by MAQQI
All Autistics Are Human- latest post by MAQQI
You have likely heard or seen those words before. That message is at the heart of everything AUsome Training does. On the face of it, it’s obvious – of course all Autistics are human – so… Why do we keep saying this? Where did this even come
from? What’s the big deal anyway?
Here’s where this line came from. On 11 April 2008 I wrote a document titled ‘Initial Comments.’ It opens like this:
SOME INITIAL COMMENTS
Autism is not a failure. Autistics are not failed humans.
Autistics are just humans. All Autistics are human.
The document itself was an outline of Autistic rights. However that phrase “all Autistics are human” stuck in my head.
Our first reaction might well be “Ah, of course. That goes without saying.” That is actually a problem, because it HAS gone unsaid, and in the space is often a “Well yes, but…” followed by a plethora of indignities, misattributions, slights, insults,
denigrations, even outright dehumanisations.
What was niggling the back of my mind was the realisation that, if it IS said, if “All Autistics are human” is a start point, all those things any human is entitled to –boundaries and personal space, self-expression, dignity, informed consent, freedom
of association, education, secure housing, equality in the eyes of the law, and more – come as part of the package. And arguments to deny us those things get a lot harder to justify.
Looking at this world thinking “all Autistics are human,” the othering clicked into focus. Nobody sees themselves in us. Nobody wants to. We embody everything that signifies ‘Not like me’, ‘Not like us’… Not human.
Even so, it took several years to work through the implications and how to address them. Part of that was just realising that saying ‘All Autistics are human’ out loud and unapologetically in a non-Autistic space is an act of defiance. There are people who
hear those words as a threat. It sounds incredible to say that, but it is true, and realising that truth transforms ‘advocacy’ into ‘resistance movement.’ Pushing back
against injustice and harm.
The thing is, this is not about breaking society, it’s about fixing it. Because what we actually see is a broken society. One that does harm to Autistics and to other Neurodivergent people, yes, but to so many others also. That’s why ideas like intersectionality and solidarity lie at the heart of our work.
It’s not just about me. It’s not just about us. It’s about ALL of us.
So, how do we act on this? We educate. We exercise compassion and patience. We use carefully-crafted arguments, pride picnics, people being unashamedly Neurodivergent. Those might not seem revolutionary – picnics-as-protest might sound silly – but they are just that.
It is a mark of the extent to which Autistic people have been othered, shut out of public space, made invisible, silenced that a gathering of openly Neurodivergent people in public space is a defiance, a brave thing to do.
Performing your very human Neurodivergent self either among peers or among the wider public makes it real for others and empowering for you. Being among your peers in a supportive setting and witnessing their Neurodivergent expressions of
selfhood is enormously validating.
Okay, so what’s that got to do with AUsome Training? The answer is… everything, actually.
One of our most successful courses, Cothu, is designed as a complete package for therapists and similar professionals to deliver to parents of young Autistics. Cothu focuses on the idea ‘happy parent = happy child.’ It includes explorations of self-care
and reimagining family relationships. It’s full of ideas of compassion, patience, listening, trust, compromise, being ‘good enough.’ It is all about families living their diverse authentic lives without shame, forgiving each others’ shortfalls and
supporting each other. It is about living better lives.
And by doing so it is revolutionary. Professionals delivering Cothu tell us so. Parents attending sessions say so. They can see it. They can feel it.
This is what Autistic revolution looks like. The revolution is not about overthrowing a government or conducting wars. It is about transforming the shape of the future in an entirely different way.
This can be scary. It can be hard. On top of that we are, as the title reminds us, human. We make mistakes and we don’t know everything. Because we’re human. And that’s okay. It’s scary and that… that’s okay. We have each others’ backs.
What stands as an obstacle to a better future for Autistic people and those who share their lives is not so much an oppressive ruler but ideas. Those ideas place a series of powerful constraints on what is possible. The future is smaller than it should be.
Our task is to make it possible for Autistic people and those around them to feel allowed:
Allowed to exist. Allowed to want. Allowed to make mistakes. Allowed to say No.
Allowed to take chances and to forgive themselves. Allowed to speak their minds.
Allowed to imagine and aspire and create. Allowed to be, to fill their space in the world and do so not just unapologetically but with joy and exuberance.
So let’s start here. We are all ‘revolutionaries’ through our celebration of Autistic living. What is it about being Autistic that gives you sparkles of joy? How do you make your world a better place to be?
