Whether it is an out of work benefit, a health related payment, social care support or support to be employed and stay in employment, it’s never a handout.

Language shapes perspectives and it’s being used to urge harm rather than community.

Reader, I’m simply autistic and wear glasses.

The industrial complex around neurodiversity, never clearer than exploring the 'autism industry', is a beast that must be fed with more people making money off of neurodiversity than necessarily always helping neurodivergent people.

imo NCW was initially conceived as a way to uplift and shine a light on neurodiversity, with Siena at the heart of that, but it didn't stay that way, instead becoming a corporate and capitalist celebration around neurodiversity.

What use is neurodiversity if not to make money from it 🫠🤑

Reflecting on this, I’m so aware that I’m not like xyz autistic child a person knows of, it would be unrealistic to be compared to them.

I’m not a child and for the most part I’m in employment because of the skills I have in masking (and my career knowledge), there’s no mirror image there.

It’s always “you’re not like my five year old child (who I secretly resent for needing me as a parent)” and never thinking about what harm teaching a child that they’re a burden does and how long it takes to unlearn.

I might not always figure out in time due to wonky interoception and alexithymia that I’m a bit too close to overwhelm but my nose turning into a tap is hard to ignore.

Used to it at this point, it's more been a reinforcer that some spaces really do embed EDI far better than others and sometimes assumptions do need to be challenged and worked through to build that culture.

Totally agree, if we look at the action (absentee) or consequence (inequity) we’re completely missing the drivers.

The cynic in me might think that’s by choice because if we don’t identify drivers we don’t have to act to counter them.