The TikTok content creator @soundoftheforest is being banned from the video-sharing app TikTok for using the word “autism” and “autistic” on her handle. But who is @soundoftheforest and what TikTok has to do with the words “autism” and “autistic”? Here is the answer.
This is not the first time TikTok has banned the handle @soundoftheforest but this time several users have taken a stand for the video creator. Thus, the video creator @soundoftheforest is making rounds on the Internet.
If you are an avid TikTok user you might have seen @soundoftheforest’s videos that mainly talk about autism and the lifestyle of autistic people. This TikTok creator is creating awareness about autism among the users but the words ‘Autism’ and ‘Autistic’ are considered as red flags on the video-sharing app. This is the reason why TikTok has banned @soundoftheforest’s handle several times. Here is more about whether or not @soundoftheforest has got her TikTok handle back.
Who Is @soundoftheforest On TikTok?
Soundoftheforest is a TikTok content creator who is suffering from autism. Using TikTok’s platform this user tries to create awareness among people about the life of autistic people. She has played a vital role in removing the mental disorder stigma that is often associated with autism by sharing her daily routine with the TikTok community.
Soundoftheforest is one of the wholesome TikTokers. She has helped several people know about the challenges autistic people face in their lives.
Although most of her content is informational, she still has faced banning on TikTok several times. The reason she gets banned from the app is that she uses ‘Autism’ and ‘autistic’ in most of her videos. These two words are considered to be red flags on the video-sharing app. Thus, the platform keeps banning this innocent video creator.
However, the platform has now reinstated her handle as a petition was filed by one of her friends against the banning. The following paragraphs will give you all details about the petition that helped @soundofthefores reinstating her account.
Why Is @soundoftheforest Banned On TikTok?
To help @soundofthefores get her account back, one of her friends filed a petition on change.org explaining the entire case.
The petition read,” I am friends with TikTok personality Nicole Parish (@soundoftheforest). Nicole is a professional artist who also happens to have autism. Her TikTok account, on which she speaks openly about the challenges that face the autistic community and ways she copes with being neural atypical, had amassed nearly two million followers–until tonight (December 1, 2021) when TikTok banned her account for “numerous Community Guidelines violations”.
Nicole is a professional artist who paints what she’s passionate about–bugs. Nicole has always had two passions in life: painting and bugs, and she’s figured out a way to combine the two in a way nobody else has. She is featured in numerous galleries, including the Meyer Gallery in Park City salt lake”.
What Was The Petition All About?
The petition further explained, “Nicole started her TikTok simply as a way to ask questions about the neurotypical world she lives in but struggles to understand. She didn’t think she’d really get any followers; she just thought it might be a nice outlet for hers. Since joining TikTok, Nicole has read and abided by TikTok’s Community Guidelines. (I happily let my 6-year-old watch her videos), but she has had her account frozen several times. Just because her videos include the words “autism” and “autistic”. When she reached out to TikTok about these issues in the past, they’ve always unfrozen her account.
However, apparently, TikTok has a policy that if your account is frozen too many times, for whatever reason, your account will be banned from the platform, and it’s very difficult, if not impossible, to get it unbanned.
Unfortunately, this appears to be what happened to Nicole Parish tonight, December 1, 2021. It is incredibly saddening to her and her followers. Her account was a glimmer of light in the world of social media that is far too often dark. It is unfortunate that we live in a world where the words “autism” and “autistic” are flagged for being inappropriate. And an autism advocate can get banned from a popular social media platform for discussing autism. Shutting down the discussion is counterproductive to everything Nicole has stood for.
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Bottom Line
Even though @soundoftheforest has regained access to her account, this act from TikTok has hurt the sentiments of Nicole and her followers. We just hope Nicole gets the freedom of whatever she is doing for autistic people.