Why does Autism and Advocacy go hand in hand? What in the world could they have to do with one another?
While the assumption that people with Autism are inherently poised for social justice is assumptive, I find that our unintentional role as social agitators contributes to a wonderful ability to disrupt problematic social systems. My work with Autistic clients and my own Autism has helped me witness previously identified patterns regarding the strengths of the Autistic brain. The strongest being a passion for justice, solid pattern recognition and our lack of respect for social rules and hierarchies.
*Don’t mistake my strength identification for feelings of supremacy as these traits vary and can backfire if said person is exposed to certain conditioning. Don’t get me started on the white male autistic to white supremacist pipeline. We are all human and capable of sucking.
Now let’s break down how Autistic people can be incredibly helpful in identification of problematic systems and the deconstruction of said systems. Terra Vance wrote on, The Identity Theory of Autism, postulating that Autistic people don’t ascertain identity from social constructs. My identity is not constructed from my womanhood, motherhood, whiteness (still impacts me) and education but on my sense of personal values. Vance speculates that “Autistic people’s identities were derived differently, not an amalgam of social intersections, but of the intersections of their values, interests, and experiences”.
What does this have to do with advocacy and social justice? That Autistic people are willing to “go against their own kind” (white people) to identify something that is morally wrong. I cannot speak for another brain type but I do not feel that I am going against “white people” for exploring white supremacy, capitalism and colonialism. The them vs us argument has never made sense to me. There is no difference between Us and them. What is stopping us from switching places? How are we so comfortable with mass violence knowing how easily the tables could turn? Autistic people still need to unpack our racism though, that shit gets everybody.
Without the acceptance of social hierarchies, Autistic people are more comfortable challenging social structures that present as unfair to the population as a whole. The strong sense of justice often over powers the need for power and dominance. Again, I have never had a “regular brain” so I can’t speak to how people are comfortable with so many awful things in the world. My brain is my only frame of reference and I deeply struggle to understand how we all aren’t completely consumed by how many awful things are going on to completely innocent people.
Finally, many of us Autistics have kick ass pattern recognition and awareness. Don’t ask me why, I am sure someone out there has the answer. I just know that I can pick up patterns that others can’t see, they appear very easily and I get confused that others can’t seem them. Probably just as confused as others gets when I can’t understand social cues HAHA. When looking at the bigger picture and the patterns of humanity we know that no one is actually safe and if we keep living in this colonized frame of mind where violence is “natural” we will ALL become victims of violence other than the 5% on top (cough cough billionaires). These systems benefit only a small group of people while harming everyone else.
Here is the fun part! With the skills listed above, Autistic people have the beautiful ability to be social agitators. Trust me, Ive spent years of trying not to be a social agitator and ALWAYS end up pissing off the social norms of a group. Why not lean in? Own our weird ability to make people own their shit and feel uncomfortable. What’s the point of having the skill of being a social agitator if we can’t have fun with it.
Especially, my white Autistic friends, we have a special role in deconstruction and challenging oppressive systems. We can see what others have been socialized to ignore and protect. Now lets get to agitating!
I would love to write more on how to obtain sustainability for advocacy with in the Autistic community.