Medium Support Needs - Blog Posts

Yes. Some autistic people can pay taxes, write poems, live an independent life, etc.

But some of us cant. Some of us, like me, cant live independently. Cant be without someone. Cant be a member of society without extreme accommodation and help.

I need help in everyday life. I have a caregiver for gods sake. I need help in everyday life and will never be independent. It’s frustrating to constantly get comments about how autistic people can live independently. Cause some of us cant, and that needs to be talked about. I get sores from not showering enough. I get sores from my wheelchair. I have cavities from not brushing my teeth enough.

Life with higher support needs shouldn’t be something that is ignored and not talked about. My caregiver helps me live life as independently as possible. Independence looks different for everyone. Our caregivers are an extension of ourselves. Our caregivers are important and should be recognized. Stop throwing us under the bus for your “salvation”

We are all at risk, and throwing higher support needs people under the bus will not benefit you. You’re ruining years of advocacy by your words and videos.

Am I the only one who feels bad or I guess guilty(?) calling myself a level 2 autistic/ an autistic person with medium support needs, even though I am at that level (I don’t know if that makes sense) according to my evaluator (I was initially diagnosed at 2, but was reevaluated at around (I believe) 17 )

Thanks for the reply!

We definitely think of it as better than the "functioning" label system (cause of what that system was originally for) but yeah every system has flaws.

So medium support needs seems to fit us.

As we don't have a job, and don't have a "caretaker". And we could go on but this is the main bits, lol. Basically, we have more support needs than a low support needs being and less support needs than a high support needs being.

- Shay 🐾

Can any being(s) explain exactly what each "level" of support needs mean? (High, medium, and low are the ones we have seen/heard)

Cause we literally aren't sure what we count under.

Like it almost seems like we are low-medium support needs or high-low support needs (like on the lower side of medium or higher side of low).

Does this make any sense?

- Shay 🐾

Can any being(s) explain exactly what each "level" of support needs mean? (High, medium, and low are the ones we have seen/heard)

Cause we literally aren't sure what we count under.

Like it almost seems like we are low-medium support needs or high-low support needs (like on the lower side of medium or higher side of low).

Does this make any sense?

- Shay 🐾

I love you level 1 autistics

I love you level 2 autistics

I love you level 3 autistics

I love you autistics who can talk verbally

I love you autistics you use AAC or other aids like sign language

I love you autistics with no professional diagnosis

I love you early diagnosed autistics

I love you late diagnosed autistics

I love you queer/trans autistics

I love you autistics who don't look autistic

I love you autistics who do look autistic

I love you autistics with co-morbid conditions (intellectual disabilities, ADHD, ARFID, etc.)

I love you autistics with 'scary' mental disorders (dissociative disorders, personality disorders, schizospec, etc)

I love you autistics with high empathy

I love you autistics with low empathy

I love you physically disabled autistics

I love you autistics! <3

Saw a post and it really got me thinking.

The post was talking about why don’t lower support needs, higher masking individuals even believe that higher support needs, low masking, “severely autistic” people, exist. And that got me really thinking. Because, I do think they know we exist. I just don’t think they want too.

I don’t think they want to know we exist. They know we exist, but keep us on the back burner. They live in ignorance bliss of us. I have what some people would think of as severe autism. Im nonverbal (although nonverbal later in life. But outside people don’t care about that. They see nonverbal as nonverbal), I’m intellectually disabled, need help in everyday life, etc. but I’m in the middle. I’m moderate support needs. To me, I’m not severely autistic. But to society, I am considered and seen as severely autistic because society doesn’t have the understanding of moderate autism yet. They don’t understand it. And I’ve seen more times than I can count that severe autism doesn’t exist. Not because they don’t believe in severe autism the label itself because it’s “harmful” but because they don’t believe that it’s just caused by autism. They often believe that’s it’s caused by comorbidities. Like ID, or cerebral palsy, or apraxia/dyspraxia, or mobility issues, or genetic conditions, and so on. Although none of this is bad.

They believe that autism itself can’t create severe autism. Which…isn’t true. Before, it was believed that severe autism was the only type of autism. That it was the only type that existed and if you weren’t severely autistic then you weren’t autistic. Then more research happened, then social media happened, and now..white, lower support needs, high masking, late diagnosed individuals are the majority of what’s being centered. And, that isn’t bad. We need awareness of all autism. But when one type of autism gets centered, it becomes a problem. It becomes the new norm. It becomes what everyone expects out of autism now. Which, isn’t true. Autism all of all types and traits exists. Autism of all support needs exists.

When people say severe autism doesn’t exist, they’re ignoring and saying that a BIG percentage of autistic people don’t exist. They’re saying that we aren’t real. That we aren’t on the internet, or in the communities they live in, or in their schools, or whatever. We’re everywhere. Severe autism is still a thing. It isn’t a misdiagnosis. It isn’t from comorbities, although if someone’s autism is more severe from comorbidities then that isn’t bad.

I think a lot of people need to be more aware of severe autism. And not just severe autism like me or my mutuals, or the people you see here on tumblr. But the ones with even MORE severe autism. The ones who live in group homes, residentials, institutions, and so on. The ones who aren’t on the internet. The ones who aren’t here blogging about their lives. We need to be aware of them too. We need to believe they exist, and believe that their autism is real.

Don’t erase severe or profound autism.