A PERSONAL STORY FROM AN AUTISTIC “DISABLED” PERSON Sean Hartman My name is Sean and I am autistic. Over the past 28 years, I have been told I was “disabled” because my social behavior was not consistent with what others would deem as “normal.” I did not react in an emotionally correct way in certain social situations. I would either seem stoic and calm at times when emotions were needed, or I would react intensely at the most trivial of matters, like being unable to find certain objects around the house where I had placed them earlier. With the recent mass shootings in our country, the issue of mental health has been brought to the forefront. And though both sides are finally turning away from that excuse in favor of alternative scapegoats, I feel it is important to address the issue of disability rights and how people like me have …
