Autism and Our Unsatisfying Labels
Underestimated. Overlooked. Condescended. Three descriptors that have often stood at the periphery of my life. Their existence is seldom spoken of, but they remain.
Long before I knew I was Autistic, I lived with other, albeit less satisfying, labels. Shy. Quiet. Know-it-all. And with these labels, the descriptors above followed like a shadow. As a child I don’t believe I ever recognized these shadow labels for what they were, harmful. However, the pieces started fitting into place by the time I was a pre-teen/teen and cemented further by adulthood.
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I remember a “friend” commenting on how loud my sister and I were as we were typically her, “shy, timid, friends.” I gave her a confused look, but the meaning vanished quickly after the incident.
I remember my small class of peers, whom I’d known since kindergarten, finally realized my high grades in math. This was 7th grade. I’d been receiving A’s in math since 4th grade.
Jumping to adulthood and my first year of college, I had a professor comment on how tiny and “cute” I looked in the desk chair. I’m only 4’10” and have always looked younger than my age because of my height. But this was college. I had to be at least 18 years old in the eyes of this prof (I was actually 20 at the time). Now I was…
