Is autism a disability or a superpower?

It's neither and it's both. And it 100% depends on who's saying it and why. Let me explain...

When an autistic person says it's a disability, what they usually mean is... "My autism disables me from doing things nonautistic people seem to have no trouble doing."

When a nonautistic person says it's a disability, what autistic people often hear is... "You can't achieve big or impressive things because you're disabled and therefore incapable."

When an autistic person says it's a superpower, what they usually mean is, "My autism gives me amazing abilities that nonautistic people don't have & even though there are things about it that make my life a LOT harder, I choose to focus on the things that make me feel empowered."

When a nonautistic person says it's a superpower, what autistic people often hear is... "Stop focusing on what you can't do. Talking about your challenges is a victim mindset and is getting in your way." (aka, toxic positivity 🤢)

If you're not autistic, please stop telling autistic people how to feel about their own autism. It's rarely helpful and often invalidating. And this is the case on both sides of the coin...

If you tell a person who feels it's a superpower that it's really a disability, OR if you tell a person who feels disabled by their autism that it's really a superpower... in both cases, it's extremely invalidating.

All that said, it's an entirely different story talking about autism being recognized as a disability by laws like the Americans with Disabilities Act.

This is not telling someone how to feel about their autism, but acknowledging that it's recognized as one by the US government.