What Could Al Be Planning? 🤔

sometimes i feel like people forget autism is a disability. and that’s not a bad thing! i’m all for disability acceptance, im proud of my disabilities. but i feel like we forget autism can hurt.

it hurts that i have to put more time and energy into socializing than others.

it hurts when i need to move so bad, usually cause im overwhelmed by either my surroundings or emotions, that i thrash and hurt myself.

it hurts that i cant be in places that are too loud or too bright, which on bad days can be as simple as a small, quiet noise or dim lights.

it hurts that i struggle to tell when im hungry, thirsty, tired, etc. so i can’t properly take care of myself. it doesn’t help my insomnia and i get very nauseas and get UTIs.

i 100% believe in autism acceptance. i don’t want a cure. but i also want us the acknowledge that it can hurt. it doesn’t mean my entire life will hurt, but some parts will. and i want a community where we can see both sides, see the hurt, and celebrate it anyway.

hey can we talk at some point about how having adhd makes you way more likely to be depressed because literally nothing you need to do to be a functioning adult gives you any happiness at all

like this is an actual statistical problem

Make pride accessible for everyone!!!!

I made a post about this last year and the year before, and thought if I did it this way it gives people and orgs something to work towards. Often people forget that disabled people aren't just wheelchair users, and even those who are, need more than just that ramp!

My first ever pride, not only as a wheelchair but my first ever EVER pride, I went in expecting to feel at home.

Obviously I wasn't, I'm disabled, so why should I?

Instead there was just a ridiculous amount of uneven flooring, a steep ramp to the disabled toilet, no sanitary towel bin in the disabled toilet (???) no allowances to be let out of the festival to fetch things from my car, no where quiet and organisers who seemed genuinely surprised to see a wheelchair user!

My next pride, three years later, I was a seller, and while they had sorted their toilet problem (still no sanitary towel bin???), the hill to get in wouod have been genuinely impossible for me to get to if I hadn't been driving to get my stall in anyway, even with someone pushing me, no quiet areas, plenty of kerbs for me to get stuck at and again, genuine surprise.

Why is it so surprising to consider disabled people might be at pride? Not only do queer disabled people exist, but parents and family of queer kids and people, vendors and even entertainers!

Making pride accessible is crucial!

ID available in Alt Text

Repeat after me:

It is OKAY to have content preferences and to be uncomfortable with certain ships or topics, controversial or not. It is OKAY to distance yourself from such content and block certain tags or creators.

It is NOT OKAY to actively hate and harass real people for creating content of fictional characters that features things that make you uncomfortable.

People who think that ableism against mentally disabled people either isn't real or is "mild" have never been...

- restrained and yelled at during a meltdown

- denied the ability to transition because people won't let them make choices about their own bodies (and then have that issue get completely ignored by neurotypical trans people)

- abused by their own parents for behaving in ways that look weird or rude even though they can't help it

- sent to an underfunded and often neglectful special ed school so their neurotypical peers don't have to see or deal with them

- forced to constantly focus on acting in a way that feels unnatural and stressful to them in order to mask their disability and avoid further abuse

- physically assaulted for things like "acting crazy," having hallucinations, taking medication that neurotypical people think is scary, etc.

- denied accomodations at school or work because people decided they're so stupid they're not worth the effort

- locked up in a psych ward against their will

- unable to shower, shop for groceries, or other basic care needs because of overstimulation, executive dysfunction, and other mental health issues.

- treated like subhuman because they have an intellectual or developmental disability and need people to take care of them 24/7

... And it shows.

Mental disability is not fucking Disability Lite. If you think that the only ableism we face is occasionally being called a mean word, you're part of the problem. We have every right to be angry about the way we're treated.

And no disabled people, whether mentally or physically disabled, should have to be all smiley and positive just to make the people who constantly abuse us comfortable.

How does one approach you to try(?) for the roles?

You can send me a DM here on my AU blog, and if you can, with a recording of the lines below to test:

(Caine:)

"It's showtime, dear. Are you ready?"

(Pomni:)

"Fuck yeah, I am."

I'm currently very sleepy and I'm about to black out on my chair if I don't go to sleep soon, so I'll have to check responses tomorrow if anyone is willing to do these roles.

Thanks for taking the time to read, and goodnight :')

When I say “school should be disability accessible”, I don’t just mean we need handicap rails and EAs. Kids should be able to miss a day without failing out of school. You shouldn’t be dismissed from clubs because your attendance record is “spotty” (true story). I once missed an entire week of school because of a terrible, unending migraine. I was expected to keep up with my studies despite the blinding pain that came with working on my computer. When I heard my teachers say that you couldn’t miss exams, I asked what I would have to do to be excused from them. Their response? “Either get a doctor’s note an hour before the exam or death of an immediate family member.”

I cannot express how rigid this expectation was. First of all, with my condition, I wouldn’t have enough warning about my sickness to go to the doctor and request a note. For many people, this is exceptionally difficult, especially with the current shortage of medical professionals. Next, it ignores the fact that my schedule may not line with theirs because of my medical needs. Once, I had to visit a hospital a province away (which I was on the waiting list of for over a year) on the same day as an exam. I begged my mother not to take me because I was so nervous that I would be marked as an automatic fail. I was lucky enough to make it work, but that’s only because of my spectacular support system consisting of family members and wonderful doctors.

Disabilities aren’t always about needing a bus that can accommodate wheelchairs. It’s already difficult enough for many of us to maintain school attendance without the harsh punishments involved for skipping a day. We need to be able to miss school without being punished. Only than can you claim that the school is “accessible”