Life And Looking Back, Autistically

I came across a couple info-graphics on the gram just now about Autistic culture. 

I've been formally diagnosed for less than a year now, but I've been working on recognizing the ways I've accomodated myself, as well as the ways others did or could have accomodated my disabilities, for a very long time now. 

I'm including the two graphics I mentioned below, but for screen readers, the list of Autistic culture features are: Part one: music on repeat, headphones, rewatching shows/movies, stimming, comfy clothes, plain foods, sensory differences, routines, special interests, stim/fidget toys, info dumping, safe place. Part two: home is a safe space, comfort items, communication differences, lateral thinking, choosing sensory safe clothing, hyperfantasia, perfectionism if interested, need to rest after socializing, preference for same foods, and objects/collections incredibly meaningful.

The illustrations seem fairly simple and colorful to the point of bordering on Lisa Frank levels, which I love. In other contexts, I would assume something like these might be aimed at children, which is a whole metaphorical can of worms on it's own when it comes to infantilization and the Autistic community. Despite that, and maybe in part because the colors caught my attention, these really stirred up some emotion for me. 

The references to safe spaces and home being a safe space- the latter having an illustration of the character holding up a Do Not Enter type sign at their door- really made me rethink my difficulties around having people in my home. 

Not only have I had a ton of trauma around having and/or losing places to live since I was very young, but reframing it as an Autistic need to have a quiet, solitary space where I can fully unmask is huge. It reminds me that I'm not "crazy" or "difficult", but that this was a very real, very necessary accommodation for my very real disability my entire life. I was punished so consistently whether I was staying in my room or going into shared spaces among my family of origin, I was never intended to be able to do right by them- I was set up for failure and still managed to build a life for myself that accomodates all of my disabilities and needs. 

I'm fairly certain there's a lot more to this thought process, but I'm not able to grasp the words currently. Maybe there'll be a part two or maybe I'll just update this post. Time will tell, I suppose.