What helped me most
Re-posted from Wrong Planet, in answer to the question: "What helped you most in terms of autism therapy?"
What helped me most was, ironically, deciding to stop being normal.
Let me explain. Often times, when they treat autism, they try to make you "indistinguishable from your typical peers". (They use that phrase all the time.) The problem is that if you're autistic, your brain works differently from your peers' brains, and you literally weren't made to do things the way they do them. So, as a result, you have to work with your different brain the way it was made to work rather than assuming the best way to go about learning things is to mimic the typical folks. Often times, people will assume that the autistic brain is a damaged version of the typical one; but it's not--it's a healthy autistic brain. It's wired differently.
Okay, so what does that mean, practically? It means learning how you learn, how you do things best. It means stopping the recordings that are likely in your head of people who have said you need to "try harder", "stop being lazy", "grow up", or "stop being rude". It means taking the world on your own terms, learning to truly communicate rather than just faking what the NTs do when they communicate. It means, often times, being willing to be embarrassed at least occasionally when you mess up. It means accepting that sometimes you need help from someone else, or you need to do things differently, or you need outside reminders or aids like schedules, a planner, or even a communication device or "I'm autistic, here's what to expect" card for those non-verbal moments.
Bottom line: Don't let your learning be limited to "faking NT". Instead, pursue true competence in skills that will help you do the things you want to be able to do.
What helped me most was, ironically, deciding to stop being normal.
Let me explain. Often times, when they treat autism, they try to make you "indistinguishable from your typical peers". (They use that phrase all the time.) The problem is that if you're autistic, your brain works differently from your peers' brains, and you literally weren't made to do things the way they do them. So, as a result, you have to work with your different brain the way it was made to work rather than assuming the best way to go about learning things is to mimic the typical folks. Often times, people will assume that the autistic brain is a damaged version of the typical one; but it's not--it's a healthy autistic brain. It's wired differently.
Okay, so what does that mean, practically? It means learning how you learn, how you do things best. It means stopping the recordings that are likely in your head of people who have said you need to "try harder", "stop being lazy", "grow up", or "stop being rude". It means taking the world on your own terms, learning to truly communicate rather than just faking what the NTs do when they communicate. It means, often times, being willing to be embarrassed at least occasionally when you mess up. It means accepting that sometimes you need help from someone else, or you need to do things differently, or you need outside reminders or aids like schedules, a planner, or even a communication device or "I'm autistic, here's what to expect" card for those non-verbal moments.
Bottom line: Don't let your learning be limited to "faking NT". Instead, pursue true competence in skills that will help you do the things you want to be able to do.