I Live on the Soapbox

I am so sick of allistics appropriating Autistic and DD language.

You have everything else. Back off of our experiences and our terms.

And yes, this includes people who are allistic and also may have disorders such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, etc. I recognize and respect your experiences and your right to express them, but you we have carved a space for ourselves in the allistic world that is not yours to take over.

So when you read articles by Autistic people and talk about how you as an allistic person still identify with it so heavily and make it about you, you are not spreading acceptance and being a good ally. When you use language like “stimming” because you think something feels cool or you liked to swing on the swing set as a child, you are being appropriative. When you get super excited about something and you wave your hands for half a second, you are not “flapping” and you cannot claim this as an Autistic experience. Simply being introverted does not mean you know what it is to be Autistic or that you can claim our spaces.

Some of this language may not have always been ASD-specific, but it is now. Humans have varied experiences, and everyone has quirks. A few quirks, sensory or not, does not make someone Autistic. It does not give that person the right to our language and our experiences.

We have reclaimed space in this world, and like in all movements, the dominant culture seeks to take what we have found solace in. If you care about the Autistic people in your life and in this world, be respectful of language and experiences. Do not appropriate our experiences and our culture. You aren’t helping or “normalizing” or whatever you think you’re doing.