Jasmine Williams
Dr. Foss
Disability Literature 304 Section 02
Final Exam
April 30, 2019
Autism the Concept of Being Normal and Breaking down Stereotypes
Autism has been a topic in which society tends to view differently. People who are non-autistic sometimes do not understand how to interact with an autistic person. Not knowing how to interact with a person with autism comes with the stereotypes of autism. Some view autistic people as not worth listening to, awkward and, not being able to fit into society. The term normal is used often in both society and disability studies to define the way people interact or carry themselves. Normal is something that society want one another to reflect in order to fit in. Autism comes with stereotypes put in place by society but, over the years advocacy groups and people who are autistic help put down stereotypes place on the autistic community. People who part of the autism community are speaking about their differences, how society reacts to their differences and the questions that non – autistic people ask.
Normal is a term that comes up in disability studies and how society define the term of being normal. Normal is a term that is tricky because it is a term that is hard to define. Normal can be used in many ways and, according to Sinclair normal is used by parents as a source of not relating to the autistic child (Sinclair). New parents want the best for their children and provide for them in the way that society views as a better life for a child (Sinclair). However, when a child is autistic some parents stop viewing their child as normal and instead view the child with autism as a tragedy (Sinclair). Also, the different ways in which autistic people navigate society is seen by some as awkward and one might ask why? That is because “Non- autistic people see autism as a great tragedy” (Sinclair). How non- autistic people view autism makes some ask do non – autistic people really know what autism is?
Autism is defined as a neurological condition, that affects the way information is processed in the brain, autism is a spectrum condition and ranges from a person being non- verbal or highly talkative (Murray 1). Knowing the scientific definition of autism still impacts the controversy on how one could inherit the disorder. One controversy was the Anti – Vax Movement and how parents believed that vaccines were the main cause of autism (Murray 83). Vaccines use to contain mercury and some people believed the toxin in the vaccines was a link to autism in children (Murray83).
The vaccination movement shows how people get nervous about the concept of autism. People who are non- autistic not only get nervous on the concept of the condition but, they also tend to mourn people who have autism. Mourning about autism happens because non- autistic people view people with autism as being lost (Sinclair). Lost meaning not being able to be the best according to society standards and society not accepting autism (Sinclair). Autism does not equal to mourning and instead, should be explored (Sinclair). Meaning that just because someone is autistic does not mean you lose them (Sinclair). For example, Sinclair points out the meaning of mourning for parents that have children with autism, “You did not lose a child to autism” … “You just waited for a child that never existed” (Sinclair). Listening to an autistic person point of view would help non – autistic people learn about the autism community and people close to them who is autistic. Listening would also help with autistic people trying to navigate society and provide autistic people with a sense of being welcomed in society.
DJ Savarese did an interview with CNN Dr. Sanjay Gupta in which Savarese express how communication was the key for people trying to understand him and others who have autism (Savarese). With autism having the stereotype of being socially awkward often communication gets ignored. People with autism want to be able to express their concerns but, they are rarely valued. During the interview, DJ Savarese explained his autism and how his communication was different and required an aide to help him interact with people (Savarese). One of the questions that were asked during the interview was “what can free people do to help a person with autism” (Savarese). Savarese explained that for him communication was key, typing out the question work for him, looking at him instead of the facilitators and ignoring his voluntary movements (Savarese). Savarese response was important because it showed an example of how listening to a person with a disability is beneficial than just assuming.
Autism affects people in different ways and, serves as another minority background to some people. According to Morenike Giwa Onaiwu Preface: Autistics of Color: We Exist … We Matter, Onaiwu reflects on people of color and how autism reflects them and how sometimes people of color are not seen in the autism community. Onaiwu explains how she personally feels “like a minority within a minority group,” because she is both a person of color and autistic (Onaiwu xiv). Autism for Onaiwu is overlooked because she does not represent the stereotypes of an autistic person (Onaiwu xv). The stereotypes of autism were noted by Onaiwu in the following way: “Autism = (white male presenting) toddler wearing Thomas the Train shirt, Autism = (white male presenting) geeky computer programmer” (Onaiwa xv). As a woman of color Onaiwu felt that there was no space in the autism community for people like her and the autism community only reflected on the white male perspective of autism (Onaiwu xv). Preface: Autistics of Color: We Exist … We Matter provided the voices of people of color with autism with the use of poetry. One of the poems COBRA Confessions of a Black Aspie went over how autism impacted how people viewed them. The poem reflected this by saying “I’m different from other blacks because I’m autistic…. I’m different from other autistics because I’m black (Onaiwu xviii).” Another piece in Onaiwu work reflected the ableism in the autism community and how one “cannot recognize ableism without recognizing how it is affected by racism.” Onaiwu also, reflected on Dee Phair Unpacking the Diagnostic TARDIS when she reflects on being a mother, a person of color and, autistic. In Phair’s piece, she emphasizes how she is not alone when it comes to autism, being a person of color and a mother and that there is someone in society who goes through the same situations that she goes through (Onaiwu xvi).
Autism is a condition that affects a person in many ways and over the years we have seen people with autism pave the way. For example, Temple Grandin, Donna Williams, and Dawn Prince – Hughes made it possible for audiences to understand autistic lives (Murray 32). Having autistic influences help show society that people with autism can achieve their dreams. Having autistic influences also, help answer some question that non- autistic people have about the disorder and the autism community. In disability studies class we reflected on autism studies and how society tends to take different views on the concept of autism. In class, we went over the advocacy and how autism was treated in the past until today. While studying autism I have personally learned how people interpreted autism differently. Some people only tended to talk about autism medically and some wanting to see autism explained and reflected in the autism community itself. The study of autism has come a long way with the term of a normal person or a normal child. In today’s society advocates encourage people to learn about autism and learn about the people close to them with autism.
As a society, we tend to dream of being normal to be accepted by society and, tend to not explore a person’s unique qualities. Autism affects each person differently and people should learn and listen to the autism community. Murray, Savarese, Sinclair, and Onaiwu explains how autism affects people differently by their own personal accounts. One autistic person might face a challenge that another autistic may not have to face. Autism does not discriminate and there is no one way of autism. During the end of the day, we can come together and understand autism and how autism itself impacts disability studies.
Word Count: 1357
“I hereby declare upon my word of honor that I have neither given nor received unauthorized help on this work”
Jasmine Williams
Work Cited
Murray, Stuart. Autism,New York: Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, 2012.
Onaiwu, Morenike Giwa. Preface: Autistics of Color: We Exist We… Matter, http://courses.chris-foss.net/dislit19/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/giwa-onaiwu.pdf. Access 24, April. 2019.
Savarese, DJ. “Cultural Commentary: Communicate with Me”. Disability Studies Quarterly, vol. 30, no. 1, 2010. http://www.dsq-sds.org/article/view/1051/1237. Accessed 29 April 2019.
Sinclair,
Jim. “Don’t Mourn For Us.” ANI Fashion
Website, http://www.autreat.com/dont_mourn.html.
Accessed 29 April. 2019.
