What I wish more people understood about level 1 autism

I wish more people understood that level 1 autism is a serious condition and that level 1 autistic people are not exaggerating their struggles or making them up.

Because the more I talk about it, the more I see people acting like we just want to complain... or that we just want to "play the victim." 

I think they do this because they genuinely believe we're experiencing the world the same way as everyone else and just complain a whole lot more.

I've personally been told that I should "let actual autistic people get the help they need" when sharing educational content about autism. Just because I look and sound "completely normal" to the average person.

So, I'd like to set the record straight about level 1 autism for those willing to listen... (and if you are, I appreciate you  )

- Just because a person isn't visibly struggling, doesn't mean they aren't struggling in significant ways.

- Just because there are higher needs autistic people with visible, much more limiting struggles, doesn't mean autistic people with "invisible" struggles aren't significantly impacted by them.

- Just because you don't experience the same challenges as a level 1 autistic person, doesn't mean we are exaggerating or making up our struggles.

Level 1 autistic struggles are serious. 

And disabling. 

And in some cases, debilitating. 

If they weren't, level 1 autism wouldn't be a clinical diagnosis in the first place. 

If you're having a hard time understanding how disabling level 1 autism can be, I think it will help to look at how *unsupported* level 1 autism shows up in the research. 

Because we are not just talking about annoying life circumstances here. 

We're talking about *statistically meaningful* WORSE life circumstances for level 1 autistic people, as compared to nonautistic people... 

(All examples below have been repeatedly shown across numerous longitudinal studies over time and should be easy to validate using any trusted search engine)

- Level 1 autistic people are statistically more likely to be unemployed or underemployed and therefore statistically more likely to have financial hardship or to become unhoused.

- Level 1 autistic people are statistically more likely to have severe physical health conditions. 

- Level 1 autistic people are statistically more likely to have severe cardiac issues and suffer from life-threatening cardiac events. 

(I personally had a life-threatening heart event at 34 and I believe this was the result of lifelong unsupported autism resulting in chronic "distinct" anxiety.)

- Level 1 autistic people are statistically more likely to experience s*ic*dal ideation... to attempt s*ic*de... or worse.

These are NOT INSIGNIFICANT findings. And the gravity of these statements should not be minimized or ignored.

Level 1 autistic people may look "fine" to most people, but that doesn't mean we are.

And to those calling for a separate diagnosis for level 1 autism...

Level 1 autistic traits are rooted in the same brain wiring differences as level 2 and level 3 (high support needs) autism.

We may appear different on the outside, and in many ways, we are... but our challenges are rooted in the same brain wiring.

We are autistic. 

And we are not just complaining for attention or because we think life shouldn't come with struggles.

We are talking about real, significantly limiting struggles that we can't manage *successfully* without supports or accommodations.

That is literally what our diagnosis means. 

Sure, some of us have technically "managed"... but I would argue that it has not been "successfully."

(I refer you back to the above statistics. Because I believe they show that our ability to "manage" comes at a huge cost for many of us.)

And just because level 1 autism doesn't *look* as "bad" as level 2 or level 3 autism, doesn't mean our challenges aren't equally important or valid. 

And please hear me out when I say this...

As a community...we do NOT have to fight for one group at the expense of the other. 

We can fight for ALL AUTISTIC HUMANS at the same time.

I am a level 1 autistic person, fully invested in advocating for all autistic humans.

I do not have to be a level 3 autistic person to understand that their needs are equally important and valid.

And I sincerely hope the rest of our community has room for feeling that way about level 1 autism, even if they experience autism differently.

Because if enough of us can get on the same page about this...

We can start to change the way the rest of the world sees autism too. All autism.