The paradox of invisible disabilities is a cruel and exhausting loop. Society tells me to mask my autism, to blend in, to not make others uncomfortable, and to play the game that is intrinsically antithetical to everything I stand for. I’m rewarded when I suppress my traits, when I wear the cloak of “normalcy,” when I pretend that sensory overload doesn’t feel like my brain’s on fire and electric currents through my skin.
