I will probably delete this tomorrow because I'm thinking about posting it to Medium even though it's not Medium quality. I have other stories up there that aren't great. So whatever. The rule is that something on Medium can't be posted elsewhere.
I'm meeting with my disability mentor. And I was told to write about any topic I wanted to advocate for.
I care about so many things. I was going to write about private prisons. But should prisons exist at all? And there is so much wrong with the "justice system." I don't think private prisons should exist, but I'm not passionate about that.
My second choice was universal healthcare. It's so obvious that healthcare is a right. I can't even write about it. Because making people pay not to die is dumb. I don't want to talk to people who believe otherwise. Sorry. Not sorry.
And then, I mentioned autistic adults and ADHD. I don't know anything about autistic kids and kids with ADHD (except the signs). So I will probably never talk about that population. I know plenty of advocates who specialize in talking about kids. That's one reason why I want to advocate for adults. I don't know as many advocates who only talk about autistic adults or adults with ADHD. I know more advocates in the latter category.
I hate the word "professional," but this is me trying to sound slightly professional. This isn't how I talk or write about things I care about in real life. What I mean is that I wrote these three paragraphs in less than 10 minutes. If it sounds stiff, that's why.
All therapists should be knowledgeable about autism, even though autism is not a mental illness. There are not enough resources for adults with autism; even if there are, the person's health insurance may not pay for specialized care. If every therapist could spot autism in people and help the person, the person would have more of a chance of getting help.
I had therapy from a few therapists who knew nothing about autism, which caused damage. I believe if a therapist isn't helping, they are hurting. Many teens and adults with autistic disorder may not even be aware they are on the spectrum. If the therapist tries to help, they may be given harmful advice. I know this from personal experience.
Having autism in a neurotypical world is extremely difficult. So the person may
experience depression, anxiety, and trauma. Autism isn't always the problem. It's the way people react to autistics.
I can expand on this but not this weekend. I planned my weekend this morning and have no time for new projects. If my memoir is mostly about autism, I will mention this topic in my book. And I'm still debating about posting this to Medium. It's not great, but I rarely post there. So why not just post something random? Who cares if it's not great? It's my account.
P.S.
I'm new to this and don't have the lingo down. If you want to correct any wording, you can. I don't mind people saying I have autism. I always say it, so it's hard not to say it when writing. I don't know why it's offensive, but I will work on never saying it in public.
P.P.S.
I didn't do any NaNoWriMo writing yesterday, so that's why there's no post. Gotta go. I have a meeting in 15 minutes.