HSP Is Still Code for Autistic
Many “Highly Sensitive People” are actually heavily masked Autistics
Differences are not deficits
I can’t believe we’re having this discussion again.
At the beginning of this year, I wrote a piece entitled The “Highly Sensitive Person” is Code for Autistic, after reading a popular psychology article which claimed to differentiate the two, but essentially described all the ways in which they are the same thing.
For real.
Just two days ago, a new article surfaced. At first I ignored it, as I had already covered this subject area. I thought I’d said all I needed to say on the matter.
I was sadly mistaken.
Today the latest article (really more of a blog post) reared its ugly head again, so I bit the bullet and read it.
I regret my choices.
This recent post contains even more ableism, is rife with functioning labels, and even quotes a Nazi supremacist.
You can’t make this shit up (although I wish I were lying).
To begin with, the author clearly has a very superficial (and deficits-based) understanding of autism. They essentially cut-and-paste the DSM-V’s criteria to explain what autism is:
“…deficits in social emotional reciprocity, abnormal social approaches, potential issues with verbal communication, abnormalities with eye contact and body language, and deficits in understanding the use of gestures of others.”
Sigh.
I’ve been over this before, but I’ll say it again because it clearly needs to be repeated: differences are not deficits.
The blog post cites four main reasons why HSPs are not Autistic, the first two of which are most offensive to me. I’ll list each and explain how the author’s arguments are highly flawed (see what I did there?).
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