ableism : how it looks and ways to help, a thread made by a hyper functioning autistic person

let’s start with the meaning of ableism: ableism is discrimination and social prejudice against people with disabilities and/or people who are perceived to be disabled. Ableism characterizes persons who are defined by their disabilities as inferior to the non-disabled.

the most ableist thing that is easily spotted is using the r slur, which in definition means: less advanced in mental, physical, or social development than is usual for one's age.

however the use of the word “retarded” has become extremely derogatory towards neurodivergent and physically disabled people. therefore you CANNOT say the slur unless it’s yours to reclaim.

now getting into what casual, not as easy to spot ableism looks like examples. 1. having fonts in your twitter display name or bio is a big one because screen readers cant understand what the fonts are saying and it makes it extremely difficult for them to navigate the app

2.turning serious mental disorders into jokes or stereotypes, for example taking schizophrenia and turning it into jokes by labeling people as doing absurd things such as screaming extremely loudly or running around half naked as schizophrenic (yes i’ve seen this before)

3.the “weird kid” jokes, these seem quite harmless but if you really think about it and dive deep into it, the weird kid jokes come from a deep rooted ableist idea that anyone who isn’t up to the social standard of grown for their age is a weird kid, for example

a personal experience for me is that i have a friend who is an extremely low functioning autistic and it’s extremely easy for him to become over stimulated from very small things and he didn’t really know how to talk to others etc, kids at school made fun of him

all the time because he would hang around people in groups trying to be friends with him and they thought that he was being “weird” when in reality he didn’t know how to approach it in a different way, now these kids would tolerate it but as soon and he became overwhelmed

or overstimulated, they would start making jokes or talking about him or even running away from him.

4. this one is also a pretty obvious one but continuing to stay in association with a friend or mutual who has said slurs or been ableist is just as bad because youre excusing it

5. HYPERFIXATIONS!!!!! this is a big one. “Essentially it's being completely immersed in something whether it be a video game, movie/TV fandom culture or a hobby, etc. While typically associated with ADHD and autism, people with mental illness may also experience hyperfixation”

trying to force someone out of a hyperfixation is one of the most ableist things you can do. something i see on here a lot is people being upset that their neurodivergent mutuals still tweet about someone who is “problematic” and here’s the issue with that

if a neurodivergent person has a hyperfixation on somebody, that doesn’t just go away if it’s announced that they’re problematic, that hyperfixation will stay for a long time or till the person finds a new hyperfixation or a healthy way to let go of the problematic hyperfixation

so, before you do one of those “unfollow me if you follow ____, or if you still tweet about ___ in unfollowing you” make sure you don’t include neurodivergent people with hyperfixations in that tweet because they may not be able to just let go of the person

making fun of peoples hyperfixations is also extremely ableist, i don’t really need to go into detail on this but, don’t make jokes about someone having a hyperfixation on someone or something because they literally cannot control it number one and number too it’s just not right

**also you should note that neurotypical people cannot have hyperfixations, this is only a neurodivergent thing**

now here are some ways to help with casual ableism and some carrds to help you understand it better!

educates you more on autism https://actuallyautistic.carrd.co/ 

more guidance on casual ableism https://a-guide-to-ableism.carrd.co 

https://endableismtoday.carrd.co/  another carrd about ableism (this one is phenomenally worded)

https://xenogenders.carrd.co/  about xenogenders and neogenders IMPORTANT !!!!!

ok end of thread, i seriously hope you read this and educate yourselves because the amount of casual ableism i see on my timeline is gross, if you have any questions my dms are always open!