This is exactly what I mean when I say the society even more “progressive” societies are inherently ableist
i really would like to ask that people reblogging this, especially my fellow low support autistic people, take some time to consider the way that high support autistic people are being talked about in this video.
"the US and the UK assume that all autistic individuals have high support needs and may refuse any visa applications on medical grounds." this quote especially makes me feel really uncomfortable, along with similar language in the video that seems to operate under the assumption that the issue is that these countries are gatekeeping low support need autistic people under the assumption that they have high support needs, instead of the fact that barring people from entering a country due to medical needs is inherently wrong.
even if this wasn't the intention, the focus on low support need autistic people shows a lack of solidarity that is gravely necessary in fighting medical ableism. (i don't actually know if the writer of this video is autistic or not but i am lacking a better way to describe this concept right now.) i don't think conversations that leave out high support needs autistic people are able to be all that productive when talking about autistic oppression on a global scale (as opposed to individualized experiences). it's important to stand up for the most vulnerable members of our community and not fall for distancing tactics where a subset of autistic people are treated as merely misunderstood "productive" members of society. if we allow our worth to be judged by how well we are able to fit into overall society then we have already lost.
"it is bad that all autistic people are treated like they can't live up to standards set by a neurotypical society" ❌
"nobody needs to live up to arbitrary standards to be treated like a person worthy of respect and dignity" ✅
don't throw our siblings under the bus okay? it's hard out there but we're better off together.
teamgayotix