Kidney Shilling
When you hear the word ‘autism’ what do you think of? Images of puzzle pieces and stimming children probably cross your mind. The idea of a spectrum between “high functioning” and “low functioning” probably follows close behind.
One of the most common ideas of autism is people who don’t know how to regulate their social or physical needs. And this idea, whether common or not, is extremely harmful. When thinking about autism it is important that society still view’s autistic people as normal people. Even though we may need more help when it comes to public speaking, over-stimulation, and emotional regulation, we can still do the same things as someone that is neurotypical.
One of the best ways to make sure that you have the correct understanding of ASD is through learning about and making an effort to understand the correct terminology. Something that many people are unaware of are the out of date terms that non ASD society continue to use. For example, the idea that a person with ASD is supposed to be placed on a spectrum is completely incorrect. There isn’t really anything as a “high functioning” autistic person. Yes the person may be able to live life with less support needs, but they still have the same amount of autism as someone who is considered “low functioning”. The reason for this is because autism is less like a spectrum and more like a wheel. On this wheel are multiple different factors that play into being autistic. Things like fixations, poor eye contact, noise sensitivity, and social difficulty, are all featured on this wheel. There are many other factors that play into this as well, in total there are 10 different “categories” that help determine whether a person is autistic or not.
Now, you might be wondering, “How can I identify an autistic person without labeling them as high or low functioning?” Well it’s simple. Instead of using these terms, you can point out the amount of support systems a person with ASD needs. This not only helps society identify what specific support an autistic person needs, but it also leads people away from using harmful terminology. After all, everyone’s autism presents differently and we each need our own means of support.
Now let’s move on to puzzle pieces. The most common symbol to point out ASD support is a puzzle piece. And while this is okay on the surface, the puzzle piece actually has many harmful ties. Not only is it attached to horrible organizations, such as Autism Speaks, but it also has a damaging origin. One of the founders of the puzzle piece, Thomas McKean, had the idea that someone with ASD was missing a piece and that is why they acted the way they did. The puzzle piece grew and grew, but so did the knowledge and information about ASD in general. As time has progressed, the autistic community has come to renounce the puzzle piece, pointing out that it makes people believe that autism is a “riddle to be solved or that those with the condition were incomplete” (quote from 123shoot.com). Which is completely inaccurate! With the puzzle piece being denounced by the majority of the autistic community, we needed to find a new symbol. This is where the infinity symbol comes in. This helps us to show that neurodivergent people “experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways” (quote from columbusspeech.org).
We at The Phantom encourage everyone who is reading to spread this information to help encourage awareness when it comes to proper terms and images. It is important that the neurodivergent and autistic communities are heard and taken seriously!
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