Libre :neurodiversity:<p>Kudos to I'm Autistic Now What on YouTube for highlighting this weird aspect to my disability but I have an extremely hard time navigating bureaucracy for my needs, particularly with getting medical assistance. There was a meme of someone having to jump through a ton of hoops in order to get assistance jumping through hoops, and holy smokes that is super relatable.</p><p>In order for me to get medical help I have to:<br>Actually successfully identify that there is a problem or maintenance need<br>Make sure my medical insurance information is all together <br>Make time during a work day, because they only are able to work with me during business hours, which is when I work, which itself involves blocking off time or discussing with my boss <br>Place a phone call with the medical office <br>Accurately describe my needs without sounding like a hypochondriac, translating my thought processes from autistic to non autistic<br>Receive an appointment or be told that I must fulfill some other requirement before I can get assistance <br>Loop the above until all requirements have been met<br>Stave off my anxiety and waiting mode until the appointment <br>Write down my experiences in a legible format because I will forget them if I don't do that and I will not be able to communicate my needs in the appointment setting ad hoc<br>Arrived to the appointment as a nervous wreck and check in <br>Sit in the waiting room and try to not look like an utter freaking weirdo to all of the non autistic people that are there, masking my activity so I can fit in <br>Continue to stave off my anxiety while I wait <br>Try to follow the medical professional to the right room, attempting to ignore the lights and noise around me that are bothering me <br>Present my written communication of my needs to the medical provider <br>Have to explain what I wrote, and go into detail <br>If I get pushback, fail to stick up for myself because I can't think straight in the moment <br>Fail to think of additional things I should have asked and then remember it 5 hours later and kick myself for it <br>Leave the appointment and have a meltdown in the car<br>Get charged through the roof even if the appointment was not productive </p><p>Note that this is not a cry for individual assistants, this is a cry for the system to change altogether</p><p>Sometimes I don't even take care of my needs because I end up having to do all of this and I don't want to, even if it's not beneficial or harmful to me</p><p><a href="https://autistics.life/tags/ActuallyAutistic" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>ActuallyAutistic</span></a> <a href="https://autistics.life/tags/MedicalAppointments" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>MedicalAppointments</span></a> <a href="https://autistics.life/tags/InvisibleDisability" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#<span>InvisibleDisability</span></a></p>