Press space, or use the arrow keys to go see the images. (Or click if you're on mobile.) -------------------------------------------------- This is a really important message that I want to share: Autism is not a joke or an insult. Calling something/someone autistic has very similar issues to calling things “gay” (in a derogatory way). Being gay is not an insult, and being autistic is also not an insult. Autism is not a negative thing, it’s neutral. Using the word “autistic” as a derogatory term is extremely offensive, rude, hurtful, and ableist. I’ve heard lots of people share their experiences of people joking about autism, or using it as an insult, and that’s not ok. One personal experience I can share is from when I was about 10 years old, before I was diagnosed or even really knew what autism was. I loved playing Roblox, especially Theme Park Tycoon 2. Because I’m very sensory-seeking when it comes to light and colour, I always made my theme park as bright as possible. It was neon green, pink, and indigo/deep blue, and all the lights in my park were pink because at night they would work kind of like blacklights. (I promise this will all be relevant soon.) Anyway, one time when I was playing, two boys came over to my park and started saying mean things about it. They called it ugly and said that it hurt their eyes (which is understandable, but they also could have just not looked at it and stayed at their own parks). I really liked my park, so that made me upset. I started replying to them and saying that they didn’t have to be there if they didn’t like it. They kept arguing back and it made me very frustrated. Eventually they said, “Why are you so angry? Are you autistic?” I don’t really remember what happened after that, or what I said, I just mostly remember being confused because I had no idea what “autistic” meant. I think I was pretty offended by it, but mostly because I didn’t know what they just called me, all I knew was that it sounded mean and they were trying to insult me. It turns out, they were right. I am autistic, but I now realise there’s nothing wrong with that.
Autism isn’t something to be ashamed of, it’s something to be proud of. It’s a beautiful part of diversity that shouldn’t be changed. Autism is part of who I am, and I love it (even though sometimes I don’t feel like I do). Being autistic lets me see the world in an entirely different way than most people, which can sometimes be challenging, but it can also be amazing. If you hear someone joking about autism or using it as an insult, stand up to them and tell them that it’s not ok to do that. I know it can be hard to stand up to people, I’ve always struggled with that, especially figuring out what to say. So here’s a line to use when you hear anyone say something that you think isn’t ok: “Hey, I think what you just said is actually offensive.” I know that having a preplanned line won’t necessarily help everyone, but it helps some people, that’s great! I also want to mention people getting offended when asked if they’re autistic, or even just assume people think they’re autistic (like when they’re invited to an autism related studio). I have had people get offended in my Autism Acceptance Studio when I’ve invited them because they thought I was calling them autistic or thought they were autistic. I wasn’t doing that, but even if I was, that isn’t something to be offended about because being autistic isn’t bad. I know I’m using “gay” as a comparison a lot, but it works really well for this. Sometimes people get offended when you ask them if they’re gay, usually because they have a little bit of subconscious homophobia. They see being gay negatively, possibly without even realising they feel that way. The same thing applies to autism. If someone gets offended by being assumed to be autistic, they may have some subconscious ableism, or stigma about autism. It’s important to remember that autism isn’t negative, it’s not an insult. Autism is just a differently wired brain. Being gay isn’t bad, being autistic isn’t bad, being disabled isn’t bad. These are all neutral things. If you agree with me, then please share this message! You can love, favourite, and remix this project to help people notice it! Thank you so much for reading this, I hope you have a great day! <3 All art in this project is made by me, and I used Google Slides to put it all together. ☺️ Music: Songbird (Instrumental) from Glee
