I truly believe that being #ActuallyAutistic in Singapore was both (1) a terrible, awful experience and (2) a blessing, because it shielded me from the worst of its social expectations. Because while I knew there were plenty of expectations, I never knew what they were, and even if I did I would never have been able to adhere to them.
@everyday_human pros and cons. I’m very homesick of course but I also feel it was the right move to leave and expand my horizons. It’s extremely comfortable, very cosmopolitan and very provincial at the same time. There’s more awareness of autism now but still largely spoken of in the ‘it’s a disease that needs to be overcome’ positivity mindset that I hate
I also know that all of my privileges in Singapore afforded me the space and room to opt out of many of those expectations. That ties in into the deeper ‘in Singapore you can be queer / weird / whatever’ thing I feel so strongly, with the caveats ‘if you’re Chinese / middle class or rich / conventionally successful’, that I wasn’t always aware of until I left it.
My school experience was mostly ‘I hate this’ and teachers going ‘poor dear, sit by yourself and do whatever you want,’ which I know is not the same experience that other autistic people have there. I think it’s improved some, but it’s still really rough.
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