autism acceptance

People who feel like #Autism is being romanticized have a very small window of what being #Autistic actually is! Some have ‘different’ experiences just because you feel it’s ‘better’ & unrealistic you really need to understand what a spectrum is! #AutismAcceptance

How Do You Say "Lost" in Every Language?

I speak four languages fluently. Spanish, Guarani, Portuguese, and English. In college, I took a semester of French and wandered through Paris, piecing together phrases from my lessons, testing the limits of my tongue. But fluency is a fickle thing—it’s not just about words, but about being understood. And if that’s the case, have I ever truly been fluent in anything?

I was born in Paraguay, a country where Guarani became an official language in 1992. By then, I was already 8 years old, but my journey with Guarani had started long before. Long before it was accepted. Long before it was allowed.

My mother forbade me from speaking it. She wanted my Spanish to be perfect, untarnished. Guarani, to her, was a limitation. To me, it was a door. One that led to friendship, to belonging, to a world just beyond my reach.

So, I learned it in secret. A tiny act of rebellion, a desperate grasp at connection. I don’t even remember how I found a Guarani dictionary, but I did. And I poured over it, memorizing the words like they were spells, hoping they would conjure a place for me among my peers.

But language does not guarantee belonging.

I learned Guarani because I wanted friends.

And I still had none.

I was the weird one—too much, too intense, too hyperactive, too… wrong. I wouldn’t understand why until decades later, when at 29, I was diagnosed with ADHD. And now, at 41, I am certain that I sit somewhere on the autism spectrum too. But back then, I had no labels. Just rejection.

So, I turned inward. If no one would speak to me, I would listen.

That’s how I learned Portuguese—not in conversation, not in friendship, but in isolation. My bedroom became my sanctuary, my television my companion. I grew up on the border of Brazil, where six different Brazilian channels played for free, their voices filling the silence where friendships should have been.

I absorbed Portuguese like a sponge, the way I had with Guarani. But this time, not out of rebellion, not out of hope, but out of loneliness.

Guarani was the language I learned because I longed for friendship.

Portuguese was the language I learned because I had none.

At 16, I left Paraguay. The United States swallowed me whole, and suddenly, English wasn’t a choice—it was a lifeline. I learned it the way one learns to swim after being thrown into the ocean: desperately, without grace, without a moment to think.

And yet, no matter how many languages I carried in my mouth, I still found myself misunderstood.

Fluency is not the same as connection.

I could translate words, conjugate verbs, construct perfect sentences. But the rhythm of human interaction, the invisible rules of friendship, the art of simply belonging—those things never came easily to me.

Instead, I became hyper-focused on romantic relationships, believing that love could fill the spaces friendship never did. But even there, I faltered. I was present, but never fully invested. I loved, but never stayed. No relationship lasted beyond two years. The pattern repeated itself in jobs, homes, entire cities. I was always moving. Searching.

And then, there’s the greatest irony of all—I speak multiple languages, yet I struggle to communicate.

Not because I lack the words. I have too many words. But I never learned the ones that matter most—the ones that make people stay, the ones that make them understand me, the ones that turn conversation into connection.

How do you say “lost” in every language?

Because that’s the word I know best.

#MyStoryMatters #sharingmytruth #breakingthesilence #unspokenwords #writingtoheal #neurodivergentvoices #adhdawareness #AutismAcceptance #invisiblestruggles #mentalhealthmatters #EndTheStigma #lostintranslation #languageandloneliness #youarenotalone #healingthroughwords #Findingmyvoice #fromsilencetostrength #writingthroughpain #multilingualmisfit #fluentbutmisunderstood #thepowerofwords

People get very uncomfortable when I speak of being BLACK & #autistic well, you don’t grow in comfort so the uncomfortable Convos are needed! One thing about me when it comes to being a Black autistic woman ima run my mouth I might stutter here & there but you will get my point 😆🖤♾️ #actuallyautistic #AutismAwareness #AutismAcceptance #neurodivergent

Visit my linktree 💖🌸🫶🏽♾️ #Autism #Autistic #ASD #AutismAcceptance linktr.ee/Phenomenallyautistic

There's nothing wrong with being autistic,
There's a lot wrong with making people feel there is… it’s wrong on so many levels it’s unfair to those of us who are #actuallyautistic we already battle daily with ourselves & the challenges that come with our #neurodivergent minds in this neurotypical world 🌍 we don’t need unfair stigmas reinforced by the ignorance of those who most of the time know nothing about autism besides the name 🙃 it’s unfair to those who may have been open to learn but then became hesitant because of misinformation from society who hates us for prejudices sometimes they don’t even know! Autistic people have always been here, autistic people will always be here & we don’t need to be fixed 😊💜🫶🏽✨🌸#AutismSpectrumDisorder #AutismSpectrum #AutismAcceptance

I could visually be upset or look like I’m in the best mood in the world sometimes, sometimes you can just know let me stay tf away from her 😂 sometimes I may look approachable 🥴 but you wouldn’t know by my smile or approachable spirit that I’m having a meltdown, probably caused by something small probably caused by nothing at all, it happens 😭 just like every single autistic person is different every single #Autistic persons #meltdowns are different 🫶🏽 don’t stare there’s nothing to see here ♾️ #Autistic #ASD #AutismSpectrum #AutismAcceptance

Today may be the last day of autism acceptance month but when I wake up tmrw I’m still going to be autistic we don’t go away with the month of April! Please practice kindness & acceptance & don’t judge ppl for the way they were born 🤍✨#AutismAcceptanceMonth #AutismAcceptance #autistic #imwhatautismlookslike #autismadvocate #actuallyautistic #neurodivergent #neurodiversity #practicekindness #bekind #nevergiveup

🦋Non Speaking does not mean no communication🦋 👌🏽 I chose to write about non speaking episodes in my children’s book ‘I’m Autistic & I’m Phenomenal’ because there’s a misunderstanding that a person who is non speaking is non verbal, has no way to communicate when in reality there are many ways, drawing ✍🏽, writing things down ✍🏽, texting 💬, sign language 🤟🏽& there are many many AAC apps for adults and also kid friendly ones, AAC apps are augmentative/alternative communication programs that allow a person to communicate with those around them without speaking 🙏🏽 it’s important for these things to be normalized & not only familar to #Autistic children their families & other non speaking people ❤️❤️❤️

🦋Listen to us, open your hearts, know that we have feelings and while our brains were not wired to thrive in this world, we are here and trying our best to navigate it.
With kindness and understanding, just leave a little space for us.
While we are different, we do still have a lot in common. Take the time and get to know autistic people . Never judge people by their diagnoses. Get to know the person then judge their character!🦋

April 2024