Thought Provoking Questions coming soon

Follow me on Facebook to take part in, or just observe the upcoming series of discussions centering around Autism, Identities, Identity Politics, Critical Thinking, Sexuality, Gender, Functioning Labels + more!

Have a question you’d like to be asked? Message me and I may post it for you!

I consistently notice in online autism spaces, there is a lot of policing language, tone policing, censorship and demonising of differing views – but discussing views is how we form our beliefs and articulate to others our inner thoughts and feelings. Sometimes, we just need a space to practice opening up our minds and being exposed to others minds. No one wants to live in a box!

Too often today, people see disagreements as literal harm – an attack on our very being. But by shutting out outside views we create a bubble for ourselves and over time start to feel unsafe when we hear opposing ideas rather than simply curious.

When I’m feeling tired and fragile, I too shut myself away and close off while I recuperate, but when I’m feeling strong again my curiosity comes back! I learn so much from the many different styles of thinking other people have to offer. I see it the same as reading a book and getting lost in the authors world they’ve created, hopping through interesting landscapes inside another’s mind, seeing things through someone else’s eyes for a change.

Humans need each other to learn and grow, sometimes we don’t see eye to eye. I used to have a ‘friend’ in my friend set who always jarred me the wrong way. We’d end up disagreeing and rubbing ideas against each other’s and it could get very intense! I dreaded them being there on an outing. But after some time, I came to realise that my BEST thoughts and opinions came from those uncomfortable conversations where my logic was challenged by someone who was very different to me. I came to look forward to these conversations and took on the challenge of having to think harder about the points I would raise – because THEY challenged me.

My other friends who simply nodded along or said “let’s change the subject” when it got uncomfortable never got to meet the side of me that thinks deeply, analyses my own judgements and goes into deep dives about special topics of interest. Whereas this other unique individual did, because they were wired the same as me, but with opposite experiences that shaped their views. It made for endless discussions and I will always be thankful for them. Unfortunately we lost touch and I’ve never been able to find them again.

But it taught me the importance of being able to discuss things beyond discomfort. Infact, the discomfort is crucial to learning. When you’re learning math your brain hurts right? You have to push past it to learn the calculation. That’s what connecting minds do – push!

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