Not being open about your disability, sexuality, gender, or any sort of identity doesn’t mean you’re ashamed of it. Sharing details and being open can be scary, dangerous, or something you simply just don’t want to do. No one should make you feel like you have to share or that you’re less than for not being open about things. It’s your identity, no one else’s.
so today I had a call for a patient having an asthma attack. me and my partner go, and we’re treating the patient, and her fiancee shows up with her daughter, who had a tooth pulled that morning and isn’t in school. we take the patient to the clinic and I sit out in the hallway with the daughter, who was a bit scared cause her mom wasn’t well. we start talking, about her brothers and her school and her pets and video games and her favourite ice cream that she gets to eat all day because of her tooth. she asked what I was studying, and I told her, and we talked about what I did volunteering as a first responder.
then she says ‘I have autism’ and I look at her and say ‘guess what? I have autism too.’ and she was so excited. we high fived. I told her it was nice to meet another girl with autism, because it was mostly boys. she asked if I had sensitive hearing too. then when her mom came out, attack over thanks to the medication, she told her mom.
then afterwards she told me it was nice to meet me and she gave me a hug. it was great. I’m still so happy. I’m happy that I got to meet that young girl who probably doesn’t know any other autistic women, who probably won’t meet many more. I’m happy that I was able to distract her from worrying about her mom. I’m happy that she gets to see me, going to school and helping people and generally being successful and also autistic. I’m glad that I was able to share that with her, that I wasn’t afraid of other people finding out or realizing that I’m autistic and it’s okay. I’m glad she knows it’s okay too, to be autistic, and to be proud of being autistic.
This is a really sweet story. I hope the girl gets to know many, many other autistic women because autistic friends are so important.
me: honestly my autism is a Blessing™ and I have so many amazing traits like im driven, im meticulous, im smart, im always really clean honestly my Tism™ is the best thing to ever happen to me and this world as a whole
me an hour later after eating slightly more than I intended: it hurts to hear
Hey, everyone, could you do me a favor and reblog this?
I know that we’re all scared right now, but disabled people are going to be one of the most at-risk groups in the coming years. Things like the repeal of the ACA, reductions of disability services and aid, and whatever bullshit the republicans are going to pull out of their asses next are going to hurt disabled people preferentially. This is intentional. If we neglect disabled people we will be guilty of mass murder, because disabled people are going to die.
This is just as important as your “pussy hats”, but the fight against ableism is difficult even in the best of times. Please, don’t let disabled people get swept under the rug again.
the way that abled parents vilify their disabled children is so disgusting and I have no sympathy for any grown-ass adult who has the nerve to imply that an autistic four year old is ruining their life
Disabilities that affect us every day aren’t things we can just abandon or separate from ourselves. I’m not completely defined by my autism, ADHD, and physical disabilities, but all of those things affect my experiences every day of my life. They’re part of what defines me as a person. They’re part of my identity.
lavenduers 