When will we find a term for the Autistic community that works for all of us?

We won’t.

That’s the beauty of communities: they are diverse. We all have different needs and wants. We come to our collective grouping with different experiences. Different experiences of being seen as Autistic or not Autistic. Too Autistic, not Autistic enough. Late realised. Early realised. Diagnosed and not wanting a label. Dangerous. Challenging. With autism. Autistic. Neurodivergent. Something. Nothing. Not Otherwise Specified.

“Neurodivergent” doesn’t work for all folx, it’s too vague or doesn’t speak to some people’s experiences of being outside of the “ideal” body. The ideal body created under white supremacy and ableism, both sitting under capitalism. So many of us are told we don’t belong and that we have no value. That our bodies and ethnicity are not beautiful or valid. That we are a burden.

Autism Spectrum Disorder works for some – they feel disordered and they may wish to be in another bodymind. These people are often considered to have internalised ableism. It’s their experience, I don’t get to decide whether they feel disordered or not. I don’t live this person’s life and my tone policing of their identifiers doesn’t make their life easier, it makes them more isolated and feel more misunderstood.

When people put “disorder” onto others, that’s a different story. I want autonomy for all Autistic people, including those who consider themselves disordered.

Autism Spectrum Condition might be more palatable to some. It’s a little softer and offers more neurodivergent experiences. It’s a newer diagnostic label and shows the connection between Autistic experiences and embodiment and those of other bodyminds on a spectrum.

Neurosparkly, neurofabulous, neuroqueer, “neurospicy“. They will mean different things to different people. Speaking up about racism within some (or all!) of these terms does not cause division. Racism causes division. White supremacy is wholly reliant on creating and maintaining a power dynamic that causes division socially and politically.

So, we’re not going to find a term that makes everyone happy and comfortable in Autistic communities. The people I often see the people pushing for comfortable blanket terms are often white or white-passing. They are missing a vital thing: Black and Brown people in the Autistic Community don’t get to be comfortable, ever. It’s not a choice for them in white “society” or in non-Autistic spaces too. Racism exists inside and outside of Autistic spaces. Ableism occurs all over even is so-called inclusive spaces.

This blog is not meant to shame white people, or anyone else this might challenge. It is meant to be thought -provoking, and hopefully action-provoking. We as white people don’t have time to feel shame and guilt. People of colour in our community can’t wait for us to stop feeling embarrassed about our capitulation with white supremacy. They don’t have that privilege.

Online white Autistics tend to take up q lot of space, even when someone talks about global majority Autistic people. When a global majority Autistic person talks about their experiences that’s who the conversation is centering. It’s not an invitation to centre whiteness, it’s not an opportunity to challenge, tone police or “correct”. It’s an invitation to step outside of this system of white supremacy and ableism that controls and hurts all of us.