Dealing With Stigma,

Written by Albert Yu (Podcast Team) and re-posted by Avery King (Design Team)

-- One of the biggest problems for neurodiverse people is facing the stigma surrounding their condition/conditions. For example, autistic individuals are seen as nerdy and socially inept, and as somebody on the spectrum, I have had others stereotype me as such. These stereotypes can hurt, especially if they are untrue. In order to deal with these stereotypes, consider the following ideas.

1. Educate other people about your condition.

2. Ignore the stigma/ignore others who stigmatize you.

3. Think of your strengths rather than your weaknesses.

The first method stated here is to educate others about your condition. Stigma stems from misunderstanding, meaning that correcting any misunderstandings about one’s condition/conditions will correct the associated stigma. In order to educate others, do not be afraid to disclose your condition to others. This allows other people to understand the reason behind your differences, which will help greatly with correcting misunderstandings.

The second method, which I consider the most obvious method at avoiding stigma, is to simply ignore the stigma that society casts on you. If you ignore the stereotypes that other individuals apply to you, these stereotypes will not hurt you. If others bully you verbally, ignore them, as their insults will not hurt you if you do not take their words seriously. Simply put, don’t give them any of your energy, and the stigma/bullying will stop.

Lastly, think of your strengths rather than your condition, and do not let the labels society attaches to you define you. Rather than looking at yourself through the medical or social model, use the strengths-based model. For example, society might see autism as a condition where individuals are socially inept or awkward, obsessed over a certain topic, and unemotional. However, what they don’t see is that people with autism are more logical, have better memory, and have specialist knowledge in certain fields. If you see yourself through this second lens, you will feel better about yourself.