So tired of lateral ableism coming from autistics and ADHDers who have symptoms that aren’t severely debilitating. Like just because you don’t need meds or accommodations to function or you can conform well/adapt to NT society to a certain point doesn’t mean other autistics or ADHDers will also be able to?

This post brought to you by a group of people getting frustrated at us for being unable to keep up with a game, us saying “sorry I didn’t take my meds today” and them ALL glaring at me and scoffing about how well they haven’t been on ADHD meds for years. Every single person in the room (there were more than 2 other people). Like ok, good for you, I NEED them to function?? (and even then, I still can’t “pass” as NT.)

We feel so out of place even around other people who are also autistic and/or ADHD. Because so often the other(s) will show just enough traits to seem a bit quirky/odd to NTs, but not get read as visibly ND (except maybe under unusual circumstances, but generally speaking, they can mask effectively enough that NTs wouldn’t perceive them as “having something wrong with them”) but we’re noticeably “slow/r-worded” in a way we’re frequently, under normal, non-extreme circumstances, unable to hide. We’ve heard so many things about how other autistics and ADHDers found other neurodivergent folks and finally felt safe and comfortable after a lifetime of being judged in NT-dominated social circles, and we wish we could relate to that, but honestly we don’t feel any safer with someone just because they’re also autistic/ADHD, because in our experience they’re just as likely to be ableist to us as NTs. Sometimes even worse, because at least NTs can’t say “well *I* can handle (insert task) and I’m autistic/ADHD too so what’s YOUR excuse?”

But yeah. Some of y’all hate to acknowledge that autistics and ADHDers with higher support needs than you exist and you’re quick to throw the rest of us under the bus just because you’re so desperate to make autism and/or ADHD seem more palatable to NTs. Moderate-higher support needs neurodivergents shouldn’t have to beg lower support needs neurodivergents to have solidarity with us.

Non-ADHD and non-autistic disabled people whose only idea of ADHD and autistic people is shaped by media depictions of a nerdy white boy or a quirky goth girl with low support needs: "Yeah ADHD and autism are destigmatized and we should ignore people with ADHD and autism in favor of real disabilities. I am very smart and progressive."

Lateral prejudice towards other disabled people will get us nowhere.

the whole "autism isn't a disability" thing made me feel guilty for even slightly recognizing how it has disabled me. and i want anyone going feeling similar to know it is okay if autism is a disability for you. someone else's experience being different from yours doesn't make your experience wrong. it's not fair at all for anyone to tell you you can't be disabled from autism. and the solution to ableism against autistic people is not to invalidate disabled autistic people. our struggles matter and we deserve inclusion and support. i promise.

“we don’t have to listen to high support needs autistic people because they can’t voice their opinions, the greater autism community can advocate for them” holy shit do y’all not see how much you sound like an autism mom.

Happy autism awareness and acceptance month!

Unfriendly reminder that if you are advocating for autism to not be considered disabled you are advocating for the removal of supports many of us need to function and stay alive! It is by definition a disability, and you should be listening to medium and high support needs autistic people more!

I have had another autistic person tell me "it's not that loud" in the same dismissive way as neurotypicals while I was in pain

I have struggled to accept that this same person was actually autistic because he was so different from me and I hadn't learned better yet

I have had other autistic people not understand how I can be so very restricted in my interests and averse to change

I have believed in the past that I must be cold and emotionless because that's what the popular image of my diagnosis was

I have seen the posts saying autistic people don't really struggle with sarcasm or metaphors or empathy or social cues or managing special interests or or or

I have seen on the other hand autistic people dismiss others' autism because they don't find some things as hard

"Just find other autistic people" isn't some magical foolproof solution to loneliness and being misunderstood

Being Autistic in leftist spaces can be annoying because most expect you to be level 1

They don't understand why I communicate worse than the other Autistic people they know and don't understand why I can't do certain stuff

And aside from that I'm physically disabled too

this is a cripple punk post; ableds must tag reblogs with #i’m able bodied

stop calling ND people’s ableism against physdis folks “lateral ableism.” it’s not lateral.

the vast majority of physdis folks are ND. while ND people can absolutely be disabled, ND disability works and is experienced differently, and isn’t just “physdis but mental”

ND people’s ableism against crips isn’t “lateral.” it’s ableism with an excuse.

