Really, really important post around autism, disability, social interaction and schooling, euthanasia and right to suicide.

A few excerpts:

That’s why so many disabled people justifiably fear euthanasia. We know that even with “safeguards”, it becomes an acceptable and rational thing for a disabled person to want to die, but nondisabled people get suicide prevention. We know that in places where it’s legal and widespread, disabled people often have to go through huge contortions so that they’ll actually get medical treatment in certain emergency situations. Because it’s just assumed we wouldn’t want it.

But then what is consent when we live in a world that bombards us day in and day out with the message that we are worthless wastes of space, who cost money and take up resources that rightfully belong to real people? Where other people’s suicide attempts are treated as medical emergencies that must be averted at all costs, while ours are “perfectly rational” and may even be aided by others, even if our reasons are the same as those deemed mentally ill?

And that yes — some of the emotion-reading problems that had been attributed to autism, were actually the results of severe emotional damage. And the emotional damage was related to abuse for being autistic.

But to sum it up: From typically developing children at school, I learned to die. From other DD adults, I learned to live.

(via swanblood)