These hashtags should not be seen as harmful to the NHS. Instead, they should be seen as an opportunity to listen to patients, listen to disability activists, and instigate reform that could change the NHS for the better.
ableism
I Would Have Taken A Cure – Which Is Why We Must Stop Looking For One
I shudder at the thought of it being an option to other vulnerable young autistic people, never giving them the chance they deserve to come through it and learn a sense of pride in who they are.
Autism Awareness vs Autism Acceptance
'Autism Awareness' has been created without autistic people, and even though the door is being nudged open to let us in, we're still stuck at the back of the room whilst the rich powerful neurotypical people hog the stage
What’s the Key to Autistic and Neurotypical Cooperation? Consent.
Cooperation between autistic and neurotypical people is important. But we must be vigilant against the attitude that autistic people are obligated to educate.
‘The Paralympics Paradox’ – how it hurts disabled people
In an age where cuts to support are justified by shifting the goalposts of 'need' , the Paralympics are held up as an example of what all disabled people 'could' achieve with a little bit of spunk and a can-do attitude.
The Scapegoating of Neurodivergence
Mainstream political concern about mental illness, neurodivergence and the relevant support systems exists only as a cover for calling out white male violence.
Imposter Syndrome: Am I Autistic Enough?
I feel like an imposter in my own neurotype. And, in a room full of people I know I belong with, I find myself thinking: but what if I don't?
Forced Socialisation (and the toilet-door graffiti that saved me from it)
But why, oh why, was I locked in a toilet doing my 'calming down' checklist in the middle of the afternoon? Two words: forced socialisation.
Please Don’t Hit Your Kids
I'm 26 now, and I still smack myself in the legs when the world gets too much. Do you really want to take that risk?
Autistic Adventures In Ageing (an obligatory birthday blog)
Seeing Norbert Neurotypical - with his banking job and his wife and his baby and his mortgage and his vegetable couscous lunch - just makes me feel like a fraud playing at being an adult .