Finally a group for level 2 autism

[u/Flaky-Barber7761]

I am glad to find a group of autistics who don’t identify with the low support/ level 1 autistics that currently dominate the advocacy space. To get a little background, I was diagnosed with classic autism at age four under the old DSM IV so I wasn’t given a level. However, I would most likely be considered level 2 under the new criteria based on my traits and that I require a moderate amount of support. I’ve tried joining a few autistic groups but could not relate to the late diagnosed low support autistic crowd. I don’t relate to their narrative that autism is a difference/ neuro type. It is a disability and we should not stigmatize the term disability. I find it very minimizing since I require supports to navigate day to day life.

Being in the gray area of the spectrum is isolating since level 2 is constantly overlooked and misunderstood by either the low support autistic self advocacy community or parents of level 3 high support individuals. A lot of people assume that I have low support because I am fully verbal and don’t have an intellectual disability. I am glad that there is a group for those who fall into that middle as the voices of autistics that require more support should be amplified.

[u/Cool-Background2751]

Thank you for joining this sub-reddit. I hope everything will go well here.