Intersectional Positivity: Sharing My Autistic Experience by Catherine (Lucy)

Intersectional Positivity: Sharing My Autistic Experience by Catherine (Lucy) - March 2026 Scholarship Essay

Probably a lot of young teenagers sneak onto social media before their parents say it’s okay. In my case, I got onto Instagram in ninth grade because I was figuring out that I am autistic, and I wanted to know if others saw the world the way I do. There were plenty of creators focusing on neurodivergence in general, but not much on autism. When I did find content about autism, a lot of times it was about men or the stereotypical 7 year old boy, who seems to be the most commonly diagnosed group. Even among the handful of female autism Instagrams, I had trouble seeing myself, because they were mostly straight adults.

What I was seeking was a lot of intersectionality: a teenager in school, assigned female but queer, and autistic. Since that did not seem to exist, I decided to create it, because I knew there had to be others out there like me, needing help discovering their identity and finding a community. Fortunately, I guessed correctly that when my mom found my Instagram, she would be pleased and proud of me for using social media to help others, not mad that I went behind her back. One of my early posts for disability pride month is this message overlayed on a video of a rainstorm blowing a big tree back and forth: “quick reminder! disability pride month is not about awareness or acceptance. it is about loving and accepting yourself, disability included. this is your month!” I got feedback for the positive encouragement and for the tree video!

autistic_luca became a place where I could post the results of my research whenever I had a question. For example, I explain “tone tags,” which are notations added to messages, comments, and posts to make them less confusing for neurodivergent people who have difficulty reading into written text without non-verbal cues. The post includes a list of common tags and examples of how some of them are used. Another post, a simple video of me with fun dragon wings and tail, says, “autistic joy is beautiful, stimming is incredible, do things that make you happy!” The positive feedback it received is proof that people need to know they are not alone just because they act differently than the mainstream.

One of my most popular posts listed things people who don’t understand autism would say are weird or bad: “7 things i’m no longer feeling guilty about: using mobility aids, taking breaks, using fidgets, stimming, saying ‘no,’ infodumping, my scars.” I added in the caption: “You shouldn’t feel guilty for things that are normal and healthy!” People need to hear this, especially autistic teens, who can be targeted by peers in this sometimes harsh society we live in. I wanted my Instagram to be uplifting and reassuring to those who struggle like I have.

It is important to me that my posts are easily readable for people of all levels of autism. I am a person who needs low support, but I understand that for some people visual clarity is really important, as well as consistency of style from post to post. Similarly, I learned that restating my post as text in the caption is important for screen readers, which some users rely on because they struggle to process words visually. Also some people use screen readers because they are blind. People specifically thanked me for my user-friendly visual formats, such as using single points rather than paragraphs.

A lot of teenagers have an unhealthy attachment to how many comments, likes, and reposts they get, but the interactions I have had on autistic_luca are proof there truly is a need for more conversation and information about how autism impacts queer teens. For me, this intersectionality is challenging; having just one of those unique identities would be easier to manage in the world. If I was only queer, my visual presentation would not conform to a specific gender all the time, but I would act like most other people. If I was only autistic, I would display certain behaviors, such as stimming or shutting down under too much sensory input, but since I would appear as gender conforming I would at least not stand out that way. The two combined makes it virtually impossible to blend in.

The community that developed around autistic_luca is small but seems genuine. I got encouragement and gave the same to others, made some friends and heard about their processes of discovering their neurodivergence. In addition, I discovered something that will remain very important to my future: I love advocating for myself and others and being a leader. This is how I see myself in college and beyond.