"I am hated"

Do the teachers really think that saying "no, people don't hate autism" will make it that way when a child is aware enough of the world to make such a statement? Or is it that they simply have the ability to deny the fear and hatred pointed towards us -the people they choose to work with.

Do they think that sheltering people from the horrors of reality is more important than letting people learn how to face what will inevitably haunt them? Or do they pretend those horrors aren't there, refusing to learn the experiences of those they teach?

Where can hatred be hidden, such that even those who spend a large portion of their lives with us, cannot see it? How can it be that people are unable to see, refusal of who we are, telling us how hurtful we are, telling us how we are not worth anything?

And yet they do it. Those who want to help, don't see us either, they don't see our pain, deny our experiences, and apply therapies without thinking of whether or not they will hurt more than they help.

Are they aware of what happens to us? They have to not be, but how can they not? Where are our voices, being drowned out in the crowds? And why does it take our voices screaming out for someone to stop and listen?

If a child says "people like me are hated" I would think you would listen, but we're downgraded, not taken as authorities on ourselves. And sometimes it feels like being a professional is what makes me listened to, not being an autistic adult.

Still, I'll take it if its what I get. And I'll explain, no, there is hatred. And explain that it is because of false assumptions, misinformation, and lack of knowledge. If people stop and hear my words? Then their hatred reduces, their fear reduces.

So, do not deny my reality, or his reality. Do not teach that the world is a safe place when it is not. And at the same time know, that people will learn, they just need to be taught, because what is out there about us now is toxic.