Cause, well, it sounds like she's not on the net for me to congratulate her myself. But for what it's worth, a random fellow autistic (me, in case my phrasing was bad) on the internet wrote this for her.
"You don't know me, and you probably never will. And I haven't been there, quite, but I've been there more than a neurotypical. And if no one has ever explained or even said that word to you (and they probably haven't), it's people who aren't autistic, or mentally ill, or anything like that.
Anyway, you sound like a cool person from what your brother says about you. Good on you for finding a way to communicate, even if it's not the one your neurotypicals are looking for. Making them understand is hard, and a lot of them only want you to use their kind of communication. And if we ever met, I might not understand you either -- because we get socialized like neurotypicals. I wonder what a society of people like us would be like.
A lot quieter, I'd think.
But we're out there. If you get on the net, you can probably find us. People will tell you that mouth noises you put together yourself is the only valid kind of voice, but that's not true at all. I can use it, if I'm not too stressed or upset, but I sound much better in writing. And I'm going off topic. Right. Anyways, we'll be here for you if typing works. And even if it doesn't, we're still out there.
I know you've got a voice, and I don't mean that in the way where people are trying to make you make mouth noises. You have a voice just by living, no matter how much people try to take it away from you. From all of us. But we're making progress. And people are better understanding that we're not broken neurotypicals.
And if you feel horribly stressed after this, that's okay to feel. And it's okay to feel like it's a great victory. Or just a thing you did. We change like anybody else, and... I just want to let you know, because nobody knew to let me know, when I most needed it, that however you feel is valid. Your communication is valid.
My name is Io. (Pronounced E-oh.) I dunno what yours is. I hope things go well. I hope people don't try to hurt you, even though some probably will. I hope I can meet you someday, because I feel like, in a world like this, there's safety in numbers. But things are getting better. I'm trying to do what I can to help make them better for future generations of us, even though I'm nearly a future generation myself, and...
Well, in a world full of people I had to work so very hard to understand, I guess I'm trying to make and be a connection to someone else who understands how the world is for us. And it's okay to cry, or get angry, or hum and flap your hands and pace in circles. People try to break us from our emotions, but we're still people. And people can't be made not-people just by society saying so.
And we have our own society, just a little bit, and I hope you can come experience it someday. It was far too many years before I even knew there was one. I hope things go well. I hope that the outside stays less horrible. I hope that the people around you will respect you. Respect is hard to get, but some of us manage. A lot more of us manage than society thinks.
We do grow up, after all, and find out ways to make everyone see what we actually are. And that's people."
Somehow... somehow that turned into a speech. I'm sorry if this is a bad response.
...I do hope you give it to her, though, because I remember what it was like to find out that there were other people like me, who I understood without complex analysis. And I want as many of us as possible to get to feel that.
