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Comment by zzalpha | Hacker News Reader

I think it unreasonable for you to claim to speak for everyone on the spectrum.

Is what you say true for some? Sure.

But there are many far more severely impaired who desperately need better support systems, as do their caregivers.

Agreed. Steve Silberman, author of Neurotribes, says, "If you've met one autistic person, then you've met one autistic person." For me that was definitely a caution against one-size-fits-all approaches.

I also think a fair bit here about how the default becomes invisible when we think about these topics. If you look at a lot of society's institutions, you could see them as "special accommodations" for the neurotypical. Some people will definitely need more support than others. But I'm often struck by how different people just need different support than others. It just looks like extra support because it's not what we're used to.

As a small example, introverts often have a whole host of tricks for dealing with an extroverted world. E.g., sneaking into a bathroom for a few minutes of blessed quiet. The relationship flips when you enter into some introvert-dominated space, like a library. I often wonder what the world would be like if being "on the spectrum" were the majority case, and our current neurotypicals were a clear minority.

I agree (I would never make that claim, other autists may feel differently) , and do think there should be better support systems.

Some individuals may need treatment because they have meltdowns / anti anxiety w/e but I don't think this should be framed as 'treating' or 'curing' autism. Autistic individuals may have all sorts of difficulties in their lives that need to be addressed, but the solution isn't to make those individuals not autistic.

When we talk about struggles that minorities and people of color face in American society today, you don't say let's 'treat' or 'cure' blackness -- I don't even need to explain why that's an affront.

Especially considering there are some many that are unable to speak themselves.

(S)he has more right to speak for us than the majority of (neurotypical) decision makers.

Only for those on the lighter edge of the spectrum. I have a severely autistic sister who requires constant care and could never be functional in society. I feel I have more right to speak for her than the OP does. The neurotypical or neuroatypical decision makers argument doesn't really play when the individuals we're discussing lack the ability to make decisions in their own best interests.

But your sister, and her family, needs better accommodations from society.

She needs better treatment, so perhaps someday she could live something even resembling a normal life. She already gets plenty of accomodations from the government and society as a whole, living in a group home, etc. I don't know what other accomodations could really be made.

Yes, just as, as a man who's of below average height, I also can speak for little people.

No wait, I can't...

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