> There are parents so appalled by the prospect of having an autistic child that they knowingly expose their children to infectious diseases – potentially fatal ones – because they have been led to believe that vaccination causes autism. When a difference is stigmatised to that degree, it has a wretched effect on the mental health of those who bear it

My parents ended up as antivaxxers when 2 of my siblings were diagnosed with autism. My 3 youngest sisters aren’t vaccinated, and one of my autistic brothers isn’t up to date on his. Which is crazy to realize that damn, my mother would rather risk having my little sisters die from a horrible disease than risk them being anything like their neurodivergent siblings. I’m the eldest, and with adhd I was always treated differently, but not to the same degree. This passage really helped me understand the anguish that has lead to multiple suicide attempts by one of my brothers.