scan me When I Was Ignored for Being Autistic Chronicles of a Quiet Fighter Today at work, I had a moment that left me both hurt and seen. An older man came in trying to return a brake hose. The part was right, but he had installed it on the wrong side of his car. When he explained it, it didn’t make sense to me—his words got jumbled, and I told him plainly: “I’m autistic, and you’re confusing me.” Instead of slowing down or respecting that, he turned his attention to my coworker John. He even said, “He said he’s autistic, maybe you can help me,” like I wasn’t standing right there anymore. Then he added that he had a granddaughter who is autistic. That stung even more. I thought, I hope he treats her better than he treated me. In that moment, I started to feel myself nearing shutdown. What bothers me is not knowing exactly what signs I was giving off that made it obvious. John later told me he noticed it happening—that’s why he hung up on his own cus...

The Shield at Spencer’s: When the R-Word Hit Me in the Mall Date: July 29, 2025 Tags: Ableism, Trauma, Autistic Life, Real Stories, Survival, Gratitude Trigger Warning: This post contains references to ableist slurs, bullying, and emotional trauma. Please take care while reading. I was just trying to do what my therapist encouraged me to do—broaden my world. Go out, exist, maybe even feel a little bit normal in public. So I went to the mall, just me and my headphones, and my Nee Doh squish in hand. Nothing dramatic. Just existing in a place that has always been a sensory minefield for me. And then it happened. A group of guys walked up behind me, and one of them used that word . The R-word. The same word I was called as a kid. The word that haunted me all through school. The one that shattered my self-esteem, made me feel like a monster, made me question if I was even human. Logically, I know it’s “just a word.” But emotionally? It rips me to pieces every si...