Rejecting it will alienate the people who rely on it.

Hi, I’m Pogo. As you can see, my account’s fairly new so I might come across as a concern troll or something but I assure you that I am not new to the community (and the threadiverse) in general.

What I find concerning about existing autistic communities is that some can lean heavily towards the social model of disability. This normally is not a concern as the social model of disability empowers autistic people and allows them to advocate for themselves, but there are certain behaviours associated with this crowd that are concerning for current and future participants. Particularly participants who are diagnosed with level 2 or 3 autism under the DSM-V or are referred to with relevant terminology.

A major source of confusion and misinformation in the community is that functioning labels and the DSM-V diagnostic levels are the same. This is incorrect and results in stigma against DSM-V diagnostic levels. It is understandable that people who have not heard of the diagnostic levels or were not diagnosed under the DSM-V would assume that they are used in the same way as functioning labels. DSM-V diagnostic levels are assigned to an autistic person on diagnosis and they indicate the formal supports they require. This diagnostic level is used by medical professionals to ensure the autistic person is getting the required supports. Unlike functioning labels, the DSM-V diagnostic levels are directly informed by the person’s experiences and are assigned by qualified professionals. They are not assigned based on uninformed assumptions and do not force an expectation upon a person.

Another issue I have noticed within discussions is that advocating for more accurate terminology can be misdirected to deny people the autonomy to use the terminology they find comfortable for themselves. This can be seen with people attempting to “correct” someone else because they were using a term that is considered outdated or offensive. This behaviour is unproductive for autistic advocacy and should be discouraged. It does not advance autistic acceptance and only hurts our own people.

With conflicts between the social and medical models of disability, I have observed people who are averse to identifying autism as a disability or acknowledge that autism can have inherent difficulties that will not be solved by societal change. This is most commonly expressed for social difficulties in interactions with neurotypical people. I believe that this aversion is due to existing stigma against autism and disabilities in general as being negative so people desire to disassociate themselves from it. Unfortunately I do not think this is helpful for the autistic community nor for autistic advocacy. Disability is simply the lack of ability and is morally neutral. Recognising this may reveal internalised ableism that can be resolved through self-acceptance and compassion. Sugarcoating the impacts of disability with “acceptable” terminology invalidates the real experiences of autistic people and alienates them from a community that should include them by default.

I want to be able to interact with people like me. I want to be able to relate to your experiences. I cannot do that if my existence is denied by default. I cannot do that if my words are silenced. I cannot do that if I feel like an outcast within outcasts.

Thanks for reading.