“I had a front-row seat to how the world treated my brother. I knew how cruel the system could be. He was constantly told he could not achieve his goals and desires, but he told the world, ‘Just watch me.’”
‘DON’T let it hurt him like it did your brother.’ I can still smell the hospital and hear him cry. My son would be SUCCESSFUL.’: Sister of brother with autism becomes single mom to special needs son
‘You’re just NOT trying hard enough.’ I KNEW I was different, but I tried to brush it off. Then something magical happened.’: Woman diagnosed with autism shares journey, ‘I will live a BEAUTIFUL life’
“‘You’re WAY too sensitive.’ They don’t know I am constantly aware of the clock ticking, people typing, colleagues moving, screens shining, lamp shining, them laughing, the radio playing. This world is so LOUD.”
‘He’ll grow out of it,’ they’d say. I didn’t. I spent YEARS masking myself to fit who I thought I needed to be. I learned to celebrate my differences.’: LGBTQ man waiting for autism diagnosis, ‘I was BORN this way’
“I began to only stim in the privacy of my bedroom or the bathroom and treated it like a dirty secret I’d hopefully grow out of, along with my attraction to boys and all things deemed feminine.“
‘I applied for at-home services through our primary insurance, but was denied. We needed to do a psychological exam and have a diagnosis. We did that and were still denied.’: Mother of autistic child receives act of kindness, support from community, ‘It takes a village’
“They said our income exceeded the guidelines. I was so upset because I did not understand. I just wanted the insurance he was entitled to due to his condition. Autism is so complex.”
‘If you had autism, you’d be a unicorn.’ My social life was thriving, but I was a mess on the inside. I hated not being myself.’: Woman shares autism diagnosis journey, ‘My differences are a gift’
“I was told I was special or unique. I was the center of attention, and not in a good way. From the clothes I wore to the things I said, everything was wrong. I couldn’t fit in with the ‘normal’ people.”
‘Can I give the a tree a hug?’ She tells me her brain is stuck. ‘Why is the sun shining?’: Caretaker of an autistic child insists ‘I am a better person because of her. I see the world in a changed way.’
“I said, ‘Break a leg!’ She got furious and started yelling at me, ‘Why do you want me to break a leg?? She takes things exactly the way they are, what you say is what she hears, and she processes the language just as it’s spoken. Katy has her own unique way of thinking, which I adore.”
‘I find you arrogant, rude, disrespectful and jealous.’ A workplace conflict left me hurt. She didn’t believe a single word.’: Woman learns of autism diagnosis at 23, ‘I finally learned the truth. I am not broken’
“Teachers would say, ‘Lauren is very polite, gifted, such a cute little girl.’ My peers started to reject me. My school life was marred by rumors and taunts. I began to tell myself, ‘There is something wrong with you.’ I could never remember to bathe. I once went half a year without washing my hair. At age 23, I finally learned the truth. I am autistic. I am not broken.”
‘She will probably never walk, but hey, these types of kids are always happy.’ Happy? I grieved for the daughter I thought I was going to bring home.’
“How was I going to be able to take care of my daughter? I wasn’t ‘special,’ I had no idea what to do! The doctor never even touched her. I realized my daughter was put in a box. A box of old school thinking and treatment.”
‘For those two minutes, she is not the only one flapping and waving her hands in the air’: Mom of severely autistic daughter on why she loves roller coasters
“On roller coasters, everyone is allowed to stim.”