I don't know which autistic person needs to hear this, but...

Other autistic people who act childlike or have childlike interests are NOT the reason you get infantilized.

The rainbow-haired, plushie-hugging, stim-dancing autistic you saw on tiktok is NOT hurting you by existing.

Let your fellow autistic people be themselves in public.

And STOP blaming autistics who express themselves differently than you for society's ableism.

So many of us have trauma from therapists or parents policing our mannerisms and telling us our interests or clothing were "not age-appropriate". We are not —I repeat, NOT— going to turn around and inflict that same ableism on each other.

Fellow Autistics without Intellectual Disability: separating yourselves from ID is lateral ableism

this is the funniest sentence I have ever read. I cannot believe people like this actually exist

honestly, although i really hate to say it... being able to work, on a systemic level, still puts you in a privileged position compared to people who cannot work. i wish i could say it's only an advantage when you're disabled, because i know it feels bad that being employed and getting income is a privilege even if its hurting you to do it. but it's not the hurting-you part that's the privilege, it's the way it systematically supports you. there are things that disabled people who're unable to work (especially those without income and/or savings) experience that you just don't, because you still have the ability to work and generate income yourself.

it's not a pleasant situation and by no means should any disabled person be forced into working. it's 100% torture and working disabled people deserve so much better. it's just that you just can't change the fact that society gives you chances and resources that disabled people who cannot work just don't have. that's not inherent to you, it doesn't make your disability invalid. it's systemic ableism and classism. being working class (as an individual) is still a step above the bottom of the barrel, even if you're disabled. so if there's anywhere to direct your grief and frustration on this towards, it's society. it's ableists. it's the ruling class and capitalism. not other disabled people.

Sometimes people with similar/the same disabilities as you can come across as so so condescending. Like, my fellow, I am begging you to understand that you are not in my body. You don't suffer all the ways I suffer. We might be similar but we are not the same.

So I know every social media site likes to pretend it is better then other social media sites. Right now the disability community on tumblr is trying to exclude disabled people from disability spaces, because only select psychical disabilities are "real" disabilities. On tiktok?! Disabled people are calling out EMS workers for their violent ableism and educating people on why some of us are scared to even call 911 if we need help, outside of the bill. (yes this is US centric, I'm American.) What do you think is going to be more helpful for disabled people in the long term?

I barely post on tiktok because making videos isn't really accessible to me and doing so is very stressful so it would be nice if y'all could stop being laterally violent.

People will really just be like "autistic people never struggle with this actually, based on my very representative sample of myself and like three people who will be friends with me, a person openly disdainful of the idea of anyone struggling with this. I have never met a special ed kid in my life." and they think that's a reasonable argument

I am literally homeless EXCLUSIVELY because ableds and disabled people without allergies cant be bothered to apply their toxic fragrance in their bedroom instead of the shared bathroom and make other equally minor changes, and disabled people whose disabilities aren't worsened by the selfishness of others and dont even prevent them from being around others are STILL out here like "uwu dont worry, ableism is NEVER your fault, it's totally fine to murder people with MCAS to spare yourself minor inconvenience"

the disability "community" is a myth. Only those with the privilege to safely interact with others get ANY help, sympathy, or even basic visibility. MCAS is a huge component of long covid so it now affects millions more (it affected 15% of the population before covid, 5x as common as autism, for example) but because no one else in the disability community can even acknowledge our existence, we'll never have any accessibility whatsoever.

Most people with MCAS have no idea they have it because of all the constant forcible erasure from other people. That means they'll never know they could be 100% fine if the people around them weren't incapable of empathy