19/04/2025
Excerpt from my new article on :
“Public reaction to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s statements about autism has been overwhelmingly critical, with widespread condemnation from health experts, advocacy groups, and even members of his own family. Leading medical professionals and organizations have strongly denounced Kennedy’s remarks, and The Autism Society of America expressed concern that Kennedy’s false claims about vaccines causing autism divert financial resources from much-needed research and fuel stigma, implying that autism is something to be feared rather than understood and supported.
As a clinical psychologist focused on neurodiversity-affirming care, my heart ached alongside my clients’ tears as they described the impact of the public statements that “autism destroys families” and claimed it to be a “preventable disease.” Working with children, teens, and adults with autism and other neurodivergent profiles, I have become acutely aware of the strengths and unique abilities they possess. Anyone who thinks autism is a tragedy, clearly has not seen the amazingly creative, passionate, authentic, joyful, innovative, and determined ways that many autistic people live their lives. I have seen time after time that environmental and institutional factors cause more distress for autistic individuals than do their innate differences.
I have witnessed the relief, self-compassion, and shift from shame to self-love that late-life diagnosed autistic people experience when they start to view the world, not themselves, as the broken component. I have also seen how alcohol or other intoxicants can become masking tools for neurodivergent people as they attempt to blend in and navigate a world that isn’t sensitive to their experience.”
👀 READ MORE at:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/addiction-and-relationships/202408/alcohol-as-a-masking-tool-for-autistic-people
