Today, I saw a person with autism do something brave. She used her voice to speak about her own experience. She knew that she was going to have people mad at her, and she spoke anyways. A lot of people underestimate the bravery it takes to do that, even (maybe especially) those of us who do so on a regular basis. That's because it gets easier every time you do it. The first few are the hardest, and I want all the people with autism and all the a/Autistic people who are considering speaking out but are afraid to know it: It gets easier, each time. Really.
Carly Fleischmann said that she thought applied behavioral analysis (ABA) could contribute to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD.) She read an article about it, and she recognized herself. She opened herself up. She probably knew there was going to be a comment war on her page from that one, she tried to take a softer tone, maybe in an attempt to reduce the online yelling she would receive. If she reads the comments on Six Degrees, she knows how people respond when autistic people or people with autism, speaking or not, suggest that something parents like might be wrong.
And she may not have spent time thinking about the politics of parent-run things to put it into words or explain it to someone else, but you can't be a high-profile person with autism without having lived it and learned what is and isn't safe to say. She knew. And she spoke anyways. It might have been the first time- certainly the first I know of, and it looked written by someone who isn't sure how this will go- that she had something to say that she knew would make therapists angry, that she knew would make psychologists angry, that she knew would make many parents angry, and she went ahead and said it anyways because she thought it needed saying. That was brave. Braver than my writing here every day- the idea that parents and psychologists may be angered by what I say is not new or scary anymore, my identity could be figured out but I am semi-anonymous. For Carly, it is likely new, it is likely scary, and she's writing this to a much larger audience than I will likely ever write to, with her full name attached. Guts, nerve, courage. Whatever you want to call it, she needed it today.
That was something she deserves support for.
No, I don't agree with everything campaign she supports. It's not the point here. The point is that Carly Fleischmann has just made a brave statement and I think that deserves recognition and support.
Carly Fleischmann said that she thought applied behavioral analysis (ABA) could contribute to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD.) She read an article about it, and she recognized herself. She opened herself up. She probably knew there was going to be a comment war on her page from that one, she tried to take a softer tone, maybe in an attempt to reduce the online yelling she would receive. If she reads the comments on Six Degrees, she knows how people respond when autistic people or people with autism, speaking or not, suggest that something parents like might be wrong.
And she may not have spent time thinking about the politics of parent-run things to put it into words or explain it to someone else, but you can't be a high-profile person with autism without having lived it and learned what is and isn't safe to say. She knew. And she spoke anyways. It might have been the first time- certainly the first I know of, and it looked written by someone who isn't sure how this will go- that she had something to say that she knew would make therapists angry, that she knew would make psychologists angry, that she knew would make many parents angry, and she went ahead and said it anyways because she thought it needed saying. That was brave. Braver than my writing here every day- the idea that parents and psychologists may be angered by what I say is not new or scary anymore, my identity could be figured out but I am semi-anonymous. For Carly, it is likely new, it is likely scary, and she's writing this to a much larger audience than I will likely ever write to, with her full name attached. Guts, nerve, courage. Whatever you want to call it, she needed it today.
That was something she deserves support for.
No, I don't agree with everything campaign she supports. It's not the point here. The point is that Carly Fleischmann has just made a brave statement and I think that deserves recognition and support.
Thank you for this. For the message and for sharing the information. We have OCD in our family and have eschewed ABA. I am grateful to the brave and those who encourage them.
ReplyDeleteLori