Teachers blame the system. Primary care and disability teams blame the system but at what point do we take individual responsibility for the care of Autistic children and for an understanding and empathy for Autistic people? 

Who cares about us? Who cares that we are suffering as kids, as adults, as grannies and grandads? Who cares that we live on average to about 54 years of age? 

Who cares? 

“It’s the system” is a bit of a cop out phrase we’re hearing a lot about lately. 

A system is made up of people… who follow “guidelines” and “approaches” decided upon by .. not Autistics but by people who pretend to know us. Who study us as if we are not human, as if we don’t feel and create “systems’ and “therapies” we never asked for. 

“We’re just following orders” .. “we are just following department guidelines, we’re just following what “experts” who treat you like subhuman say and the “therapies” they developed”. “We’re just following orders to abuse you so like… we can’t do anything”  

Do you see how disgusting this sounds? 

How bout you just stop following guidelines that abuse us?

And if you’re in Ireland that means NEPS, NCSE, Middletown, Attention Autism, ABA, PBS, and social skills training and every other thing that was designed about us without us. 

And if you’re elsewhere in the world.. then all of the above and everything else that’s designed to harm us. 

Let’s stop the excuses

We have to abuse you coz the “system” tells us to. I mean at what point do you stand up as a human being and stop pressing that button that hurts us? 

“The system made me do it”

The “system” is made up of you. 

You are the system, or at least a cog that keeps that wheel turning. 

Name 5 people who changed the world by following “the system”? 

And yet you are part of it. We know you don’t care to admit it but “the system” is you. 

“The system made me do it”

How often have we heard that in our history and frowned upon those that said that very thing? 

You are not powerless cogs, you are sentient beings living in a concrete and gravel world. 

Stand up, sit down… do something that means Autistics can stop killing ourselves nine times more often than the general population 

Make this a world we can live in. 

Because “autism” does’t cause anxiety, or depression, or PTSD. “Autism” doesn’t make us kill ourselves… I mean have an “increased risk of suicidal behaviours” … coz that sound more palatable doesn’t it… if it’s “behaviours’ instead of wanting to kill yourself. 

So back to the problem of ‘autism’

Autism is a problem…

Because the Autistic child is seen as the problem and the “responsibility” is put on them to “cope” , to “have less meltdowns” and to fit into places where they are seen as a problem and socially rejected. 

I mean people don’t actually come out and say that this kid is a problem (least not public, let’s save that for the staff room or chats with parents when we tell them old ancient tales about theory of mind and lack of empathy) but the phrases used “coping with autism”, “dealing with autism” all say that Autistic kids are a problem, a scourge, and that if only they had “early intervention” then all the problems of autism would disappear….as if by magic.. or by oppressive means to force Autistics to put on a daily performance. 

The only magic intervention is intervening your oppressive and prejudiced thoughts about us. 

Yep, there, we said it… call it Autistic honesty. 

Or call it “lack of empathy” coz we really don’t care about your prejudiced ideas about us

“Ah but you must see it from our point of view, you are a burden on society, if you don’t see that then that just proves you lack theory of mind”

No, peeps, we’re not the ones lacking theory of mind if we fail to empathise with your abusive ideas and “interventions “ and “therapies” that harm us. 

Let’s get real here folx, when you talk about “autism” you are talking about Autistic people.  

So if you’re looking for ways to “deal with autism” and “cope with autism” then you are looking for ways to deal with and cope with Autistic people. 

Sounds different, doesn’t it? Or at least we hope it does! 

Let’s take a breath and pause and think for as long as you need to think about this.

You need to learn how to COPE with us and deal with us? 

I mean, if you ever were interested in human rights then you’d know that “dealing with” and “coping with “ are not really ways to talk about a population of people. At least not if that population are seen as equal. How do we cope with (Insert any minority here)… are you starting to see? Are you starting to see the oppression of Autistics?

An Autistic by the way is not a person with autism… if this statement does’t make sense to you then that’s a sign that you need to learn and learn very quickly about a marginalised community living in your midst, suffering, pathologised, experimented on, abused, silenced, sometimes murdered, often killing ourselves or thinking about it, and basically treated like shit. 

You may speak to our children using “first, then” as if somehow we cannot comprehend you. And yeah, sometimes we can’t comprehend you because it’s hard to comprehend oppression and how your systems that abuse us and the people within in them and that “autism” or Autistic people are always the problem and somehow you make it our problem to solve your inability to empathise with us and see us as humans.

We say quite frequently “don’t abuse us” 

Only to be met with

“But if not abusing you then what?” 

Like seriously , do you even hear yourselves? Stop abusing us with ABA, social skills training, PBS and every other gross thing created to abuse us.. 

and you ask , “well if not abuse then what?”

If not abuse…. Then what? 

And you make your problem our problem to solve somehow…

How bout you stop abusing us? 

I know, weird, strange, even Autistic ideology here.. stop hurting us… yep just do that.

So here’s a “first, then” for you…

First: See us as human beings 

Then: Stop abusing us

Let me explain to you if you think “autism” is a problem 

“Autism” by its very definition is a person traumatised.

Yep, hard to read but Autistic people’s trauma is called “autism” is DSM

It’s just that the “experts” forgot that we are human and forgot to apply all the other human stuff to us. It’s ok, they get it wrong a lot. 

Autistic people (sensitive people’s) trauma is called Autism. 

It’s called autism in the media

It’s called autism in the medical world

It’s called autism by those who do not see us as human 

And then you just get all the other stuff that’s called “autism” that is motor neuron conditions, anxiety, trauma, medical conditions, EDS, epilepsy… whatever an Autistic person experiences has been quiet lazily called “autism” by the “experts”. 

If an Autistic experiences hunger, it that too “autism”? Well if we go by the lazy psychology and “interventions” then yes, If an Autistic experiences hunger then hunger is caused by … ta dah…. “autism”

There you have it folx, the cause of anything experienced by Autistics is “autism” … magical thinking if ever we encountered it. 

It’s definitely nothing to do with you, let’s blame “autism” cos that makes everyone feel better, well everyone expect Autistics… but we don’t matter, remember? 

So if you’re talking “autism” in 2022 then you really need to admit you are clueless and start learning 

If you’re a teacher, professional or carer who thinks that “early intervention” would somehow magic away the trauma…I mean “autism” so that Autistic kids would just fit in nicely to a system that has traumatised them from birth (or before). Then you are looking for magic.. Magic isn’t scientific nor has it any place in educational or support systems. 

You cannot magic away our pain and discrimination and it’s about time everyone realised their duty of care.