It's not enough to let people know that vaccines don't cause autism. We also have to affirm that autism is not something to fear, that autistic lives are worth living and supporting, and that autistic people deserve to exist and be loved. Original exchange on Twitter: x.com/Sara_R_Rocha... - ThreadSky

thinkingautism.com • 164 days ago

It's not enough to let people know that vaccines don't cause autism. We also have to affirm that autism is not something to fear, that autistic lives are worth living and supporting, and that autistic people deserve to exist and be loved.

Original exchange on Twitter: https://x.com/Sara_R_Rocha/status/1867517232793661853

Comments

heretix.bsky.social•164 days ago

Autism has existed since the beginning of humans. We are a variation of human species. Don’t need to be fixed. Neurotypicals could be quieter and more aware. Fix that cuz y’all are annoying.

alectoerinys.bsky.social•163 days ago

Autism genes have been around since the Cambrian...

https://scienceoveracuppa.com/2023/07/11/a-lot-of-autism-genes-evolved-during-the-cambrian-period/

heretix.bsky.social•163 days ago

I wanted to say since we were all slime mold but didn’t need the Christian torch bearers in my comment section.

alectoerinys.bsky.social•163 days ago

arianaextraagrande.bsky.social•162 days ago

I think it’s incredibly important to raise awareness about all of the physical health issues/conditions that often effect neurodivergent ppl. Dental issues, skin irritation, pain etc. I’m 98% sure I have hypermobile Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. By figuring all that out I can figure out medical treatment.

arianaextraagrande.bsky.social•162 days ago

For example throat clearing as a stim - I do it bc I have stuff in there. I figured out I have acid reflux that goes into my larynx and sinuses, causing post nasal drip and gunk in my throat. I took a new med for acid reflux and all my throat issues are gone, no more throat clearing.

arianaextraagrande.bsky.social•162 days ago

Acid reflux is a common issue for ppl with Autism. Ok but why? Prolly a valve issue due to Ehlers Danlos Syndrome. I’m so pissed that I’m figuring this out on my own at 41 when I’ve seen specialists who were a waste of money.

arianaextraagrande.bsky.social•162 days ago

Also people with Autism are more prone to Dementia. I have it on both sides so I’m very vigilant in case it starts so I can try and start treatment and care planning early.

joepampel.bsky.social•164 days ago

I wonder if any of these folks understand that some of the most famous minds in history were autistic - Einstein, Newton, Darwin, Mozart... the list goes on and on. It is different - but certainly not a negative.

mapugavalera.bsky.social•164 days ago

I’m sorry, but I feel so enraged and dour. It’s like all the efforts of the autistic community were for nothing.

thinkingautism.com•164 days ago

I hear you. I can’t believe this backsliding is happening. But we will continue the good fight, as I know you will too. You are very much not alone in your fury and your advocacy.

alectoerinys.bsky.social•163 days ago

You can't believe it? With everything being done to trans people?

Nazis don't stop with one. It's why when you see ANYONE'S rights being attacked, you fight like hell. You will always be somewhere on the line yourself.

helenangel.bsky.social•164 days ago

What causes autism: autistics having kids.

It’s really that simple & it’s shocking how some neurotypicals see us as so inhuman that they can’t understand this.

alectoerinys.bsky.social•163 days ago

The "funny" thing is - these parents freaking out about autistic kids? One of of them is likely autistic and just doesn't know it.

helenangel.bsky.social•163 days ago

EXACTLY. And when you suggest that, they become deeply offended & defensive which tells you all you really need to know about their overwhelming ableism.

alectoerinys.bsky.social•163 days ago

Everyone in my family is learning we're all autistic because my youngest niece (at the time) was diagnosed at 4.

Every book I've read since says it should be standard practice to test the parents of autistic kids.

helenangel.bsky.social•163 days ago

Yes & I got my diagnosis because the clinician testing my son recognized I was autistic. Now a vast majority of my father’s family has been diagnosed.

gekkotoes.bsky.social•164 days ago

📌

nygaard.bsky.social•164 days ago

We need more people to be comfortable saying that preventing a category of people from existing is, at best, eugenics.

stevie1666.bsky.social•164 days ago

All for it if it’s billionaires. Or Nazis. Maybe tailgaters too.. too far with that one?….🤔

lilrobinhood.bsky.social•163 days ago

The root of the "vaccines cause autism" conspiracy theory is that being autistic is a fate worse than death, and that they would rather have a dead child than a disabled one. The issue here is ableism.

golvio.bsky.social•162 days ago

The other root, I think, is making money off scared, uneducated parents. The Wakefield study was motivated by an attempt to sell an “alternative” MMR vaccine that didn’t have the alleged “autism-causing toxins” in it.

golvio.bsky.social•162 days ago

Since then, a massive industry has sprung up around peddling quack “cures,” racing to snap up parents and indoctrinate them into an MLM-style secular cult around their “cure” of choice before they can be reached by sympathetic professionals & adult autistic self-advocates.

golvio.bsky.social•162 days ago

I figured things were going to get worse when the biggest, richest hucksters started breaking into the mainstream and making their snake oil the hip new health trend endlessly “debated” and taken seriously on talk shows and news reports.

golvio.bsky.social•162 days ago

They’ll only stop either when they’ve siphoned all potential marks dry & have to move on to a new health scam, or if they’re forced to stop by banning what they’re peddling in cases where it presents enough of an active danger to children that the law can’t look away, like what happened with MMS.

lilrobinhood.bsky.social•163 days ago

If it wasn't vaccines, it would be something else- that is how scapegoats work. Just the other day I had my ignorant also autistic friend suggest it was her mom's diet that "caused" her autism. We do not fix this without fixing ableism, without humanizing autistic people.

drejosephine.bsky.social•162 days ago

The ableism behind these thoughtless comments is appalling

We are a diverse species, and this is good for all of us!

Disability is socially constructed #AskASociologist #equity #justice #inclusion

smylex.bsky.social•164 days ago

Also, something to remind them of from Fight Club:

“We cook your meals. We haul your trash. We connect your calls. We drive your ambulances. We guard you while you sleep. Do not fuck with us.”

alectoerinys.bsky.social•163 days ago

Yes. We do.

All these people attacking us can go straight to fucking hell.

nightcreature13.bsky.social•164 days ago

Indeed, this is one issue I have amidst all the pushback on the misinfo, there isn’t enough challenging of the core underlying premise that autism is inherently this horrible thing

nicholas-mutante.bsky.social•164 days ago

Yes. What I take from that Twitter exchange, though, is that there is something we have to fear from modern society and its dominantly situated neurotypical affluent white majority. I think that if we’re going to have a life that is affirmable, we’d better rely on each other, not impress them.

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