You Can't Spell Dickens Without Dick
Read now (1 min) | Cross-neurotype friendships aren't fairy tales
December 20, 2022
Hans Christian Andersen got a seriously bad rap from Charles Dickens, who suffered from a bad case of lack of empathy when it came to HCA, who was almost certainly autistic.Â
As you may know, many neurotypical people struggle terribly with empathy when it comes to autistic people because of their in ability to master social communication with an autistic person.
In couple's counseling, this is called Cassandra's Syndrome.
In autistic lives, this is called scapegoating.
Dickens was pulling some TOTAL #metoo-esque bullshit in his life. Instead of owning up to his decisions, Dickens used HCA's Autistic traits to cover up his own very bad behavior.
Here's the real story of an allistic/autistic cross-cultural friendship that went seriously wrong as so many do because of the double-empathy problem.
If you have a friend with a different neurotype, you do not want to miss this episode. I think it's our best yet: Episode 09: Fairy Tales are AutisticÂ
Have you been ‘framed’ in a cross-neurotype relationship? Did someone demonize your Autistic traits to save their own reputation? Tell me about it in the comments!
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*Background note: Most people only have a vague (often, highly stereotyped) version of autism in their minds and believe that autistic children need (traumatic) ABA therapy to "overcome" their disability and appear "normal."  After receiving an autism diagnosis in her thirties, Dr. Angela Lauria realized that she too had been mostly unaware of what it means to be Autistic.  Like so many people, she started her journey by first gathering information and resources from the omnipresent (and problematic) Autism Speaks, but eventually moved away from the 'autism community' in favor of the 'Autistic community,' where she found kinship with other Autistic individuals and learned to let go of pathologizing language like 'autism spectrum disorder' and 'Asperger's Syndrome.' This autism blog (and her autism podcast, "The Autistic Culture Podcast") is meant to share her lived-experience insights to support others on a similar journey of diagnosis, understanding, and community. Embrace Autism--differences are not deficits.