of ourselves? It is less mentally draining and painful to hide our Autism from the world than it is to just accept the almost endless barrage of insulting and hurtful comments everyone gives when we don't.
What can we do to help stop the need for masking?
Primarily, listen to Autistic people on the platforms where we feel open enough to express ourselves. Though we may not do it in the "real world", online, many Autistic people feel free to be themselves and express their opinions in extreme and clear detail. Take a few minutes to listen, take a few minutes to understand.
The knowledge you gain will be unending, and totally invaluable.
The 2nd thing society needs to do is end the stigma. There is a social bias against being Autistic, because for years, researchers have labelled Autism as a problem. Something that has to be "solved" because we're not productive enough for a neurotypical society built entirely around making as much money as possible.
Just because we need some extra support in a work environment, or some of us may work better from home, we are a problem. And people don't want to have to deal with problems.
We wouldn't have to mask if not masking didn't mean endless abuse from employers, staff, coworkers, friends, researchers, and the society around us. To this day there are still people who believe vaccines cause Autism, and still believe that their child getting badly ill or dying is a better outcome than that child being Autistic.
In plain, simple terms, that is unacceptable.
Not enough is being done to clear the stigma, not enough is being done to stop this socially insensitive research from being created and spread around. There are so many stereotypes about Autistic people that I've lost count. The media portrays us terribly, in one of only a few ways (lonely nerd, supergenius, or "severe" Autistic. Always, the Autism is either the worst thing to happen to the character, or they're the hidden genius nobody pays attention to, setting an unrealistic standard for what we need to achieve in our lives in the eyes of ignorant neurotypicals.)
So that's the basics on Autism, and the basics on masking.
Throughout April this year, I'll be trying to make regular-ish posts detailing more things I believe people should know more about Autism, in a hopes of drowning out all of the fake support from corporations, and drowning out ignorant voices trying to speak over me and other Autistic people.
watch this space. If you want to keep up to date with what I'm posting, subscribe to the mailing list & you'll get notified whenever I make a new post!
That's it from me for today,
- Josh.