I want to make a zine about how misinformed professionals often tell people (who later turn out to be autistic) that they can’t be autistic because [insert stereotype here].
Each page will have a format similar to this:
“When I was [age], [type of professional] said I couldn’t be autistic because [reason].”
–[Name or pseudonym], diagnosed with autism at [age]
Would anyone here like to contribute? If so, just fill in the blanks. You can add additional context if needed, just try to be brief because the pages are so small. If you don’t want to reply here, you can message me.
Obviously this little zine won’t and can’t encompass everyone’s experiences. But maybe it’ll help someone?
“When I was 35, a psychologist told me I couldn’t be autistic because I was married, had a white collar day job, and had published a novel through a small press.”
—Matthew Graybosch (starbreaker.org), diagnosed with level 1 ASD at 41
“When I was 16, my school counselor said I couldn’t be autistic because I had good grades and communicated clearly. When I was 10, my family doctor said I couldn’t be autistic because I hit my developmental milestones at mostly the right times.”
-Jay, “unofficially” diagnosed with autism at age 19
(as an addendum, the “unofficially” is because while I have had three medical professionals agree that I am most likely autistic (or at the very least, neurodivergent in a significant way), I have not gotten evaluated at a Certified Autism Center or whatever due to money constraints and fear of job discrimination)
“When I was a toddler, a psychologist said I couldn’t be autistic because I was ‘just a gifted kid’.”
“When I was 16, a hospitalist said I couldn’t be autistic because I was smart.”
“When I was 21, a gynecologist said I couldn’t be autistic because I was ‘so articulate’.”
– Azure, diagnosed with autism at 15
I’d love it if you could share the completed zine here, once it’s finished! I’d really like to see it!
When I was in my mid-20s, an acquaintance from the church I attended at the time (but not any more) said I couldn’t be autistic, because I “look and speak normal”, especially compared to one of my cousins who was also part of the church and was known to have been officially diagnosed with autism since he was a child, who cannot speak and who does not mask his autistic traits in public at all.
–Leilukin, “unofficially” diagnosed with autism at 28
(I never saw a doctor for an “official” autism diagnosis, but I began to realise I was likely autistic when I was approaching my mid-20s. When I started to see my first therapist when I was 28, it turned out my parents also thought I might be on the autism spectrum, and both therapists I saw affirmed my self-diagnosis)
This is so lovely, thank you for sharing! I’m going to print it out and add it to my IRL zine library shelf :)
Also, the last one from Alex about not being considered autistic because they have compassion for others?!?! That’s terrifying. What a terrible opinion that psychiatrist must have of autistic people!
I fully support the idea of showing people that they are not alone despite what may seem like alienating circumstances. Something as simple as telling someone, “I see you and understand the struggles that you are going through” can literally change the trajectory of someone’s life. Community can be healing when it brings out the best in us.
Excellent work. Very nice. I was a little bit luckier in that my psychotherapist said that she thought I had traits of different things, but she would leave the diagnosis up to me. If I wanted more time in school, she would give me the full-fledged diagnosis, but if I didn’t need it or want it because of the social stigma/military/employment issues, she would leave it out of an official diagnosis. Kudos to her. I opted to work with individual instructors at IU-Bloomington who were very accommodating and compassionate, being themselves outstanding human beings and also recognizing the intelligence behind the delay, madness, or whatever other symptom or condition I was going through at the time. They were very gracious, and always supported me without giving me an unfair advantage over my peers. Grateful, and hoping that y’all can run into some similarly-minded human beings or at least be recognized and treated better than your past experiences. I will do my best to act and treat us all with care and respect. Thank you for putting this out there.
