Autism

I know, I was so excited when I read the first part until I realized it was just another autism-supremacy post. It's like all these internet "autistic" people are just narcissists who want to repeatedly gaslight NTs into thinking they're the whole problem. The truth is, this rhetoric is standing in the way of actually accommodating autistic people so their voices can be heard.

I say all the time "I feel like I have a native language unique to me" or "I feel like I have no native language," or "I feel like ALL languages are a foreign language." I've been saying it so much for years now that I actually wonder if someone heard/saw me say that and adapted it into this nonsense. I'm not saying "I'm better than NTs," I'm simply trying to explain that there is, in a sense, a "language barrier." To be clear, I am fully verbal. But no one understands any points I'm trying to make. This isn't the fault of typical people, nor is it the fault of me. Just like there's no superior language in actual languages, no one is superior here. Am I special? Well sure, but pretty much everyone is special in some way. I struggle with this "language barrier" and it is frustrating that no one understands me, but that isn't their "fault."

TL,DR: I don't see this as glorifying, but as a nuanced point of view. Autism is neither a fantastical thing nor is it necessarily the end of the world. It all depends on a lot of external factors, and the people around you (autistic or not) are a huge part of that.

For me this has nothing to do with supremacy and is just an explanation. Granted, I may be missing context, since I never heard anything about the account posting it, but on its own with no explanation I don't see it.

Supremacy would be if they said "NTs are so dumb for just speaking one language".

What I see there is NTs having the privilege that everyone around them understands them - similar to people in a rural area before the internet or mass media. They dont need to worry about being understood or think about how people could have other languages without necessarily being dumb - this is the difference between being smart and being educated.

Being educated is book knowledge that you have to acquire or be taught, but even without that you can be smart. And in my eyes it's a fact that neurotypicals are not well educated about autism, because a lot of the current knowledge is quite recent.

Also, this statement is solely about the social aspect, not talking about sensory issues. There's studies showing that autistic people among themselves communicate just as well as neurotypical people among themselves and issues show up when the neurotypes are mixed. I'm trying to remember names associated with it, but my memory fails me - I think it was a british study.

This study matches my personal experience though. And it's the reason why I disclose at work (thankfully my country has good protections in place).

With other autistic/often also adhd people, communication is pretty smooth. With NTs, there's hiccups, but they understand why and are patient because of that.

All this does not mean autism is a superpower or anything. Since I'm privileged enough to work in my special interest field, my hyperfocus kicks in quite a bit, so I can take advantage of that.

The sensory issues, on the other hand, can be quite debilitating at times, and I need accommodation for that. It's not all rainbows and sunshine even if you take the social issues out (or manage to alleviate them as in my case). Autism is still a disability after all, but posts like this are still a good thing because it's also not always doom and gloom. If you get the right environment, it can be manageable enough to have a decent life.

I don't think this is trying to frame autism as a positive, it's just trying to explain how differently we communicate (as if it's another language, one NT's don't understand, but also refuse to learn, which is partly why we struggle - they design the world to work for them and how they communicate and function, not us and how we do).

I think understanding the different models of disability can be really helpful
https://www.drakemusic.org/blog/nim-ralph/understanding-disability-part-6-the-radical-model/

This post is not trying to categorize autism as a wholly fantastic thing. This post is acknowledging a kind of personally felt positive experience exclusive to autistic people. Nowhere in the post does it say "and this is why we're better that neurological people".

Describing a kind of experience exclusive to how your brain works is by itself a neutral observation, one that that OP feels positively about. Yes, difficulty with communication can be highly detrimental, nobody is attempting to argue against that information. However, being able to pull off success instances if communication with neurotypical people, as well as styles of communication seemingly exclusive to other autistic people who think the way I do is pretty cool, in my own experiences.

So, to recap, things this post is not saying:

• Autism is unambiguously fantastic.

• Autism is always fun.

• Autistic brains are superior to neurological brains.

Things this post is saying:

• Autism is not an exclusively negative experience.

• Variations in brain development produce variations in styles of communication.

• The ability to engage in communication more or less satisfactorily in both categories can be perceived as a strength or even an advantage in very specific circumstances.

Yes, in general we wish we were more effective communicators, especially with the neurotypical world. No, this does not mean that it is doing a disservice to autistic people to acknowledge parts of our existence that bring us joy or give nod to specific strengths which are exclusive to us. I understand being frustrated with someone who says that having autism is wholly preferable and an all-around advantage, but it isn't helpful to pretend that strawperson is in this image.