Hierarchies in the autistic community

There are two articles I read today that touch on hierarchies in the autistic community.

One is a post by a mother, called Making the Case for the Boring Autistic. She talks about how the special skills of autistics are highlighted in an attempt to make a case for our existence. And how this doesn’t need to happen. As far as I’m concerned, this has needed to be said for a long time.

The other is an article on Autism Speaks, called Autistics Speak. In the course of the article, the author inteviews the creator of Getting the Truth Out, who at one point talks about the way certain autistics value themselves over other autistics.

While I’m at it, I’ll throw in my own Oak Manifesto, which I wrote in response to both hierarchies and false categories. And Autistic Pride Day: Do We Celebrate It Right? by Joel Smith, who describes some false and damaging kinds of “autistic pride” that he’s seen floating around. (Contrary to their own belief, that article was not meant as a slam on the creators of Autistic Pride Day, whom Joel doesn’t even know.)

I want to write more about this, but the Neverending Migraine has been bad today and I need to go to bed again. I’ll just say that both ethically and personally the autistic superiority attitude turns my stomach.