[Salty]

I think this is a thread that should be made by someone who is actually affected by the use of the word and not someone who is trying to speak over those people to express his own offense on their behalf. This thread wasn't made for the benefit of others, it's just virtue signaling.

(+as a retard, I think this shouldn't become a rule)

In 2002, I was diagnosed with Severe Autism Spectrum Disorder by the University of Vanderbilt. I had developed it at 23 months, which is during the developmental stage of the brain. My parents had me go through Applied Behavior Analysis after the doctors had told my parents that I would be unable to do anything on my own. I did not say a word until I was 4, and I had a speech impediment until I was 8. After doing ABA for years, I was told by Dr. Mary L. Michael (my Child Development Doctor) in 2012 that I had no traces of autism left. I cannot tell you of anything that happened before I was 5. For example, I had a moment the other day: when I heard Dancing Queen by ABBA on the Heardle, knew how the song's melody went, but I couldn't recall ever listening to it; turns out that was what my OT (occupational therapist) would have to play in order to make me do anything when I was 3.


For you to say that I'm not actually affected by use of the word invalidates the rigorous amount of harassment my brother, family and I all faced because of the fact he was diagnosed with ASD and the time that I had it, and to be completely honest, that infuriates me; however, I can understand why you might've thought that I was virtue signaling because I never explicitly told you any of this in private conversation, just that my brother did after that one discussion we had about whether or not ASD is categorized as a learning disability (In TN, it is up until 4th grade but it isn't recognized as a learning disability federally but rather only as a neurological disorder, as you and I both know). 


And before anyone tries telling me that you "cannot grow out of autism," you most certainly can. There is an established statement that autism is a permanent diagnosis; however, the article I have attached challenges this viewpoint by showing that children diagnosed with ASD that had lost it had the same developments as the typical children they used as a control group in the study. I would also say that I also am an example of that as well. My brother for the most part is also functional now; his problems stem more with behavioral and emotional control than intellect.

Here's the article: click here

I did not want to share this initially because that's obviously extremely personal, but I need you and anyone else to understand that I am not someone who is simply virtue signaling.

Ultimately, I know the word isn't going to be banned. People will still use it, and I probably will have a couple jokes thrown my way about this. That's fine; as I said numerous times, I will not be someone who screams at others for using the word. Perhaps I should have worded/suggested this thread differently; rather than to ban the word entirely, it probably would've been slightly more useful as a thread if I had said that I did not want to the word said around me. 


I say leave this open for maybe 2 more days, and if nobody says anything else, somebody can just lock it. I really don't have anything else I can say about this thread anymore; I explained why it's got cultural/racial significance and now I just unloaded my personal experience with the word because I cannot stand virtue signaling so I would rather take the opportunity to explain why I'm not doing that said thing than sit idly by. 


Once again, for those of you who gave meaningful and respectful input on this thread, I appreciate you. I may have not gotten the outcome I was hoping for but I feel better being able to express my thoughts on this. Thank you all for your time.