The “Autistic Divide”

If we share a common goal, why is there so much conflict?

Photo by Christian Bass on Unsplash

March 2024

I originally wrote the following article in April of 2022. As yet another Autism “Awareness” Month creeps up on us, I wanted to share the below, but I also want to include an update because my perspective has changed over the course of two years of living and learning.

I still have strong feelings about the “autism industry” and how certain advocacy agencies (one of which is a multi-million dollar business, not a small grassroots organization, to be very clear).

However I have developed a much more nuanced position on —and greater understanding of— the “autism parents” versus Autistic self-advocates debate. In the coming weeks, I will share more about what I have learned and how I believe these insights could help bridge that gap.