The missing link in autism advocacy

Autism is a disability.

But it isn't JUST a disability. 

It's also a processing difference that can make it possible for a person to see and understand the world more thoroughly and completely than the average nonautistic person.

This is because autistic brains are wired to think in systems.

Meaning, we don't process individual things individually. 

We see them in the context of the bigger picture and how everything fits and works within it.

Which is why we often notice when things are broken and are able to fix them, while most people are too busy fighting with the system to even notice it's broken.

And this is only a peek into how our brain wiring differences can be an incredible strength for us.

I am NOT suggesting that all autistic brains work this way.

Or that those of us with brains that do work this way don't also have significant challenges. 

Because we absolutely do.

One thing that IS true about all autistic people, is that we have challenges that we can't manage on our own without help from others.

(This is currently how the field of psychology defines autism. That we require support to get our needs met.)

But just because we have significant challenges, does NOT mean we are a bunch of broken people.

I believe that for every "weakness" an autistic person has, they have a corresponding strength.

My theory is that our brains are wired to direct more energy towards certain areas that show up as strengths, which takes that energy away from other areas that show up as "weaknesses."

So we end up with greater strengths in certain areas, but also greater vulnerabilities in others. 

(I'm going to use the word "vulnerability" instead of "weakness" going forward, because I think it's a more accurate and precise term for what's going on.)

I've started referring to this concept as the "strength/vulnerability coin" because I believe the two are inversely related in the brain.

And I believe this applies to ALL autistic people. Not just those of us with lower support needs.

To be clear, this is a philosophical theory that our current scientific landscape cannot verify or discount. The science simply isn't there yet.

But I do believe this explains a lot about what we see on the surface with autistic people... through the lens of the internal autistic experience. 

Particularly when we see what I'm describing show up in real life. 

(There are several real life examples of autistic people who were significantly challenged, but who also contributed significantly to human evolution.) 

But here's what I think is the missing link to all of this...

The thing that explains why so many autistic people only visibly demonstrate vulnerabilities and not obvious strengths...

And why so many autistic people are not achieving the great things their brains are fully capable of achieving.

I believe it comes down to access.

Or, more specifically, BARRIERS to access.

I believe that the autistic people who aren't achieving the full greatness of what their brains CAN achieve have BARRIERS preventing ACCESS to that greatness. 

These barriers are specifically neurodevelopmental, aka brain wiring related. 

But I think it gets wildly more complicated than that when you add all other types of barriers a human might have. 

Other barriers include...

- Acquired neurological barriers (brain wiring challenges acquired through things like trauma and brain injury)

- Socioeconomic barriers

- Educational barriers

- Barriers related to discrimination (i.e. being part of a marginalized group)

It's multi-factorial and EXTREMELY complex... 

But I do believe that all autistic humans... INCLUDING high support needs autistic humans... have the capacity for greatness...

IF access barriers are removed. 

(Even removing *some* can significantly increase a person's capacity for achieving their individual greatness.)

And what does this mean when it comes to neurodevelopmental barriers?

It means support (this includes accommodations)...

- Support from parents and caretakers.

- Support from educators.

- Support from society in the form of societal structures and systems.

Autism is not just a grouping of challenges.

It's ALSO a processing difference that comes with the capacity for achieving great things.

And I don't mean "great things" for society. I mean great things for the individual.

Thanks for reading to the end...

I hope you learned something new today.  

P.s. as an important aside...

Access barriers exist for everyone... all humans, not just neurodivergent ones. 

The second half of this post can apply to everyone if you modify the barriers to reflect how they show up for each individual person and then customize supports to meet their individual needs.

I am sharing this framework in the context of autism, not because it is autism-exclusive, but because that's the lens I look through when sharing educational content on this platform.