I’ve tried so many times to start writing about Autism Awareness Month – no big deal, just a straightforward, concise list of the things about it that #ActuallyAutistic people (especially those of us who are social justice activists) detest, with suggestions for what messages to absorb instead. Easy, right? But I’m ashamed and scared, because I’ve been told my entire life that how I am – how I show up in interaction with other people – is deficient, burdensome, just not quite right. I’m scared that I’ll say it wrong – be too bombastic, ardent or frantic, or too placating, euphemistic, “positive” – and I’ll either fail to speak clearly or I’ll alienate my entire audience. Yup, internalized anti-autistic bias is hard at work in my beleaguered brain. The antidote is to speak anyway. So I’ll try.