nerdypagan:

makomoonpool:

ellen-is-on-oestrogen:

Image description: screenshot of a Tweet saying -

“High functioning” is used to deny support.

“Low functioning” is used to deny agency.

Wait, what?
Is that to poke fun at autism??? 😶

No, I think it’s meant to express frustration at the fact that people with autism and other disabilities who are more independent or higher functioning have a much harder time getting services. For example, my partner who has Aspergers was told that she had to pay hundreds of dollars for career training and placement assistance out of pocket, and they would only place her in minimum wage jobs.

However, if someone is considered “low functioning” they have a lot more options for support and services, but a lot more people making decisions for them. People justify ignoring the preferences and opinions of lower functioning individuals because they figure they don’t know well enough to make decisions from themselves. Despite having specific human rights protected by law, I’ve seen everything from staff ignoring a resident’s sexual preference (”he’s just confused because he’s always lived with men and that’s who he feel’s comfortable with. He’s not really gay”) to individuals not being allowed to chose how to spend their own money (”he wants to buy that candy bar but really he weighs too much so I’m just not going to let him”). I’ve had people freak out when they hear that I took two 25 year old men from the group home where I work to see Deadpool because they thought they were too ‘low functioning” despite the fact that by law they have the right to age appropriate media and the movie was their choice. I’ve seen staff tell grown men that they can’t get up from the table until they ate their vegetables.

So no, not a joke. Just an expression of the sucky double edged sword people with disabilities have to deal with. People either assume you’re too healthy/smart/independent to need help and don’t tailor assistance to people whose disabilities are harder to notice, or they assume you are a perpetual child who isn’t allowed to make decisions for yourself and whose opinion doesn’t mater because you don’t know any better.