My mother was a special education teacher, and she saw my stimming and sensory issues and decreed them to be a problem because I’d never be “normal” (and I use the term loosely). “You’re so smart! You can’t have any issue with anxiety! Lights are that bright for everyone, and no one else complains! Figure it out!”

I was in special ed and the teachers were like that there too. It’s so frustrating how the people with the most power over autistic people’s lives are so often the people who understand us the least.