melanie maree

Since learning I was autistic, I looked back over my life and could see so many times I was unable to speak. I thought this was situational mutism, maybe mixed in with a trauma response sometimes, but since learning about my system, I can see some of those times were parts fronting.

I recently wrote a blog post sharing my observations and personal feelings about being excluded from advocacy spaces within the ND community. What I didn’t realise is that I was doing that very thing within my own post.

I’ve noticed a pattern, a shift in the way the neurodivergent community advocates. The neurodiversity paradigm shift’s foundation is listening to lived experience. People sharing their lived experiences have been a powerful force for change, especially in the autistic community. We’ve seen an influx of late-identified autistic folks through the sharing of our lives with each other.