7. The bigger picture and where advocacy can take us as a community
The unsupported Autistic experience in a nutshell (as I see it).
It's a continuum that moves downward. (I call it the continuum of decline)
Autistic brain wiring /
Mismatch with environment /
Autistic unmet needs
↓
Autistic ("distinct") anxiety
↓
Autistic masking
↓
Autistic trauma (starts here)
↓
Autistic meltdown/shutdown
↓
Autistic burnout
↓
Autistic cPTSD (after accumulation)
↓
Autistic collapse
All of these things are human experiences...
Anxiety, masking, trauma, meltdown, shutdown, burnout, cPTSD, system collapse...
Meaning, all humans can experience these things, and many do...
But they become attached to autism when they trace back to a root issue that's directly related to autism (and nothing else)...
Autistic unmet needs.
Which are due to a mismatch between the autistic brain/body and environment.
(Top of the continuum)
This is the chain we need to be talking about more in autism advocacy, because this is the clearest way to show nonautistic people how lack of support is actually resulting in harm...
Real, potentially life-threatening harm.
While support at the root level could SIGNIFICANTLY improve the lives of a HUGE portion of the population (at this point, we know it's close to 3%).
And instead of unsupported autistic people being trapped in a loop of desperation and unhealthy (but accessible) coping behaviors...
We, as a community, with systemic supports in place, can finally begin working towards raising each other up to achieving what everyone in this world deserves...
Self-actualization.
That's the vision. That's the hope. That's the work I'm doing here.
And I hope many of you will join me.
P.s. If you are on the continuum of decline, you are not alone.
Even without systemic supports... we still have each other.
And that is a lot. ❤️🩹❤️🙏🏻
And for those who may be new here and don't know me or my work...
I'm Nicole Filippone, autistic philosopher of human difference and translator of the human experience.
I spend a lot of time synthesizing existing information about autism across domains... philosophy, psychology, physiology, learning, lived experience, and more.
If you find this type of content valuable, you're in the right place.
Also, welcome 🙏🏻