Note For Anyone Writing About Me

Guide to Writing About Me

I am an Autistic person,not a person with autism. I am also not Aspergers. The diagnosis isn't even in the DSM anymore, and yes, I agree with the consolidation of all autistic spectrum stuff under one umbrella. I have other issues with the DSM.

I don't like Autism Speaks. I'm Disabled, not differently abled, and I am an Autistic activist. Self-advocate is true, but incomplete.

Citing My Posts

MLA: Zisk, Alyssa Hillary. "Post Title." Yes, That Too. Day Month Year of post. Web. Day Month Year of retrieval.

APA: Zisk, A. H. (Year Month Day of post.) Post Title. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://yesthattoo.blogspot.com/post-specific-URL.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Dear Issy

Trigger Warning: Attempted Murder, Ableism, Hate Crime Against an Autistic Person

So there's a flash blog for Issy Stapleton that is a thing. Yes, as the flash blog Autist I am fairly heavy in the running of this, as per usual.
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Dear Issy,
I want you to know that you deserve to exist. I want you to have the best life you can, and I want it to be your life, and I don't want anyone to take that away from you. I want you to be happy, whatever happy means for you, and I want you to be satisfied, whatever satisfied means for you. I want you to know that the way you are is OK. The whole being in the hospital because your mother tried to kill you thing isn't OK at all, not in the slightest, but it's not your fault. No matter what anyone tries to tell you, the way you are does not justify what was done to you. You're a person, with all that entails. You deserve to exist. You deserve to live.
The problem isn't with you. The problem is with your mother trying to kill you, and the problem is with her thinking that the status woe is a good way to describe raising an autistic daughter, and the problem is with her thinking that she had any right to make a decision about someone else continuing to live or not. It's with a society that encourages the parents of disabled children to take a martyr status. It's with a society that sympathizes with murderers and attempted murderers. Note how none of things are you being autistic or you being broken or wrong. You're not broken or wrong and you're not the problem. Never believe that you are the problem.
I want to take you away from all this and let you be somewhere that you'll be safe and where constantly triggering your fight or flight while making flight impossible (just taking a guess that your violence may be related to that) won't be a thing. I want you to be somewhere that accepts the person you are, not the child who never arrived, and where you won't be pushed to be the child who never arrived.
There may be people who say that they need to do horrible things to you because of the way you are. They're wrong.
You deserve to exist. You deserve people who care about you, really care, the kind of caring where they want you to have what you want even when it's different from what they think you should want. You are not broken. You are not a mistake. You are a person, with all that entails. Your life has value. You are not a burden. You are allowed to take up space. You deserve to exist. You deserve to live.

3 comments:

  1. Issy deserves love for exactly who she is. As a mother of an autistic daughter, I know in my heart that my daughter is the greatest blessing in my life and I am thankful for her every minute.

    ReplyDelete

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