Would you ever wear a t shirt with the word 'autism' on it?
funeralxempire
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Not even if it was a celebrity offering you 10 thousand pounds?
Maybe but I'll put a jacket on over the top.
Just tell people it's a modelling gig.
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No, probably not. At a specific autism event, maybe. But not in general. I've got no desire for the kind of trouble that would bring - not only people who'd think the word makes me a target, but also those hidden lay diagnosticians who can tell if someone has autism just by looking at them, the "you don't look autistic" crowd.
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I would wear the shirt.
However, I find it hard to imagine that the shirt would get you better treatment
Plenty of precious lil "people" know next to nothing about autism. However many of them act like they know everything
And the ones that do know about autism, do not insist on knowing which specific people are autistic.
Not everyone reads your clothes
Not everyone puts that much energy into thinking about your clothes
I wear this one. ^ Sometimes on its own, sometimes with a cardigan or blazer.
I'm looking for another. Maybe this?
I have nothing to hide from people. If we aren't comfortable identifying, people will never understand.
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And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
For 10k i would wear it 24/7 and walk around with a megaphone tellin everybody "ive got ass burgers!"
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Probably most people don't need to personally get to know an autistic person to learn not to treat autistic people like s**t, much less require a tag attached that makes it easier to pick them out in public while they're minding their own business.
I live near Toronto, a pretty decent place relative to the rest of the world in terms of discrimination and civility, and yet even without an autism tag of any kind (I don't show anything but very subtle indicators only careful experts might spot) I've been treated very badly several times, including even physical violence, by complete strangers. Not frequently, but if it increases the number of harassments, scams or physically assaults, the benefit isn't worth the cost.
Knowing what kind of people there are out there, if they learn about the vulnerabilities of autists it'd be a serious risk to label yourself overtly in public depending on where you live. Doubly so for female autists who haven't yet learned how horrid people can be or don't know how to refuse and get away from pushy, manipulative people.
Increasing awareness can easily done in other ways that don't involve such personal risks. If you can get yourself out of the kind of trouble that an autism tag might bring and not be impacted by it, then that's fantastic. But as a matter of safety, my advice would be either "at your own risk" or, depending on the person and area, "absolutely do not".
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Thank you deeply for sharing your experiences. I don't feel so alone anymore.
Probably most people don't need to personally get to know an autistic person to learn not to treat autistic people like s**t, much less require a tag attached that makes it easier to pick them out in public while they're minding their own business.
I live near Toronto, a pretty decent place relative to the rest of the world in terms of discrimination and civility, and yet even without an autism tag of any kind (I don't show anything but very subtle indicators only careful experts might spot) I've been treated very badly several times, including even physical violence, by complete strangers. Not frequently, but if it increases the number of harassments, scams or physically assaults, the benefit isn't worth the cost.
Knowing what kind of people there are out there, if they learn about the vulnerabilities of autists it'd be a serious risk to label yourself overtly in public depending on where you live. Doubly so for female autists who haven't yet learned how horrid people can be or don't know how to refuse and get away from pushy, manipulative people.
Increasing awareness can easily done in other ways that don't involve such personal risks. If you can get yourself out of the kind of trouble that an autism tag might bring and not be impacted by it, then that's fantastic. But as a matter of safety, my advice would be either "at your own risk" or, depending on the person and area, "absolutely do not".
Admittedly I don't get out much. I go to doctors or vets when I absolutely need to, but Covid has cut down on my doctor visits. I wear a coat or cardigan in winter, spring, and autumn. I certainly don't wear the tshirt every day even when I do wear it. Thanks though for your perspective. I guess I get treated poorly so often by so many people, I don't think about the reasons. I'm kind of immune to it. I guess the shirt doesn't help when and if I wear it, but I like to delude myself that maybe it helps. Maybe people who would normally treat me like rubbish will pause and wonder.
Maybe.
But then again maybe I'm living in a dream world.
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And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
I would not wear one unless it was to some sort of planned event that was designed to bring awareness of autism, and then I would want it to be semi descreet.
I would not want to display it normally (I am assuming I am on the spectrum as I write this) as I would want it on a need to know basis.
I do face a dilemma with shutdowns. A few days ago I had one outside the dentist. It was about 85 to 90% deep in that it nearly was a full shutdown except that I was able to retain my sight, though I was on the floor managing to half prop myself up on my remaining strength with one arm so I could partly lean on the side of the building. I try to do this because if I am totally lying down people who see me panic so I try to look less shutdown but like my Mum says, "It is not normal to be slouching down on the floor" which is why when the dentist reception lady was concerned.
The problem is that I am kinda forced to need to speak when I don't want to as I need to stay quiet and wait for me to recover. When the lady says "Do you feel unwell? Do you want me to call an ambulance?" I have to talk because for me an ambulance would be bad due to the smells of hospital being a very powerful shutdown trigger, and the first thing hospital staff do is to try to force me to talk which will cause me to go into a shutdown, and each time I pull out of a shutdown they try to follow the same proceedure again and again by trying to get me to talk, so I end up in shutdown after shutdown after shutdown which is absolutely exhausting and energy robbing, and not a very pleasant experience.
I do carry a thing in my wallet to tell people what to do but I am not in a state to think to bring it out, but at the same time, a lanyard around my neck is too invasive, and I am not so keen on the idea unless it is more descreet, but as I am not assessed yet, I am in a predicament in a way because I am making my own things which are not really ideal. (Condensing information down to bullet point form is not my strong point. I can do it but I tend to write round the world and back).
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I would not want to display it normally (I am assuming I am on the spectrum as I write this) as I would want it on a need to know basis.
I do face a dilemma with shutdowns. A few days ago I had one outside the dentist. It was about 85 to 90% deep in that it nearly was a full shutdown except that I was able to retain my sight, though I was on the floor managing to half prop myself up on my remaining strength with one arm so I could partly lean on the side of the building. I try to do this because if I am totally lying down people who see me panic so I try to look less shutdown but like my Mum says, "It is not normal to be slouching down on the floor" which is why when the dentist reception lady was concerned.
The problem is that I am kinda forced to need to speak when I don't want to as I need to stay quiet and wait for me to recover. When the lady says "Do you feel unwell? Do you want me to call an ambulance?" I have to talk because for me an ambulance would be bad due to the smells of hospital being a very powerful shutdown trigger, and the first thing hospital staff do is to try to force me to talk which will cause me to go into a shutdown, and each time I pull out of a shutdown they try to follow the same proceedure again and again by trying to get me to talk, so I end up in shutdown after shutdown after shutdown which is absolutely exhausting and energy robbing, and not a very pleasant experience.
I do carry a thing in my wallet to tell people what to do but I am not in a state to think to bring it out, but at the same time, a lanyard around my neck is too invasive, and I am not so keen on the idea unless it is more descreet, but as I am not assessed yet, I am in a predicament in a way because I am making my own things which are not really ideal. (Condensing information down to bullet point form is not my strong point. I can do it but I tend to write round the world and back).
Your shutdowns sound very autistic and not subtle enough to allow you to slip through the cracks. How are you not diagnosed with autism yet? What were you like as a child?
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