Yeah I’m not sure if I’m Autistic or what - but I empathize with consistently misunderstanding things, telling jokes in poor taste, etc.
I dislike the word ‘trauma’ being used to describe it. It wasn’t deeply distressing or disturbing, it was inconvenient. It didn’t stop me from living my life, the only thing it did was give me perspective on what ‘normal’ is.
Using the word ‘trauma’ isn’t about people trying to be dramatic. Most autistic people (especially late diagnosed autistic folks who don’t understand why they feel so alienated), suffer from actual, clinical trauma. It stems from a lifetime of misunderstandings, cruel treatment from nuerotypicals, and societies built on ableist systems:
Trauma can look like a lot of different things. It doesn’t always come from specific, intense events. Some times it sneaks in via very small, subtle occurrences that aren’t usually a big deal, but are very effecting when they happen frequently enough.
Yeah I’m not sure if I’m Autistic or what - but I empathize with consistently misunderstanding things, telling jokes in poor taste, etc.
I dislike the word ‘trauma’ being used to describe it. It wasn’t deeply distressing or disturbing, it was inconvenient. It didn’t stop me from living my life, the only thing it did was give me perspective on what ‘normal’ is.
I get that. For other people it can lead to being alienated and targeted for bullying… which really can be traumatic
I can acknowledge that those things are traumatic, for sure.
Using the word ‘trauma’ isn’t about people trying to be dramatic. Most autistic people (especially late diagnosed autistic folks who don’t understand why they feel so alienated), suffer from actual, clinical trauma. It stems from a lifetime of misunderstandings, cruel treatment from nuerotypicals, and societies built on ableist systems:
Living with PTSD on the Autism Spectrum
Trauma can look like a lot of different things. It doesn’t always come from specific, intense events. Some times it sneaks in via very small, subtle occurrences that aren’t usually a big deal, but are very effecting when they happen frequently enough.