Have you ever seen a child or adult with autism stand at the door with their bags packed even though it might be hours or days before the trip is happening?

Here is how that translates into adulthood with AuDHD. My logical brain knows that we are moving in the middle of July. However, my emotional brain kicks in combined with executive functioning differences. So, I have nights like tonight where I am struggling to get to sleep because I am ready to pack my bags and boxes and put them by the front door, so everyone knows I am ready to move. It’s hilarious and sad at the same time because trauma plays into this a lot, but the humor comes from how silly it can seem from the outside.

My brain is ready to close one chapter and start another. While my logical brain says ok slow down, we have to plan and do tasks to get there. My emotional brain says this situation has been traumatic and I want to leave it behind.

When I was a kid and I was excited about someone coming to visit, I would stand with my face against the glass waiting for them to turn around the corner into the cul-de-sac I lived in, and if the plan changed, I was devastated, and my day was ruined.

Some of our “behaviors” can seem strange or concerning to people because they don’t understand the reason for it, but that can lead to a lot of stigma. If you are human, you have “behaviors”. That is normal. When you have a disability these “behaviors” suddenly get labeled as difficult or unusual. When humans have “behaviors” they are communicating a need that isn’t being met. For people who don’t use words to communicate this becomes dangerous. If you would like to see how dangerous, I encourage you to watch the documentary “This is Not about Me” by Jordyn Zimmerman.

We need to remember that if it harms nobody then let people be- stop judging and worry about your own life. If you have time for judgment, then you need to get a life or use that time productively.

Final thoughts- I have been thinking about the 10 Principles of Disability Justice today and how important they are now more than ever. Really it should just be a guide on how to be the best human possible. Here they are from the Sins Invalid website:

1. INTERSECTIONALITY “We do not live single issue lives” –Audre Lorde. Ableism, coupled with white supremacy, supported by capitalism, underscored by heteropatriarchy, has rendered the vast majority of the world “invalid.”
2. LEADERSHIP OF THOSE MOST IMPACTED “We are led by those who most know these systems.” –Aurora Levins Morales
3. ANTI-CAPITALIST POLITIC In an economy that sees land and humans as components of profit, we are anti-capitalist by the nature of having non-conforming body/minds.
4. COMMITMENT TO CROSS-MOVEMENT ORGANIZING Shifting how social justice movements understand disability and contextualize ableism, disability justice lends itself to politics of alliance.
5. RECOGNIZING WHOLENESS People have inherent worth outside of commodity relations and capitalist notions of productivity. Each person is full of history and life experience.
6. SUSTAINABILITY We pace ourselves, individually and collectively, to be sustained long term. Our embodied experiences guide us toward ongoing justice and liberation.
7. COMMITMENT TO CROSS-DISABILITY SOLIDARITY We honor the insights and participation of all of our community members, knowing that isolation undermines collective liberation.
8. INTERDEPENDENCE We meet each others’ needs as we build toward liberation, knowing that state solutions inevitably extend into further control over lives.
9. COLLECTIVE ACCESS As brown, black and queer-bodied disabled people we bring flexibility and creative nuance that go beyond able-bodied/minded normativity, to be in community with each other.
10. COLLECTIVE LIBERATION No body or mind can be left behind – only moving together can we accomplish the revolution we require.

My personal thoughts on anti-capitalism are that it’s based on how capitalism has and continues to work in the US. It’s important to note that we don’t practice true capitalism in the US. That is a bigger and different conversation, but I agree with the anti-capitalist sentiment in relation to the social model of disability and the disability justice movement. My good friend reminded me of this today, in fact.

Regardless of any of this- human rights matter and we need to work together to achieve equity. Equity harms nobody! Nothing About Us Without Us 🫶