It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me.
As an autistic person, that’s certainly the way it feels at the moment. Autism seems to be to blame for every issue.
The NDIS is growing too fast thanks to all those autistic kids accessing the scheme at a rapid rate.
Schools funding is devastatingly inadequate and you can thank the rise of autistic and ADHD kids flooding our schools, taking up all the resources.
Our mental health system is overwhelmed with millennials diagnosing themselves as neurodivergent after watching a few TikTok videos.
Classrooms have become war zones with autistic students causing carnage, making it impossible for anyone else to learn.
Everywhere you turn, autistic people are suddenly popping up and it’s making everyone’s life – including government’s – harder.
Those with autism are known for their bluntness, so I’m just being myself when I say – your discrimination is showing.
This many autistic people have always existed, we’ve just never received support before.
We’re not your problem, your neurotypical systems are the problem. I don’t care if it’s hard to accommodate our needs, it’s past time it happened.
If you choose not to make systems inclusive then these problems will continue, but that’s not the fault of autistic people. That’s the fault of decision makers and the system.
Want to make the NDIS more sustainable? Fund early intervention supports for kids outside the scheme so you are supporting families before there’s even a need to access the NDIS.
Finally the federal government should stop spending most of its education budget on the most elite schools.
Want to solve our mental health crisis? You can start by ensuring the people with disability who live in poverty, many with psychosocial disabilities who rely on jobseeker to live, have enough money to pay for their medications and food for the week. Work with the industry to address workforce shortages and increase the number of Medicare-rebated psychology appointments back to 20.
Finally, if you want to make classrooms places of learning not conflict, you have to understand each child’s individual support needs. That means more support for teachers to have time with each student and inclusive practices where all learning styles are embraced.
Policies are the problem, not people with disability.
We need to shift the way we talk about these issues to ensure we are not blaming the disability, but rather the systems that do not meet the needs of the disability.
Because it’s me, hi, the policy structures are the problem, it’s not me.
• Elly Desmarchelier is a disability rights activist
