by Rebecca Cavender | acceptance & inclusion, autism & girls, autism writings, debunking myths, essays, no cure, no prevention
We don’t need to cure autism. Autism and those of us who are autistic don’t need to be pathologized. I don’t need or want my autism cured. I don’t need or want my daughter’s autism cured. What the autistic community wants and needs is acceptance....
by Rebecca Cavender | acceptance & inclusion, autism & girls, autism writings, debunking myths, essays, no cure, no prevention
A hallmark of autism is extreme sensitivity that can be expressed in ways that don’t appear socially “acceptable” or typical. This tends to be through movement, silence, or sound. We may become agitated or overwhelmed/overstimulated and begin moving or...
by Rebecca Cavender | acceptance & inclusion, autism & girls, autism writings, debunking myths, essays |
An autism specialist and I were talking about the prevalent idea that if you love someone who is autistic (especially if you’re a parent of an autistic), then you’ve earned some kind of award. You’re a superhero. You’re a super-person. There are...
by Rebecca Cavender | acceptance & inclusion, autism & girls, autism writings, debunking myths, essays, no cure, no prevention
Here’s the thing with autism and those of us who are autistic or have autistic kids: We’re taught (or forced to) “normalize” our experiences and bend to fit into a “neurotypical” society … a society which does not, mostly, have acceptance or compassion for...
by Rebecca Cavender | acceptance & inclusion, autism & girls, autism writings, changing life, changing stories, debunking myths, essays, healing, intuition, no cure, no prevention, self esteem, self-love, soul, soul essence |
I’ve always known I’m different. As a young girl, I sought refuge in the forest, talking to trees, creeks, fairies. I lived within a rich world, teeming with imagination so tangible, I could touch it. Taste it. Feel it. Like magic, stories flowed out my fingers into...
