If you’ve been scrolling through Facebook, Instagram and TikTok lately, you may have come across content tagged with #ActuallyAutistic or #Autistictiktok. These hashtags highlight content created by autistic people and their families, who are sharing their experiences online.
As they all point out, autism is a spectrum condition. This means you can be slightly, moderately or severely affected, and in a variety of different ways.
Some people may be non-verbal and need daily support to communicate. Others may cope well with daily life, but find too much noise, lights or change unbearably stressful. Even two autistic people in the same family can have very different experiences. Because autism is a spectrum disorder, the community is much larger than you may think. You probably know one or two people on the autism spectrum yourself — but don’t realise it.
Take climate activist Greta Thunberg, who is famous for her work publicising the climate crisis. She calls her diagnosis of autism her “superpower.” because it helps her focus. She says, “Autism can be something that holds you back, but if you get to the right circumstance, if you are around the right people, if you get the adaptations you need and you feel you have a purpose, it can be something you can use for good.”
April 2 is Autism Awareness Day, a day launched 15 years ago by the United Nations to increase understanding and acceptance of people with autism. In that spirit, here are great social media accounts to follow by people on the spectrum and their families, sharing tips, insights and understanding.
Feisty and funny Singaporean Andreana Tay has won 58.4K followers on Tik Tok with her heartwarming videos of her interacting with her teenage sister, Audrey, who is nonverbal and autistic. Fans love to see the bond between the girls and the enjoyment they have together, tasting food, playing with puzzles and slurping down Audrey’s favourite bubble tea. But Andrena also shares her techniques for calming Audrey’s mood swings and snaps out comebacks to the uncaring comments she sometimes hears about her sister. Andreana has also set up an instagram account for her sister @audreytayyulin which says simply. “ Autism isn’t bad.”
@andreanaanna That’s why we call her a star 🌟 Michelin star 🌟, she is picky with food. #autistic #autismawareness #autisticteenager #sgnews
Reena Anand is a lawyer, an autism educator and mother of two. One of her sons, called Evy, is autistic. Although Reena’s based in the UK, she was raised in an Asian family, so she understands why Asian parents may find autism especially hard to cope with. “I was taught we shouldn’t talk about our problems.” But she adds, “When I got Evy’s diagnosis, I quickly realised that following the cultural norms wouldn’t serve my family.” On her website and social media, Reena shares resources for parents, plus practical tips and advice from experts and parents. As she explains. “I’m passionate about opening up dialogue in this space so parents can feel empowered, not ashamed of their child’s diagnosis.”
Paige is on Youtube, Instagram and TikTok – she has 1.3K followers on Instagram and 2.6million followers at @paigelayle. She regularly posts videos sharing that there is no single way to “look” or “be” autistic. She can also tell when she gets so overwhelmed at work, and when she obsessively plans everything until she forgets to eat or sleep. Her goal is to spread more awareness about the misconceptions people might have about living on the autism spectrum.
Jiang describes herself as “The single mother of the two best kids ever. They have several diagnoses, among them autism. Without them I would have probably been a know-it-all-attitude person. I owe them everything.” Jiang and her teen daughter Mulan – who is autistic – share videos on Instagram and Youtube about what it’s like to parent an autistic child. They cover topics like how parents can communicate better with their autistic child or how to build trust together.
With 33.9K followers on Instagram. Lauren Melissa Ellzey shares her personal #Autietips, like how to deal with social overload or meltdowns – which is when autistic people feel overwhelmed, exhausted and disorientated by social interactions. Lauren’s a successful fiction writer for young adults, and runs her own website. Yet she eloquently describes what it’s like to feel like an outsider. She also shares practical tips for parents on how to understand their children and how to navigate potentially stressful situations, like direct eye contact.
Artist Anouk is French and German, but she posts in English, French, German and Mandarin Chinese (she’s learning the language and often listens to Mandopop). She shares charming clip art, which you can download, and uses her art to share the positive traits that can come along with being autistic. For instance her photographic memory, and ability to see details. Anouk says, “I’m proud to be autistic”, and her social media account shows her living her life happily, in full colour.
Emily is an illustrator, graphic designer and podcaster who shares her experiences of living with autism through her witty artworks. Emily has been diagnosed with Sensory Processing Disorder, so besides hating clothes with “scratchy textures”, she struggles to eat foods with the “wrong textures”. Emily also has a podcast about autism, which is available on the BBC.
#parenting #autism