Caitlyn Valenza
ENGL 384
Dr. Foss
May 2, 2019
The Importance of the Autistic Voice
As a whole, the disabled community is often thought of as lesser – less capable, less talented, less intelligent. Less of a person. Often these stereotypes are supported by negative, and incorrect depictions in everyday media, allowing for further discrimination and divide between those who are considered neurotypical and those who are not. And while one could argue that any discussion of the disabled community is inherently helping increase representation of those who are affected by a disability, that is simply not the case. When marginalized groups are not involved in making decisions about their own representation, it can lead to the spread of harmful misinformation and is ultimately a lost opportunity for inclusion. In Jim Sinclair’s, “Don’t Mourn for Us”, Amanda Bagg’s “Cultural Commentary: Up in the Clouds and Down in the Valley: My Richness and Yours”, and Melanie Yergeau’s, “Introduction: Involution”, the importance of allowing autistics to speak for themselves in both everyday media and literature is highlighted, as well as the negative consequences of treating an autistic diagnosis as meaning an end to the possibilities of creative thinking.
Although autism is one of the more discussed and well-known disabilities in the United States, that does not mean that individuals with autism themselves are the ones who have been given a platform, or are even the center of discussions. When an individual is diagnosed with autism, often in childhood, both their lives as well as their parents’, are forever changed. Jim Sinclair, an autistic rights advocate, discusses the feelings parents often have of trauma and loss after diagnosis but writes that “…parents [must] make radical changes in their perceptions of what autism means.” (Sinclaire). If parents view autism as either a burden for the family to carry, or an obstacle for all to overcome, it is easy to see why conversations would not focus on the individual’s autistic story, but instead the struggles and accomplishments of the family. And while those stories are also important to tell, they cannot be the highlight. After the initial diagnosis, “…nonautistic stakeholders become authorized as autistic somethings-as autistic parents, as autistic researchers…” (Yergeau, 2) and this allows family members to also take up a new identity, a new sense of purpose. And while this practice can have positive implication, such as creating support groups and acting as a label to relate to those in a similar situation, it also allows for the emphasis of the autistic narrative to be the story of parents, not of individual growth.
Individuals with autism can also be the victim of this loss of voice due to the harmful stereotypes that those with autism do not know how to properly function said voice, or do not have a voice at all. Autistic individuals are often times portrayed in media as fitting into one of two distinct categories, either a hyper-focused, socially awkward, young white male, or completely helpless and nonverbal. These two harmful ideas often lead to the belief that individuals with autism either cannot express, or cannot experience the world as those without autism do, and therefore do not have the capability of rhetoric, or even communication at all. The idea that autism prevents an individual from expressing ideas is disproved time and time again, but still the trope persists. Even while writing Involution, Melanie Yergeau was “…told that autism preclude[d her] from being rhetorical, much less a rhetorician”. Discussions of accomplishments like these need to be the focus of autism organizations in order to champion and inspire individuals with autism. When seemingly the only available media revolving around this disability is of the struggles and limitations, where are those who are newly diagnosed supposed to find hope? The infantilization of individuals with autism in media is overall problematic, but especially when considering the lack of autonomy already granted to those with autism. When the idea that autistic individuals cannot think or care for themselves is consistently perpetuated, it furthers harmful misconceptions, and takes away opportunities for autistic individuals to speak for themselves.
Those who do not have a disability are often of the mindset that there is only one right way to do things, and only one type of person who can do them. The idea that spoken language is the only way to communicate or that those with a mental handicap cannot be prolific, harm those who cannot fit into society’s standards of ‘normal’. In Amanda Bagg’s piece she references her ability to communicate with body language or facial features, emphasizing that those forms of communication “are rich and varied… in their own right, not inadequate substitutes for the more standard forms of communication, and like all forms of communication, some parts of them came naturally to [her] and other parts [she] had to learn” (Baggs). This is the message that should be standardized in disability discourse. In order for individuals with autism to have their own space to champion each other, autism societies should no longer be about mourning for what never was, but exploring what is (Sinclaire). With the focus on the autistic individual and their possibilities, the chance for autistic self-advocacy grows. Additionally, space must be made in society for those with disabilities in general, but autism more specifically, to be able to freely express not only their hardships and struggles, but also their own ideas, stories, inventions, and other creative pieces. It must become commonplace to include autistic voices in every aspect of today’s culture. The possibilities for individuals with autism are endless, if only they are given the chance to explore them.
The addition of an autistic narrative in everyday media allows for accurate representation of said individuals in a society where they are often mislabeled as outsiders. Inclusion allows for individuals to claim the rights to their own story, and help serve as an example for the rest of their community, and even future generations. While ‘autism awareness’ is necessary in a society that often ignores the needs of its disabled population, this awareness must come from individuals whom actually have autism. Through autistic self-advocacy it is possible to falsify the idea that an autism diagnosis means a loss of all opportunities, and prove that it instead opens up a new world of possibilities.
References
Baggs, Amanda. “Up in the Clouds and Down in the Valley: My Richness and Yours.” Disability Studies Quarterly, vol. 30, no. 1, 2009
Sinclair, Jim. “Don’t Mourn For Us.” Our Voice, vol. 1, 1993.
Yergeau, Melanie “Introduction: Involution” from Authoring Autism: On Rhetoric and Neurological Queerness. Durham: Duke University Press, 2017.
Word Count: 1036
I hereby declare upon my word of honor that I have neither given nor received unauthorized help on this work. – Caitlyn Valenza
