I was wondering if you, my Autistic friends, would like to share your thoughts with me about the concept of feeling “misunderstood”. I want to try my best to include the words (quotes) of some of my Autistic colleagues in the form of quotes to provide a supportive framework for another Autism Acceptance eyeshadow I am creating for my work, to benefit ASAN.
I am considering calling the new eyeshadow color either “misunderstood” or, “enigma”. I’ve come across many Autistic people who feel misunderstood. It seems to be a common theme. Also, the word enigma. It means ” a person or thing that is mysterious, puzzling, or difficult to understand.” I definitely think that Autistic adults fall into the category of enigma. Mostly, because neurotypical people don’t want to even try to understand us, or shift perspective.
Our autistic traits or mentioning we are autistic most often evokes a defensive response. It makes them uncomfortable, or even suspicious. People don’t seem to grasp that the autism spectrum is just that- a SPECTRUM, a range that is constantly shifting and changing. The Autistic child grows up to become an Autistic adult, so why do April’s “Autism Awareness” efforts seem to focus only on children and “finding a cure”? More often than not, we are deemed “not Autistic enough” in their eyes. I mean, I’m TYPING this. I must not be Autistic enough to matter, right?
My goals with the Autism Acceptance eyeshadows I’ve been doing for my work (Aromaleigh Cosmetics) are two-fold. To raise funds for various Autism acceptance organizations and to speak out, as myself being an Autistic woman, about Autism, acceptance, ableism, invisible disability and more. To educate, to inform, to question. To reach people who think Autism Speaks is a great choice, and steer them towards the overwhelming bulk of information that questions that very thing. To present options- in this case, this new eyeshadow will be raising funds for Autistic Self-Advocacy Network.
So I’d like to know what you think, and how you feel. Do you feel misunderstood? Do you feel that people see you as an enigma? What do you wish that people could understand about adult Autism or more specifically, adult female Autism? I’d like to gather together a few quotes or statements to use along the website page for this eyeshadow color.
If you’re asking, WHY EYESHADOW? Well, I am a cosmetics formulator. It is my work and my creative expression. Crafting cosmetics is one of the ways I interface with the world, so it is my artistic medium. I’ve been doing it for 16 years now and have the potential to reach a lot of customers with messages about Autism and why everyone should Boycott Autism Speaks. I personally as an autistically out person run into nonstop difficulties in relation to my Autism, in my work especially- with people reacting very strongly to my sharing this information, becoming defensive or even angry. Ableism and an overall misunderstanding of what Autism actually is- is rampant. These attitudes about Autism as I have encountered them, are frightening, inaccurate, and ableist. Shifting perspectives is difficult, but has to start somewhere.
You can see the past two colors I created, #Lovenotfear and Neurodivergent, HERE.
Filed under: autism acceptance, Autism Advocacy, neurodiversity
