I’m full time wheelchair user though I can stand and walk a few feet but realistically if I can’t use my chair I ain’t going. I’m also AuDHD Level 1 / Primarily Inattentive.

I find it so much more difficult to get accommodations, help, or acceptance of my autism because people can’t see it. They don’t realize when I’m struggling if I don’t just up and leave or have a meltdown. I have held high paying jobs. I drive a car. I am verbal so people don’t believe that I’m autistic. Example: my roommate got her first taste of my struggles five years ago when I started screaming and crying and hitting myself because my laundry wasn’t done the right way. I was in my late 40s at the time.

My wheelchair is there for everyone to see. They cannot deny its existence. They might think I’m faking or just lazy, but they can’t ignore my chair. They can look at the steps leading up into a building and then look at my chair. They understand it’s a place I cannot go. They expect me to ask about accessibility for every place we go. They can see why.

But they cannot see my autism. Despite explaining sensory processing disorder and sensory overload, they still don’t understand why I don’t want to go to concerts, movie theaters with their blasting sounds. Or why it is physically painful to watch tv with flashing lights or fast jump cuts. They can only see my explosions. Or rigidity of actions and thought. And most times they see it because I didn’t get the support or accommodations I need.