I think in colors

• My colors have sound and movement
• I hear spoken words and my brain finds a picture match
• People with Autism are visual thinkers
• We do not know that others do not think in pictures
• My brain cannot always quickly translate words to pictures

I am often described

I am in the same world as others around me

• They just cannot always see my world
• Our experience of the world is different
• I can hear and see in a much more robust way

If we used an autistic's experience as the norm

We measure according to

• What most people perceive and label as normal
• Any experience that does not fall into this range
• Is labeled abnormal
• People with this abnormal experience are said to be 
• LACKING

We measure according to

• What most people perceive and label as normal
• Any experience that does not fall into this range
• Is labeled abnormal
• People with this abnormal experience are said to be 
• LACKING

Deficit based language

Why do we use deficit language

Landing outside the norm does not equate to mean less than as a human being

Many individuals with autism

The behavioral patterns of trying to catch the sun sparkles and tails helped organize the world around me.

Accommodations

• Autistics are required to make accmomodations daily
• The world is not set up in a neurologically friendly way
• It takes us longer to take in information
• This processing delay is a huge disadvantage for us
• I am expected to accommodate for myself 

In our fast paced world I am expected to act appropriately as "neurotypicals" act.

The sheer amount of accommodations we are required to make each day is incredibly higher than "neurotypicals".

Apples to oranges

• You are know as a good person 
• You make accommodations for me
• Whereas I am a bad person
• When I fail at accommodating for my own differences

Autism is not "less than"

• We  have a diagnosis, not a flawed humanity
• We  have a different way of thinking
• We have a different operating system
• We have a different way of experiencing the world
• We struggle just to fit into your world

Turning over

Inflexible thinking

•  I need to turn a thought over
• Make room in my head and thoughts
• So that I can consider an alternative
• Visual thinkers need a visual way to change their thinking
• Or a visual way to start and stop thinking about things

A word from Judy Endow

• Know you do not walk alone
• Many have traveled down your same road
• My experience for all today is to
• Please see the beauty in the heart of my Autism
• An be encouraged; Is my wish for you

Excerpts from:
Painted Words:
Aspects of Autism Translated
By Judy Endow