Autism Is Not

Autism Is Not (Reverse Dyfalu poem)

written by Ali Burris, Autistic President of the Autism Society of Washington

Autism is not a sacrificial altar

Upon which parents lay their expectations

Nor is it evidence of aliens, or chosen ones

Or harm by vaccinations

It cannot be to blame for sorrow,

Nazism or hate

Your child is not a wailing burden

For choosing to speak late

I am not missing pieces

Or a failed sketch of a person

Nor a cold, unfeeling genius

Or a beast tamed by coercion

We are raw potential, unconstrained

By convention’s expectation

I feel too much, so much

Life’s but endless perseveration

It is a howling in my chest

Individualized compulsion

Primal scream of contradictions

Wrack against this puny vessel.

President Ali Burris is a student at Seattle University studying English and French. She was diagnosed with Autism in June of 2023 and applied to the board a month later. She also was identified as a teenager as having ADHD, severe anxiety, and PTSD. She is passionate about advocacy and acceptance for neurodiverse brains of all backgrounds and situations. She hopes to show the diversity and value of Autistic people, and fight to make the path towards acceptance and support easier for people like her.