Arts House Listening Program

(Mermaid deer mask painting): Don’t look at my mystical mermaid deer winged body. I’m totally a regular norm-core human, that masks real good. --- Masking is a terminology for hiding or suppressing one’s attributes. Many autistic people develop this skill in response to discrimination. It can be hard to know what you want, if you’re pretending your needs don’t matter. It’s really hard to know when to mask. It’s still occasionally important for reasons of safety for me to repress my needs to stim and regulate freely because sometimes I rely on ableist strangers, ableist doctors, and the occasional ableism from people trying to help me. Sometimes I find myself smiling and gritting my teeth as people slow their speech for me. Sometimes I have to keep quiet when I hear agencies talk about exploitation, theft and violence that could have left people in my communities to die. When I get into a safe place I make all the noises, hand gestures, bird-like arm flaps and jumps that I need to feel better and understand