anon

@FannyFracker I was not suggesting it did exempt me. I’m saying there are airports where I have been treated kindly and with understanding and sensitivities and others where the staff have shown insufficient understanding or sensitivity

@mindfulautistic Not saying that at all. You just need to be prepared for the process. A lanyard does not exempt you.

Extreme lack of autism awareness and or compassion at Birmingham international airport security today though I was wearing a sunflower lanyard told them I was #autistic and frightened of being touched

I’m lucky enough to have never been in an MH hospital but sadly it appears too many staff in MH hospitals harbour the same impatient unkind attitudes and lack of empathy to autistic and other disabled people as in other settings

I thank those airport staff and or medical and dental staff who over the years have been kind to me. As for the airport and or dental staff who treated me badly I worry their attitudes will continue to harm #autistic and other disabled people.

Today someone on Twitter suggested I should not use airports if I don’t like to be searched. There are many places eg the dentist that I avoid due to #autism. But avoidance is not the answer accessibility is. Accessibility is about attitudes not symbols

@FannyFracker Are you saying autistic people should never travel through an airport. Sometimes it is necessary for autistic children and adults to fly which is why we appreciate airports and airport staff that are understanding, rather then those that are not

@mindfulautistic Don’t travel through an airport where a search may be necessary then. You need to make adjustments yourself

My heart breaks for every single autistic person stuck in mental health hospitals. Too at risk to be sent home, but hospital just perpetuating the cycle. The system is so broken.

@Roman_Baber Reading accounts of autistic non speakers life is very frustrating for them because of these movement difficulties and because everyone assumes they are stupid when they are intelligent but have trouble moving their bodies

@Roman_Baber Non speaking autistic people do need more support. It needs to be acknowledged that many autistic non speakers have severe movement difficulties (dyspraxia .) Therapy won’t work unless movement difficulties are understood

April 2nd is World Autism Day. In recent years, we lost sight of children with SEVERE autism. According to a CDC study, ~27% of children with autism have severe autism. Many of these children cannot talk or use the toilet independently. Children with severe autism need therapy. It’s not just the right thing to do, it’s also the fiscally prudent thing to do. We owe children with severe autism better. 🇨🇦

@PaulWhiteleyPhD Personally I am autistic and dyspraxic and I am aware my brain has some similarities to and some differences from non autistic and non dyspraxic people

@PaulWhiteleyPhD The concept of neurodiversity is that there are different types of brains ie neurotypes

The 'neurotype' slur is alive and well. Absolutely no evidence for this neurobabble.

If an autistic girl expresses distress in childhood she will likely be dismissed as a drama queen or too emotional and to quieten down.

#Autism in girls can go unrecognised for a long time because quite a few #autistic girls internalize distress use keeping quiet as a coping strategy. And a quiet girl causes no bother fits society’s expectations.

No autistic or other ND person will admit to not following a group conversation. Instead they might sit quietly and or find a quiet area to hide or just leave early

Just to say too I have every sympathy with NTs and others who have standard social anxiety. It must be debilitating. But the difficulties many autistics experience in social situations are different

Recently Uta Frith suggested that many verbal #autistic girls may just have social anxiety or be sensitive I wanted to explain in this thread why she was wrong.