The first autistic lawyer in…<\/p>\n
The first autistic actor to\u2026<\/p>\n
The first autistic scientist specializing in\u2026<\/p>\n
The first autistic<\/em>\u2026. The moment I read that phrase, I know the rest of the story is sloppy journalism and probably inspiration porn<\/strong> \u2014 those feel-good stories about how amazing it is that \u201csomeone with autism\u201d can accomplish a goal.<\/p>\n As long as there have been humans, there have been autistic individuals. Neurodiversity is not new: the labels are.<\/strong><\/p>\n There were autistic lawyers, actors, musicians, painters, sculptures, architects, writers, doctors, scientists, teachers, and autistics of every other vocation \/ avocation in the past.<\/p>\n What changed over the last 40 years are the diagnostic criteria and awareness of autistic individuals. Apparently, autistics are being magically discovered throughout society. Shocking.<\/p>\n As a person, I don\u2019t want to be labeled \u201cautistic writer\u201d or \u201cautistic scholar\u201d or \u201cautistic {fill in the blank}\u201d because that feels like putting an asterisk next to whatever I accomplish. \u201cOh, he\u2019s an autistic writer!\u201d What does that mean?<\/p>\n I am not the \u201cfirst\u201d anything and I\u2019m okay with that. I don\u2019t want to be the \u201cfirst autistic professor at University X\u201d or some such silly thing. I simply want to be whatever I am now and into the future. I\u2019d rather my works define me first, not my social skills (or lack thereof).<\/p>\n Can we stop the fallacy that there is a wave of autistic firsts? Let\u2019s celebrate accomplishments, but they don\u2019t need to be hyperbolic stories of success \u201cin spite of autism.\u201d<\/p>\n Autism awareness is exhausting, one reason I\u2019m not as active this month. I\u2019ve posted these rants annually. Adding a 2019 rant doesn\u2019t change anything.<\/p>\n Good for those who are accomplishing great things. But, long before we diagnosed and labeled autism, there were \u201cawkward\u201d people doing many of the same things.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The first autistic lawyer in… The first autistic actor to\u2026 The first autistic scientist specializing in\u2026 The first autistic\u2026. The moment I read that phrase, I know the rest of the story is sloppy journalism and probably inspiration porn \u2014 those feel-good stories about how amazing it is that \u201csomeone…<\/p>\n