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50 Shades of Autism

In my last post, I briefly breezed through the topic of the differences in support needs in autism. The thought was very new at that point. And something that I wanted to understand more deeply. But how do I do it? 


Most of the easily available literature on autism is still from the medical perspective. And if there is one thing that I have learnt from binging all those medical dramas, it is that medicine is still evolving. Even doctors don’t know everything. Nobody does. Medicine is ever evolving, just like us. And no shade to the medical field, but all that literature is still very deficit based. In simpler words, it is from the neurotypical lens. It does not even try to explain things from the autistic lens. And if we keep sticking to just that lens, we will still see things as problems, instead of support needs, deficits, instead of accommodations. So, what do we do?


And here is where my brilliant mind gave me the brilliant (and seemingly obvious) idea, to talk to autistic people. Hear it from the horse’s mouth, as they say (never could really understand what a horse has got to do with any of it, but well!). So here I am. Drum rolls please!!!!


Presenting…………!!!!!!!!!!!


50 Shades of Autism


(Imagining thunderous claps here)


In this series, I want to interview 50 autistic people, and get to know them and autism better. I wish to cover as much of the spectrum as possible. With this, I would like to highlight the unity in diversity in autism. I will be super honest and vulnerable here. I don’t know 50 autistic adults. I am hoping I will find them, and they will find me. And people who know me may not think of me as shy, but I am really reluctant while talking to people I don’t already know. Anyways, I am hoping I will figure it all out as we go along. Not letting my fear of failing (embarrassingly and publicly) keep me from trying. 


But I hope at the end of it I get the honor of reading 50 (or more, fingers crossed) authentic autistic voices, and have a more well rounded, personalized understanding of autism. So, watch out for more!

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