The response I most commonly hear when I disclose to someone that I am autistic is, "Wow, you must be really high functioning. I would never have known if you didn't tell me." There’s a lot to unpack here.
Why Do You Need a Label, Anyway?
Autism still exists even if it is not discussed or described by language. You do not cure someone of being autistic by removing labels from their experience. Other labels come in to fill the vacuum, labels we didn’t choose for ourselves, labels which are based on fundamental misunderstandings, labels that deny us help, accommodations, and acceptance, labels that cause actual harm to us in the form of prejudice, violence and higher instances of suicide.
Welcome to The Autistic Ambassador!
Hi! My name is Kai. I created The Autistic Ambassador (TAA) blog to facilitate cultural exchange between neurotypes. A “neurotype” refers to a group of people who share commonalities in the ways that their brains develop and function. There are two main neurotypes – people with neuro-divergent brain development and function, and people with neuro-typical brain development and function. As their names might suggest, the latter is most common or “typical” neurotype while the former is a smaller population which differs from the majority. I am personally a member of the neurodivergent community as multiply-neurodivergent person and parent of two neurodivergent children. I also coparent with a neurotypical person. Being part of this inter-abled coparenting relationship has been instrumental in demonstrating for me both the need for this cultural exchange between neurotypes and the rewards of working towards it, and serves as a living model and source support for which I am deeply grateful. The ultimate goal is to facilitate cultural exchange between neurotypes, and that is not a one-way street. TAA aims to serve as an intermediary between the neurodivergent community and the neurotypical community, and to help each better comprehend where the other is coming from.
The Autistic Ambassador 