Neurotypicals must stop seeing Autistics as a subspecies or different species of human, and Autistic people need to do their part too as far as viewing humans as all one kind.
But I’ll admit, this is a pretty fierce task to expect from neurotypicals.
And it’s an equally fierce task to expect from Autistics.
I received my ASD diagnosis one year ago, and doggone it, I still kind of have this intimation that there are two separate species of humans walking around on this planet.
Unfortunately, the Autistic subset is a very small minority – even when you consider that many people will die in old age without ever getting their diagnosis of ASD.
We can inflate the percentage of autistic people in the population after accounting for the many who are undiagnosed – but let’s face it – neurotypicals vastly outnumber Autistics.
This means we have to live in THEIR world, rather than a world that’s “equal” for both demographics.
World Autism Day celebrates the neurodiversity of Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Maybe one day, NTs will see autistic individuals as equal to, maybe even superior in some ways, rather than as “less than” or people to be scared of.
Such was the case of the unnamed Uber driver who, according to her autistic passenger, said she felt “uncomfortable” and ordered him out of her vehicle, leaving him stranded.
Collin Lewis, 28, has a visible form of autism that can be detected immediately, as the video of him from 9News Colorado reveals.
But the woman felt threatened by him. Shame on her.
If I were a rideshare driver – even years before I began suspecting that I was autistic – I would’ve welcomed Collin and his quirky presentation.
I would’ve initiated conversation with him, or, if he had initiated it, I would’ve kindly received and reciprocated.
I may not have assumed his difference was autism, however. I might’ve assumed he was schizophrenic (schizophrenia used to be a special interest, and I’ve done volunteer work at a state mental hospital).
Or I might’ve assumed he was mentally handicapped (I’ve had a few jobs working with mentally handicapped adults).
I’ve always been fascinated by these populations – never intimidated by them, like that weasel of a woman was. Again, SHAME ON HER.
World Autism Day is April 2.
Look. The world needs autistic people. Autism is nature’s way of offsetting the excessively large number of boring people in this world. Furthermore, like, who ELSE is gonna invent warp drive???
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical and fitness topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer. In 2022 she received a diagnosis of Level 1 Autism Spectrum Disorder.
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