As someone who was diagnosed with autism at a very young age, I’ve learned to love myself for who I am.
When I was little, I was afraid of telling kids my age that I was autistic. I was worried that I was going to be judged and excluded from games and activities. I was mainly afraid of being seen as “different.”
But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that being autistic is truly an amazing thing. Being autistic is part of my identity. It’s never going to go away, and that is fine by me.
Being autistic, I had to fight and overcome a lot and find out who I wanted to be and what mark I wanted to make on this world. Now, as a young adult, I know exactly what I want to be. I want to be an English teacher, a published author, a good brother, a good son, a good friend and an inspiration to others.
I am so proud to share who I’ve become. Knowing who I want to be and what I want to do as an autistic individual is something I’m very happy to express. Autism is my gift that I get to share with everyone I know. All autistic children and adults should take the opportunities to understand the gift they have and use it to achieve remarkable things.
Just because I’m autistic doesn’t mean that I should be seen as different. It means that I should be seen as human. Autistic people can express their gifts to the world by showing how their disability doesn’t make them less superior, but unique and special.
As of recent, I have come to the displeasure of hearing that Tylenol is supposedly the cause of autism. And it wasn’t pleasant to hear that those claims were stated because I find it so confusing as to why this specific medication and this specific disability are claimed to be linked at this specific time.
In all honesty, I am disgusted by this claim. One of the reasons is that there’s a lack of science and evidence to back this up. That makes it feel like this claim is false information. Now, there could be science to back this up in the future, but since that is still unknown, it’s hard to believe whether that will eventually become true or not.
When I hear that Tylenol is what causes autism, it makes me think that autistic people like me are viewed as diseased and inferior, but I know damn well that we are not. Autism is not a disease that can be cured; it’s another way of being human.
I don’t want this claim or this misinformation to cause autistic people to question their purpose. I worry that this claim will fuel emotions and cause autistic people to fear what caused their disability. Furthermore, I worry that it’ll cause harm to how they view themselves.
With that being said, I want to encourage every autistic person to love and accept themselves no matter what. Claims and information about us can either be true or false, but we don’t have to let them define us if we view them as harmful. It’s up to us how we want to present ourselves and share our gifts with the world. I hope this message helps another autistic person, as it has helped me find my purpose.
A drug or a medication does not define autistic people. The gifts that we can share with the world and the things that we can do, achieve and accomplish. That is what defines us.