Q: Why Do You Label Yourself, Autistic?
Read now (2 mins) | A: Same reason I label myself Italian-American!
December 6, 2023
Many people - even family - have suggested I should stop talking about Autism so much. "You're MORE than Your Autism," they say. "Why do you need to make Autism the reason for your entire personality?" they ask.
Funnily enough, that question doesn't come up with most cultures. Why are you so American? Why are you always waving an American flag? Why are you so patriotic? I might ask some of them. Or why do you wear an Italian horn and have a Sicilian Trianacria t-shirt or eat so much macaroni?
I use the example of being Italian-American because I am a 3rd generation and Italian accents, eating pasta and cannolis, singing ‘That's Amore,’ drinking Chianti, and dancing the Tarantella at weddings are some of the facets of the culture I share with my family and with other Italian-Americans when I meet them.
Even though I'm not Irish, I love music on the bodhran or penny whistle, and the Chieftains, and Boxty pancakes, and step dancers, and Guinness. I have the cultural aptitude to recognize "Irish Culture" even though I'm not Irish.
Helping people to understand Autism as a CULTURE and not a disorder is my personal mission, based on the work of the Deaf President Now (DPN) movement at Gallaudet University here in Washington DC.
DPN was the beginning of Deaf culture being recognized EXTERNALLY as more than the medical condition of "profound hearing loss." ‘Big D’ Deaf Culture (like ‘Big A’ Autistic Culture) is about empowering community members through self-identification, pride, and autonomy. Some people just see themselves as deaf (small d) and that's cool. You might see yourself as autistic and not Autistic.
My personal mission is to support Autistic Culture and part of how I do that is by pointing out the accents, foods, arts, songs, dances, customs, norms, and traditions of our community. This has nothing to do with diagnosis.
I didn't get diagnosed as Italian - I am Italian-American because I am part of an Italian-American community. No one asks to see my Ancestry results to confirm my Italian-ness. And yet, when I make stuffed artichokes or Tiramisu, I am celebrating Italian Culture no matter what those results indicate.
Sign Language is ALWAYS a part of Deaf culture whether the person doing it is Deaf or not. This is why it's important not to misappropriate or "sign badly" which has been a trend of late - it's disrespectful to the culture. Like speaking Italian badly and teaching others and saying you are fluent would be an affront to Italian people and culture.
Complex world building and robust niche museum collections are ALWAYS a part of Autistic culture whether the person doing it is Autistic or not.
When you enjoy a detailed and meticulous game like Pokemon or Dungeons & Dragons, you are enjoying Autistic Culture.
When you delight in the elegance of the Dewey Decimal System of classification at the Library, you are delighting in Autistic Culture.
When you marvel at the brilliance of the layouts of the grid streets in DC paired with the diagonal state streets and connecting circles, you are marveling in Autistic Brilliance (and Black Excellence!).
This is why I teach Autistic Culture - so that we can embrace and claim our birthright as Autistic people.
What do you love about Autistic Culture? How do you celebrate it with pride? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
*Background note: Most people only have a vague (often, highly stereotyped) version of autism in their minds and believe that autistic children need (traumatic) ABA therapy to "overcome" their disability and appear "normal." After receiving an autism diagnosis in her thirties, Dr. Angela Lauria realized that she too had been mostly unaware of what it means to be Autistic. Like so many people, she started her journey by first gathering information and resources from the omnipresent (and problematic) Autism Speaks, but eventually moved away from the 'autism community' in favor of the 'Autistic community,' where she found kinship with other Autistic individuals and learned to let go of pathologizing language like 'autism spectrum disorder' and 'Asperger's Syndrome.' This autism blog (and her autism podcast, "The Autistic Culture Podcast") is meant to share her lived-experience insights to support others on a similar journey of diagnosis, understanding, and community. Embrace Autism--differences are not deficits.
