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Through the Lens of Lived Experience

Lived Experience

Autism Is Not a Mental Illness: So Why Are We Treated As If It Is?

A History of Misunderstanding Autism has been wrongly viewed through the lens of mental illness. Historically, autistic people have been detained under the Mental Health Act. Yet autism is not a mental illness. It cannot be medicated or “treated away”. Autism is a different neurotype. A unique way of feeling, thinking, and processing the world… Read more

February 12, 2026

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by

avamcauley1

in

Advocacy & Activism

advocacy, asd, autism, autistic, Lived Experience, mental-health, neurodiversity
Ignored, Forgotten, Hospitalised: The True Cost of Cutting Support

When Support Disappears Overnight In 2023, I was assessed by a new support provider, Seco Support. A provider that actually understood me and could create something bespoke for me. For the first time in a long time, I felt hopeful. Then just a few weeks later, my old support provider pulled out with less than… Read more

November 4, 2025

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by

avamcauley1

in

Autism and Social Care

autism, autistic, autistic burnout, hospitalisation, Lived Experience, mental-health, neurodiversity, social-care, system failure, system-failures