Autism Acceptance: Creating an Intersectional Society

In order to create an intersectional society that embraces the autistic community, different sectors of society must collaborate to offer their support by allocating opportunities and resources to the autistic community.

Transforming the Education System

To prepare autistic individuals for success, we first need to transform the learning experience of autistic children. Children with autism will not benefit from being in a traditional classroom without accommodations such as curriculum revisions, adaptive equipment, visual support, or individual time with a paraprofessional. Educators can also adopt these six approaches to create the best learning environment for autistic students:

Appeal to the visual nature of autistic students: using many picture and demonstrations

Adopt strategies to reduce students' anxiety: provide warnings to changes and observe triggers to meltdowns Use clear and unambiguous language: try to avoid using idioms and sarcasm while teaching

Give students space for sensory reactions (ex. hand flapping, making loud noises)

Provide structure: a specific routine and explicit instructions

Help with social situations: protect students with autism from teasing and provide peers with some awareness of autism

Diversifying Autism Representation in the Media

Media coverage is one of the most effective ways of raising public awareness of autism. Unfortunately, autistic individuals are often portrayed in a stereotypical and simplistic manner, which can harm the autistic community and cause misunderstandings.

A study done in 2018 on media portrayals of autism spectrum disorder found that 46% of autistic characters on screen exhibit savant abilities, which are extraordinary abilities or talents, yet only 10% of autistic people in real life possess these skills. Autism is a complex spectrum that includes a variety of symptoms, making each autistic individual unique from one another. Limiting the entire autistic narrative could hinder the amount of support autistic individuals receive and place pressure upon autistic individuals to excel to a high level.

How to Change the Autism Narrative

We need to represent the diversity within the autistic community by including characters of varying races, gender, socioeconomic status, and sexuality.

We need to involve more autistic people in content creation by casting more individuals on the spectrum, recruiting more autistic people behind the scenes, and consulting the autistic community for feedback.

In terms of the content presented, we must highlight the varying issues that different populations have while growing up and living with autism. Ideas include sharing an autistic woman’s struggle with diagnosis or a person of color’s experience with the cultural stigma around autism.

Currently, more than 80% of autistic individuals are unemployed or have a low-skill level job that does not fully leverage their potential. The high unemployment rate has significantly impacted the lives of autistic individuals as it results in a lack of financial independence, forcing many autistic adults to rely on their families or government programs for basic living necessities, which can be damaging to their self-image and harm their sense of purpose.

One of the primary reasons why autistic individuals are frequently not hired is because of the flawed hiring process. Most jobs require an extensive interview process to access the fit of candidates based on their ability to answer questions and engage in casual conversation. However, unstructured interactions prove to be difficult for many autistic individuals, resulting in them being rejected before being able to showcase their many skill sets. By customizing their interview process to be more inclusive, companies would forge a more diverse community, increasing the diversity of thought.

It is important for companies to understand that autism is not simply a disability, but different ability. While some autistic individuals may have learning disabilities or mental health issues, many autistic individuals can pursue a fulfilling career given the proper support. Additionally, many autistic individuals demonstrate unique traits that are useful in the workplace. Like neurotypical individuals, those on the autism spectrum have various interests and talents. Thus, it is the job of companies to match the interests and talents of autistic individuals to a job that suits them.