#TechnicallyAutistic: Dispatches from the Periphery
A mini-memoir about words, meanings, and the dillema of diagnosis.
Let’s face it: our mental health system cares more about how people behave than what they’re feeling on the inside. That’s why thousands of women are finding out just now they are autistic after years of being written off because they don’t line up trains or whatever.
But did you know that there is another side to it?
Well, now you do.
My name is Asaka and I was also diagnosed with autism. I like to say that I’m “diagnosed-by-default.” The diagnosis was documented on paper by the time I was 9, and since then, multiple doctors have signed off on it. Most people that I meet today assume that I’m autistic before I even say anything.
But this label offered barely any insight into how I think, perceive, and make sense of the world, and instead left me feeling like an outsider amongst outsiders. I’ve been closely following the conversations taking shape in autism communities for years, and I still don’t know what the solution would be.
These are the montages that play in my head when I say, “It’s complicated.” These are the stories that drive my worst insecurities and proudest moments. These are the reasons I write: