Member-only story
“I wish they could understand — Autism isn’t what you think.”
An excerpt from Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity.
When Crystal was young, she exhibited many behaviors psychologists today would recognize as traditionally Autistic: she lined up toys in rows instead of playing pretend with them, chewed on her blanket while staring at the wall, and had trouble understanding in-jokes and teasing. But she didn’t “look Autistic enough” to get easily diagnosed in the 1990s, when she was growing up.
“My mom actually thought I should get assessed,” she says. “But my grandpa shut it down. He was all, no, no way, Crystal’s such a good girl! There’s nothing wrong with her. Don’t even think about stuff like that.”
Crystal’s grandfather probably figured he was protecting her from getting stuck with a label that would bring a lifetime of abuse. He certainly isn’t alone in that. Label avoidance (taking steps to evade diagnosis) is a very common consequence of disability and mental health stigma. Publicly identifying as disabled does mean being viewed as less competent — and less human — by many people. As damaging and self-defeating as it can be to camouflage one’s disability status, it is by no means an irrational act. It’s a rational reflection of the prejudices disabled people face…
