Recently I came across an article in the Guardian, written by Nick Ransom. (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/06/autism-autistic-positive-neurodiversity). He claims that he no longer sees being autistic as a disadvantage, to such an extent that he doesn’t even see the need to use the very word.

This is worthy of congratulations, but it does not bestow an accurate picture. As I wrote in ‘The Quest for a Cure’ (https://stephenjackley.com/2019/09/23/the-quest-for-a-cure/), the disadvantages of having autism (better referred to as ‘autistic spectrum disorder, or ASD) far outweigh the advantages. It is arguably the most debilitating condition that exists where no active cure or effective treatment is being pursued.

What makes Mr Ransom’s article even more contentious is the failure to take account of where the world is at. It’s like he exists in a protected little bubble… which, I guess, may very well be the case. It would be bad enough to have ASD 50 years ago, perhaps worse, but the perception that society has advanced to bury stigma – or is moving forwards to some grand disability utopia – is nonsense.

Look around you. Absorb the latest media article, song, movie. Hear what people talk about. It’s almost depressing in it’s crude visibility.

People don’t dream like they used to. Instead of hoping to excel in some career, they instead want status symbols. It matters less to make an impact on the world than to take pleasure in what can be grabbed from it. Even kids have set their horizons lower, dreaming not of becoming astronauts but rather footballers and celebrity idols. People elect Trumps and Johnsons to lead them; those who are likeable and entertaining. In social circles, they venture as far as their ever shrinking bubbles of security can take them. The strange, the unknown, is to be shunned and retreated from.

Amidst a surplus of information that no other time in history has boasted of, ignorance reigns supreme over nuanced arguments and logical debate. The varying shades and colours of the world are rendered into a crude 2-D model of black and white, with just enough detail to sway an opinion or keep it exactly where it was. Enter the epoch of smart phones and shorter attention spans. Where the publication of a book is now heavily determined by the average length of its sentences. Short ones. An age where the natural world, the foundation of all prosperity, is being ravished to its roots. Where men in power can lie, steal and kill with little fear of the consequences. Where outrage at such misdeeds has faded to a grudging apathy, as a result of being so preponderant. We are witnessing a society where those who dare stand up and speak out, in former countries that took pride in their liberty and free speech, no longer have the rights they once did to protest. 

To be different and misunderstood is the epitome of having ASD. In such times, no person with ASD can hope to convince the crowd and win them over. The discrimination they face on a regular basis can never go away.

Try gaining friends and entering into relationships when you can’t relate to people in the same way. Good luck finding any that understand the nuances, shades and colour of a world that’s been rendered a model of 2-D black and white.

Try advancing in a career when any established organisation makes judgement calls on employees based on how they look, speak and act on a superficial level.

No, the reality of someone with ASD is one of misunderstanding, exclusion, disadvantage and solitude. 

For those lucky enough to escape that, they have been blessed with the fortune of already being part of established networks of power and wealth. The good Mr Ransom, who so happens to live in London with employment under a large NGO and a left-wing, liberal newspaper, is one example. But for working class people who have ASD…

Don’t take my word for it. You only need look at the statistics.