I do have trouble integrating into communities, that’s the whole point. That people like me experience erasure. Even now, as I point out that people like me exist, most replies I’m getting have been combative in trying to double down on that erasure.
Like, can we not just acknowledge that there are people who slip through the cracks of society and as a result face challenges that most people never even have to think about or consider? Things that most people view as so easy and simple, that suddenly aren’t so easy and simple when you have no friends or community.
But no, people don’t like that reminder, so they’re hostile towards it, which only reinforces the marginalization and erasure of people like me…
I think it’s harsh on to call it erasure, but completely understand that in effect it’s the same thing, because to me it seems people are hostile because what you’re saying doesn’t match their lived experiences, and so they’re saying “that’s not how it is” because they believe that you’re pre-judging situations based on how you think people will react to neurodivergent people, when that’s not the case at all. I like to think it comes from a place of good intentions, but yeah in reality it’s no different to saying “just cheer up” to a depressed person, when it’s really not that easy or how it works. The most important thing is that as irritating as it is, harboring resentment over this kind of thing helps nobody, and the best thing you can do is accept that they’re trying (badly) to help, and that they just don’t fully understand what the issue is.
I do have trouble integrating into communities, that’s the whole point. That people like me experience erasure. Even now, as I point out that people like me exist, most replies I’m getting have been combative in trying to double down on that erasure.
Like, can we not just acknowledge that there are people who slip through the cracks of society and as a result face challenges that most people never even have to think about or consider? Things that most people view as so easy and simple, that suddenly aren’t so easy and simple when you have no friends or community.
But no, people don’t like that reminder, so they’re hostile towards it, which only reinforces the marginalization and erasure of people like me…
I think it’s harsh on to call it erasure, but completely understand that in effect it’s the same thing, because to me it seems people are hostile because what you’re saying doesn’t match their lived experiences, and so they’re saying “that’s not how it is” because they believe that you’re pre-judging situations based on how you think people will react to neurodivergent people, when that’s not the case at all. I like to think it comes from a place of good intentions, but yeah in reality it’s no different to saying “just cheer up” to a depressed person, when it’s really not that easy or how it works. The most important thing is that as irritating as it is, harboring resentment over this kind of thing helps nobody, and the best thing you can do is accept that they’re trying (badly) to help, and that they just don’t fully understand what the issue is.