Do you guys feel Ireland is good or bad for autistic people?
I myself didn't get a lot of support growing up and it seems a lot of my behaviors like not knowing how to make eye contact, obsessing over hobbies, repeating phrases from tv, and others were just considered weird and used as an excuse for people to target me.
I feel let down a lot by the lack of services in this country. Even when seeking help sometimes I'm afraid to disclose as the neighbours and community are so nosey to the point where if anyone in town does anything everyone else knows it.
I feel really tired of the culture of shaming and bullying here and then people saying "it's just the craic" or "lads being lads".
Has anyone else had the same experiences?
Edit:
I just wanted to thank everyone here from the bottom of my heart for sharing their experiences as it takes a lot of courage ♥️. It took me a long time to gain the courage to even accept the fact I may be neurodivergent as it was beaten into me literally and figuratively that I was "defective", "a freak", "a weirdo", and "a lurk". I still haven't told everyone including some members of immediate family but I have been able to bring it up to some people in my life and to seek help.
As saddened as I am to hear others experiences have been just as bad as mine and in some cases worse. It made me feel less alone and I cannot overestimate the help that's been 🙂 I wish I had had the courage to ask for help during my teenage years or pushed more as I felt even if I asked the bullying and isolation would've gotten worse. I really have to thank this community and r/autism for helping me to understand I'm not an isolated case and that there are others out there like me who've been failed and have had the same feelings and struggles.
God bless each and everyone of you, it really is hard to share these experiences still but this helped me a lot.