If I had to distill my perspective on neurodiversity, it would boil down to the notion that minds that function differently need to supported on the basis of how they work, not on the basis of how the "normal" or "average" mind works
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As an autistic person I would be happier completely unmasked at all times, but that requires every neurotypical person I encounter to have, for example, a relationship to language that doesn't exist. So I should be a -little- bit masked, to communicate.
I agree with what you're saying! I'm not saying that masking/compensating etc doesn't have to happen bc I think it's complicated and situation dependent
Long story short, after a couple years of unmasking I've come to the conclusion that the mask neurotypical society foists on others is unfair, but that there IS an onus on every human to perform copacetic socialization for the sake of... us having a society that functions.
Neurodivergent people generally understand each other & communicate quite fine within our communities. It’s outside of those that there’s more troubles because it’s a different communication style & flow. So many things that might seem deficits actually aren’t, they’re just different communication.
But we’re the ones that end up having to twist ourselves to survive, often for things that don’t even work.
There needs to be a culture of mutual support. Everyone supported in the ways that suit them when they need it, depending on people’s current capacity and needs, keeping in mind it changes.
I do think autistic masking can beneficial on let’s say for instance, masking around with police officers, medical professionals, the court system, etc. because people in those positions have more power over you, so it makes sense why we should mask to prevent ourselves from being in danger.
But outside of autistic masking as in a survival mechanism, I think autistic masking is pretty useless. I’m too cynical to conform to neuronormative norms and I shouldn’t have to put up all of this emotional labor or being in control to other people’s emotional reactions.
Yep my take on masking is that masking and compensation sometimes serve as a kind of social agreement (even for neurotypicals/allistics) but that autistic masking is a different experience that is overwhelming for a few reasons
So it's something like figuring out how autistic people can participate in social agreements (and where and with whom) if they want to without masking in a way that is essentially harmful to us. A lot accommodations and support possibly needed.
I think we might even find more of a spectrum in how minds work. So many people are masking and trying for some oppressive ideal how can we actually know how are minds would work naturally?
Honestly I think I may rehashing some of my old thoughts from twitter but I've admittedly forgotten the fundamentals of my own thinking and need to reconsolidate them again
But yeah basically developmental delays imply a universal developmental trajectory and I think that neurodivergent minds may have a different development trajectory and a different end point which we shouldn't think of as deficits.
I remember thinking through deficits, disorders, differences and feeling like we need clearer definitions. Neurodivergence certainly includes disorders and may involve deficits imo, but I think there's a broad recategorisation necessary.
I also see disability theory as absolutely necessary to neurodiversity. I was rereading Singer's views and there's a few things here that probably depart from hers because she takes neurodiversity to be a purely ecological concept so to speak.
Comments
As an autistic person I would be happier completely unmasked at all times, but that requires every neurotypical person I encounter to have, for example, a relationship to language that doesn't exist. So I should be a -little- bit masked, to communicate.
There needs to be a culture of mutual support. Everyone supported in the ways that suit them when they need it, depending on people’s current capacity and needs, keeping in mind it changes.