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Showing posts from July, 2017

The Forgotten End of Autism

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I spent last night in my room in peace. I went to bed around 11, watching a TV show and enjoying the silence of my house. My brother wasn't home for the first time in a while, and we were able to relax for a few hours. The night before, I went to bed at 11, frustrated as I'd just had an argument with my mum. We were both exhausted as, for the fifth time that day, we'd dealt with my 17-year-old brother having a meltdown over - I kid you not - the Teletubbies. There is no physical way to explain to someone who hasn't experienced autism what the emotional labour is like on a family. It challenges one beyond what they think they can cope with, because it forces us to take a look at life's fundamental question: what   is   the point? The issue I broach is one that is rarely expressed in mainstream media and politics - that autism is not and never has been one uniform block of distinction. The actuality is this: autistic people are no mor