Autism Wars


Click here for the Plain Language version

The so-called "Autism Wars" (not to be confused with Kerima Çevik's blog of the same name) refers to the ongoing conflict that exists between autistic people (particularly those aligned with the Neurodiversity Movement) and non-autistic parents and autism professionals. There are many reasons why tensions have been so high between these two factions, and the conflict has existed for as long as the Neurodiversity Movement has. What lies at the center of the debate is the question, "who has the most authority to talk about autism?". Many autistic people feel they are the ones whose opinions matter the most when it comes to autism because of their lived experience. Plenty of parents and professionals agree with this assertion. Many do not, and assert that autistic people who speak up about the autism discourse are "not autistic enough" for their opinion to matter, because if they were truly autistic, they would not be able to have an opinion about the way they are spoken about. 

The Neurodiversity Movement insists that autistic people are the bottom line when it comes to anything related to autism, and therefore should lead any and everything about autism, often using the phrase "Nothing About Us Without Us" that was originally used in Hungary in the 1840s by labor organizers, which was then used by South African disability rights activists in the 1980s before making its way into the American Disability Rights Movement. There are autistic people who believe parents and professionals should be the authorities on autism. They do not consider themselves part of the Neurodiversity Movement.

Here you will find writings about the conflict between autistic self-advocates and non-autistic parents and autism professionals, from the perspective of autistic people as well as some non-autistic parent allies.