Open Hearts

I prioritise autistic voices.

I listen to and respect the lived experience of our community.

BUT I don't have to bully, shame and harass non autistic professionals and families in order to advocate or to be respected by my community.

If we spent as much time supporting our kin and their families as we did focusing on people saying the wrong thing on the internet, imagine the change.

Don't get me wrong, I see and I read some bloody awful, inappropriate and unnecessary things written about autistic people-what we are, what we need, what we should be.

And I deal with it by writing another piece, recording another video, running another webinar, organising a tour, reaching out to someone in need, sharing my own experience, offering practical support.

I've been criticised, put down, had awful and nasty pictures and words sent to my email a few times.

It hurts, I feel it, I process it, and I put into action something positive, something to promote change so my children won't face the same thing.

I don't fight ignorance with hate.

I don't fight trauma with trauma.

Nobody will hear what I have to say if I belittle them, abuse them, target them, make jokes about them.

I've been the parent that went asking for help with little understanding and experience of autism.

I've been the parent laughed at and criticised, which only sent me running back to the very people who inflamed our family trauma by reaffirming the disorder narrative.

There are dickheads everywhere.

If we don't want to meet dickheads and sometimes be dickheads, then we're the wrong species, honestly.

Open hearts, people.

Open hearts.

(Here's a photo of me being a dickhead).