Autistic Culture and the Helping Professions

How cultural competencies are highly relevant to supporting Autistics and other neurodivergent folks

Autistic culture

Each person’s definition of their own culture will be different. Broadly speaking, culture can be defined as, “the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group”.

Autistic culture can include—but is not limited to—shared vocabulary and experiences, social expectations & norms unique to Autistics, and specific strengths associated with being Autistic.

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Part two

In this article series, I expand on each of the barriers to culturally competent practice listed below. I outline how these barriers also apply to schools, community and social services, and other support services for neurodivergent students and clients.

My follow-up articles will then address the Multicultural Counselling Competencies (MCCs) and how they can be applied to more effectively supporting and respecting the differences of neurodivergent people.

This is the second article in a multi-part series. If you missed part one, you can read it here.

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Barriers to culturally competent practice

1. Ignorance regarding the underlying philosophical, structural, and technological alterations that are necessary;

2. Reluctance to develop from a “one-size-fits-all" approach (in terms of out-dated pedagogy, as well as inflexible institutional policies);

3. Failure to recognize, accept, and honour cultural (and neurological) diversity;

4. Lack of self-awareness regarding how one’s socialization impacts their practice;

5. Failure of training programs to prepare staff to adequately and competently support Autistics;

6. Lack of willingness to learn from, and listen to, Autistic people and their loved ones

This article focuses on point number four.

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Lack of self-awareness regarding how socialization impacts practice

Being in the majority gives people the impression that their ways are the “correct” ways, and other ways are abnormal. The default assumption is that people are neurotypical (NT, or not neurodivergent), and that is also assumed to be the superior neurotype.

As a result, many behaviours and experiences are pathologized simply because they’re not the way people in the statistical ‘norm’ do things.