Some of Our Senses Are Ableist

Some of our senses are ableist.

'How?' You ask?

Okay, I'm not being entirely serious, but let me share with you a kind of clash I observe between Autistic people, and allow me to confess that I myself have had this happen to me as well:

An Autistic person writes a post, explaining how grammatically incorrect sentences strewn with spelling mistakes induces a lot of negative emotion in them. Now many Autistic people, who are honest with themselves (which is admittedly difficult to be, these days) have a proclivity for pedantry, and would whole heartedly agree.

I'm talking about the hyperlexic types here, for whom words bring great joy and sensory satisfaction.

There is another ilk of Autistic person, however, who will flood the comment section of the same post and fervently shout "ABLEIST!" or "You BIGOT! Some people are dyslexic, you know!" at the top of their lungs.

I find this fascinating, and how those who shout "ableist" don't actually understand the irony. The very people they are calling ableist could be Autistic themselves and could be experiencing sensory distress upon reading grammatically incorrect sentences strewn with spelling mistakes. This makes the accusers of ableism the ableist ones, in a sense.

Yes, granted: if someone isn't necessarily experiencing sensory distress and is just being snobby and judgmental, that's one thing, but to assume ableism before giving the matter sufficient consideration can lead to a most hilarious irony.

The same applies to those of us with acute musical ears. If someone sings out of key in my presence, I have to leave the room to stop myself from exploding right there and then. Does this make me... ableist towards tone-deaf people? Or is it just my pitch-perfection reacting accordingly, associating certain tones with danger and others with safety?

There are other types of clashes: The ADHD hyperactive type unable to converse with the ADHD inattentive type. One is overwhelmed by the other one's speedy speaking style whilst the other is irritated by the other's slower speaking style.

Sound sensitive Auties might not be able to tolerate a person stuttering.

I'm not defending ableism here. I'm actually highlighting how ableism often isn't the only explanation for intolerance - sensory differences are.

This, if anything, makes the senses ableist - not the person themselves. The biggest irony as I said is that the person who is quick to shout "ableist" is often the ableist person in this situation - because they are unconsciously condemning a person's sensory profile and natural responses.