CW gaslighting, medical trauma, ableism

We need to talk about how gaslighting of autistic people’s sensory sensitivities can lead to poor physical health in autistic people. If you’re a non-autistic person and think “I would never do that!” I suggest you read this post on sensory sensitivities first before moving on. Autistic people have different sensory experiences, and when a parent either disagrees with or denies those sensory experiences, the impact it has on the autistic kid is gaslighting, even if it wasn’t intentional. Impact is greater than intent.

I talk a lot about sensory sensitivities on this blog, and about growing up not realizing other people experience things differently than myself. Autistic people often endure sensory pain silently because they are ignored or punished when they speak up. We learn this early on in our lives, anywhere between 4-8 years old I’d guess.

I want to talk about the…