The Stigma of Autism
My sister and I encourage people with autism to be open about their diagnosis because there's a degree of protection from bullying that comes with the label. That said, that shield comes with a price. As soon as someone says they're on the autism spectrum, we categorize them and treat them differently. Don't believe me? Here are just a few of the experiences I've had.
Back in high school, I used to volunteer at an autism support group for parents. Often, parents wouldn't be able to find a babysitter so they'd bring their child with them to the meetings. Since that distracts the parents (and bores the child) I'd go to a playroom with the child and play with them until the meeting ended. I'd been doing this successfully for quite a while when a new parent showed up with her child. I offered to help her watch him, but she turned me down over and over, despite the fact that she obviously needed my help. I couldn't figure it out until later in the meeting when, embarrassed, she apologized for having turned me down. The reason? Someone had told her Caley, my sister, had autism, and she got my name and my sister's mixed up. In short, because of a misunderstanding she thought that I was autistic* and that made her not trust me with her son.
I was the same person as I had always been, but as soon as she thought I was autistic I was no longer trustworthy. I was being judged not by my actions, but by that label - and that was in a group of parents who are, presumably, more open and educated about autism than the average person. That's how deep the stigma of autism goes.
The stigma definitely exists, and we all buy into it to some degree. The only difference is that most non-autistic people don't realize that they're treating a person negatively because of their autism label. They'll complain about problems with them and take them to the authorities over these problems - things that, if they stopped and thought about it, they would never take that far with someone if they didn't have the label autistic. In short, neurotypical people run the risk of using the autism label as justification for treating other people differently, for the worse.
Being autistic isn't something that someone should have to be ashamed about. It's not something that should be used to discriminate against people, not something that should keep others from disclosing for fear of how they'll be viewed by society.
We may not be able to change society's views on autism (although we can try!), but we can change and monitor our own. So when you interact with your friend with autism, keep this stigma in mind. If you're aware of it, you're far less likely to fall victim to it.
Judge people by their actions, not their label.
*I don't have autism, in case you guys were wondering.
Back in high school, I used to volunteer at an autism support group for parents. Often, parents wouldn't be able to find a babysitter so they'd bring their child with them to the meetings. Since that distracts the parents (and bores the child) I'd go to a playroom with the child and play with them until the meeting ended. I'd been doing this successfully for quite a while when a new parent showed up with her child. I offered to help her watch him, but she turned me down over and over, despite the fact that she obviously needed my help. I couldn't figure it out until later in the meeting when, embarrassed, she apologized for having turned me down. The reason? Someone had told her Caley, my sister, had autism, and she got my name and my sister's mixed up. In short, because of a misunderstanding she thought that I was autistic* and that made her not trust me with her son.
I was the same person as I had always been, but as soon as she thought I was autistic I was no longer trustworthy. I was being judged not by my actions, but by that label - and that was in a group of parents who are, presumably, more open and educated about autism than the average person. That's how deep the stigma of autism goes.
The stigma definitely exists, and we all buy into it to some degree. The only difference is that most non-autistic people don't realize that they're treating a person negatively because of their autism label. They'll complain about problems with them and take them to the authorities over these problems - things that, if they stopped and thought about it, they would never take that far with someone if they didn't have the label autistic. In short, neurotypical people run the risk of using the autism label as justification for treating other people differently, for the worse.
Being autistic isn't something that someone should have to be ashamed about. It's not something that should be used to discriminate against people, not something that should keep others from disclosing for fear of how they'll be viewed by society.
We may not be able to change society's views on autism (although we can try!), but we can change and monitor our own. So when you interact with your friend with autism, keep this stigma in mind. If you're aware of it, you're far less likely to fall victim to it.
Judge people by their actions, not their label.
*I don't have autism, in case you guys were wondering.
