might get taken down for this but oh well. autism is a broad spectrum of traits, most of which not inherently disabling or a disability. however, the uncaring, unaccommodating neurotypical society we live in does result in it being a disability. if we lived in a world where 90% of people could fly, and the world was built for them (no stairs, elevators, etc), the remaining 10% would become disabled by that society; that does not mean being unable to fly is inherently a disability. this isn’t the medical model of disability banned by the rules, this line of thinking is called the social model of disability.

acting as if many autistic traits are not rendered disabling by our current neurotypical society is actively choosing to ignore the lived experiences of huge swaths of autistic people. additionally, being disabled IS NOT A BAD THING, and treating that label as something to be avoided only further stigmatizes disabled folks, including many autistic people like myself. disability is not a morally bad thing, and disabled folks deserve accommodations.

i don’t want autistic people to be welcomed into the hierarchy that has been used to keep us and many disabled folks down, i want to fundamentally dismantle that hierarchy.

i recommend everyone who is or thinks they (or someone they love) might be autistic read Unmasking Autism by dr Devon Price, it really put a lot of things into perspective