Autism Is Not a Disease
The Politics of Neurodiversity
Jodie Hare
Having read it
★★★★★
Brilliant.
Observant, thoughtful and well written of current happenings with neurodiversity and of the research, findings and efforts that have been made and continue to be made in regards to really levelling up society, regardless of a person’s abilities or lack thereof, especially in a capitalist system that really doesn’t work anymore (especially for those that work differently or not at all).
Work under capitalism, in short, is not great. But being unable to work under capitalism is even worse. Life is made extremely difficult for anyone unable to work because of the way our society is organised, and this has dire consequences for many neurodivergent people.
In fact, that was a heartening factor to me in the book to read the author’s words that clearly and strongly said, alongside her good words around language and its often deliberately divisive use, that capitalism (and its neoliberal attitudes and practices) are the real, foundational problem to many an issue in society today. Those passages were matching my own thoughts and recent readings of quite a few texts (that themselves espouse the same reality but from a different, possibly neurotypical view) which propel and bolster the ongoing conversations about real, meaningful, adaptable and long-lasting societal change being possible and actually happening so all can live, grow and contribute however they can (and not just through work) because predominantly better, more accessible, inclusive and empowering frameworks and facilities can allow it to happen so as society really does level-up.
A good passage
[...] Autism is thus not a disease to be pathologised or ‘cured’, but a natural part of human existence that, while it brings its own challenges, is predominantly disabling because our social environments are constructed to isolate anyone who differs from a predetermined ‘normal’, which makes the lives of neurodivergent people much harder, preventing their access to and engagement with many parts of life, including education, socialising, sport, housing, health care, and much else.
Instead of framing us as outsiders who do not fit into society, the neurodiversity campaign understands that the way we have structured society does not successfully account for all its members. The movement is constructed around the idea that it is our job to rebuild society in a way that is accessible for every kind of life, and that we should seek to reduce the stigmatisation of those who have so often been shunned – including disabled people and those with severe mental health problems.
A second good passage
[...] What do people hope to gain through the eradication of autism or neurodivergence? What will the world lose if that aim is ever achieved? Who has the authority to decide which lives deserve to be lived?
Understanding autism and neurodiversity as deficits reinforces what is considered ‘normal’ in society – a concept that has defined our social lives for as long as humans have existed. It is the socially constructed hierarchy of human existence that creates the imbalances of power that so many people are affected by today.
A third good passage
The inaccessibility of society is often overlooked by non-disabled people. How many times in the past month have you socialised in a pub, restaurant, or social space that would be inaccessible to those in a wheelchair, those who cannot stand for long periods of time, or those who struggle with sensory overload in environments with lots of loud talking? How about the spaces where you exercise, work, or live? If you take a minute to consider their architecture and the experience of being inside them, who do they exclude?
Disabled people are often forgotten about, or simply ignored. Ableism functions in such a way as to force them into a separate class, different and deficient in some way from everyone else. The extent of the mistreatment they face is determined by many other factors, as I have described, which means that many face multiple forms of oppression throughout their lives.
Neurodivergent and / or disabled people belong in this world just as much as anyone else. They do not deserve to live in a world that is inaccessible, ableist, and often downright violent towards them. Each person has a life that is theirs to live.