What if I’m Okay.
What if I am not broken.
What if there isn’t anything wrong with me.
What then.
What then?
What then do I think about that therapy?
What then do I think about the bullying?
What then do I think about all those lost friends?
What then about those times I found myself the odd one out;
The one left holding the bag and taking the wrap?
What does that all mean?
What do I do with that?
Where do I go from here?
It’s about a year now since I was formally diagnosed as Âûtistic. The above is an example of some of the thought processes I went through in coming to accaptance of who I am, of what it is to take ownership of the reality of being Âûtistic. It took some time. It really did. Months it took. It included some soul searching, a lot of thinking, a lot of feeling and a lot of walking around in something of a mental daze.
The mental daze was really exacerbated by the persistent, relentless, and horrible dialogue of the cure culture that is pervasive in the “Autism” industry.
Yes it is an industry. An industry where peak bodies raise funds and talk of finding cures and causes, where they underhandedly support research that is really no more than eugenics.
An industry where blood products are passed off as cures when they are really nothing but dangerous quackery.
An industry where industrial bleach is sold as a miracle cure and a book with no evidentiary basis is and details how to abuse children with a so called recovery protocol is allowed to be sold on massive websites such as Amazon.com
An industry where false claims of recovery are touted as evidence.
An industry where faeces implants are promoted as cures.
An industry where stem cell implants are promoted as cures.
An industry where people are subjected to hours in hyperbaric oxygen chambers.
An industry which is dominated by conspiracy theories and woo woo pseudo science.
Yes it is an industry that is for sure.
It’s an industry where former porn stars are given air play on on media channels all over the place and able to build followings around such things. Where these porn stars are given credence for so called recoveries taken as gospel just on there say so. An industry where these porn stars run websites that sell poison, where these porn stars pass themselves off as researchers and scientists and the media and so forth don’t seem to bat an eyelid to it.
Yes it’s an industry.
Where these same porn stars are able to found organisations and be given hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote their quackery and abusive treatments, given awards for their so called work.
Yes it is no less an industry than a factory that makes cupboards, or a factory that builds cars, or a tourist agency selling flights.
An industry based on lies.
Yes lies.
A web of lies.
That Autism is a disease.
That Autism is caused by vaccines.
That Autism is caused by parasites.
That Autism is caused by rope worms.
That it’s because of bad parents.
That Autistic people are unstable, mentally ill, have no empathy or emotions.
Lies lies and more lies.
It’s time for a change. It’s definitely time for a change.
A change in the belief systems. A change in the dialogue and narrative that promotes these lies, that repeats its lies. It’s time to end the bullshit and speak the truth.
Autistics don’t need to be changed.
Autistics don’t need to be healed.
Autistics don’t need to be recovered
Autistics are just fine how they are.
Autistics don’t need to be changed into neurotypical people.
Autism is a neurological difference. It is a disability because of the impact that living in the world. It is not a sickness.
Acceptance and inclusion is the key, not cures, not therapies that try to change us. Acceptance. Just acceptance. Simply pure unqualified acceptance.
Don’t go trying to change your kids, just accept them, love them, and support them to make their way in the world and achieve everything they possibly can. They might just surprise you.
