The Country of Autistic People
Imagine for a moment
A country for just autistic people,
NT and allistics citizens through marriage or birthright,
But still a place all to ourselves.
Imagine people being allowed to walk around freely at gatherings, meetings, and events,
No stimming repression or forced eye contact.
Imagine no alarms or bells that hurt our ears,
Bookstores, television shows, and movies all with accurate and positive representation of autistic characters.
Imagine less than ten percent autistic unemployment,
No one forcing you to wear the tags on clothing,
Your food sensitivities are respected everywhere you go,
No forcing you to socialize when you are so low on energy.
Imagine that “special interests” were not suppressed,
Where autistics do not have six times the national average suicide rate,
Domestic violence is not a disproportional issue,
No person wearing a puzzle piece, lighting blue lights, comparing having an autistic child to being a combat veteran.
Universities are packed with students using fidget spinners, chewy necklaces, etc.
No college professors spreading lies and disinformation about autistics,
Maybe the rate of autistics with epilepsy, social anxiety, depression, and PTSD is less than it is in the world we know,
Health care is what socially hegemonic neurotypicals have come to know.
Picture a world where it was not unusual for a child to go to an autistic in a divorce proceeding,
Therapy is not eight hours a day inside being taught to hate and repress yourself for external reward.
Picture a place like the on-line groups we know and love,
But offline, with houses, cafes, schools, hospitals, banks, post offices, and government buildings.
Maybe an observatory like the Space Needle, Fernsehturn Berlin, Oriental Pearl Tower,
Sovereign building like the White House or Buckingham Palace,
Business and communication centers like Sears and Willis Tower, the Empire State Building, the Hancock Center,
Bridges, theaters, architectural monuments.
Ok, not really a possibility.
Not a place where nothing ever goes wrong.
No injustice ever happening the way it does when society is mostly NTs.
But I would like to see all races, faiths, sexual orientations with business and government done in dozens and dozens of languages.
Maybe it is not a really possibility,
But sometimes, when times are tough, it is nice to have a place to escape to,
If only in your mind.
This is one of my favorite Autistics Speaking Day posts this year. Thanks for writing it.
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