Is autism a disability?

I’ve been an autistic self-advocate, creating autism-related content on the internet, for over 10 years…the one topic that has remained up for debate by both the autistic and non-autistic communities is whether autism is a disability.

The answer is more nuanced than a simple yes or no, because the answer depends on the bias of the person giving it.

Neurotypical society considers autism an “abonormality” or “impairment” that needs to be treated.

Some non-autistic (also known as allistic) parents of autistic people believe autism isn’t a disability and/or want their children to be “more than” their disability.

The autistic community has more to say about whether autism is a disability or not because each autistic person within the community has a different take.

That said, they usually fall under one of the following categories:

1. They think the only disabling part of autism is living in a predominantly allistic/neurotypical society.
2. They think that, regardless of how welcoming allistic society is, they would still struggle in different ways.
3. They’re somewhere in the middle of these two answers.

Why autism IS a disability

In the US, autism is a recognized disability under The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). I don’t know about other countries, because I don’t live there. 💁‍♀️

1. Functioning capacity fluctuate.

Non-autistic people often look at autistic people as having static functioning levels. This means they perceive the autistic person capable of doing X now being capable of doing X later, no problem.

That’s not how autism works. What an autistic person is capable of today, this week or even this year might not be what they’re capable of tomorrow, next week or next year.

Our energy levels, sensory input tolerance, and so many other things going on in our environment play a role in what we’re capable of doing.

This is why functioning labels and support levels are harmful. At the end of the day, they’re still up to the eye of the allistic perceiving us through their allistic lens. Support needs fluctuate; they’re not static.

2. Society benefits neurotypical people.

Society wasn’t built with consideration for disabled people, because we were never expected to mingle with able-bodied people.

Lack of accommodations is so ingrained in everyday life that able-bodied people feel so inconvenienced by something as simple as needing to create a ramp for wheelchair users or having patience when autistic people ask for clarification.

3. Lack of accommodations.

Look. Even if society was better at coexisting with autistic people, there’s still the utter lack of accommodations.

Some grocery stores have “sensory-friendly” shopping times, but only if you get a pass to use them. Not everyone is capable of getting a pass, but a pass if often required so people don’t “abuse” the sensory-friendly shopping time of dimmed lights, no music, no slamming pallets, etc.

I couldn’t experience college “normally” because I lost points for lack of eye contact and my inability to answer questions rapidly. When I explained this to my professor, she said that I needed “to deal with it anyway and try harder”. I wasn’t allowed to stim, either, and I couldn’t handle the rigid “this is how it’s done”.

4. Executive dysfunction

In relation to autism, executive functioning involves

• planning (e.g. cooking, paying bills, shopping)
• adhering to a routine
• putting information in order
• initiation
• coping with change
• self-regulation

Struggling to execute these things affects one’s daily life, both personally and professionally.

5. Processing capacity

Audio, language, sensory…

I didn’t set out to illustrate a point here, but this happened anyways. 🤷‍♀️ I haven’t the processing capacity to explain this one.

6. We often need a lot of time to ourselves.

Everyone needs alone time, but I think autistic people take that need up a notch.

I once configured my “perfect work schedule” using paid-time-off (PTO) because I had to work and needed to take a break. My requested time off always got denied because I was “too good of an employee to lose” on my scheduled days. 🙄

• I went in Saturday and Sunday and took off Monday.
• My normal days off were Tuesday and Wednesday.
• I went in Thursday and took off Friday.
• Then I repeated that schedule for another week.

And I loved my time off in the way of like, “OMG, this would SO work for me!” but hated it because it wasn’t going to last forever.

I need more time to unwind between spending time with people. Speaking literally drains me, because I’m not only “talking” — I’m listening and filtering sensory input; I’m fretting over whether I appear “normal” enough or if the other person recognizes that I’m not like them.

7. Struggle to manage life admin

“Life admin” applies to managing finances (e.g. budgeting, paying bills, taxes), feeding themselves, making appointments, household chores…the list goes on.

Not every autistic person struggles with this. Some autistic people may be able to maintain their life admin things, while others may not — regardless of learning how.

I don’t know about other countries or areas, but I know that Texans tend to be really independent. It might even be a Bible Belt/Southern US states thing, backed by generational trauma and the traditional expectation that wives must “do it all” while the husbands bottle up their emotions. 🙄

So hiring people to clean your home is perceived as either a luxury or a “lazy” thing, depending on who you are, where you come from and your bank account. The question isn’t, “What in your life did you create time for by doing this?” but, “Why are you wasting money on something you could do yourself?”

And I know society shames each other for even buying “convenient” food that you unpackage and pop in the microwave or the oven.

I cannot cut raw vegetables myself often. I’ll injure myself on accident or dissociate and mess up the dish. I stopped trying to make a copycat Panera Bread broccoli cheese soup after the third time because the cheese curdled.

(The second time, it was completely inedible; the first: grainy from a roux.)

So I buy the $6 tub from the deli section sometimes, because I love it and can’t enjoy it homemade.

Having quick meal options on hand is the difference between whether I’ll eat or not sometimes.

If I ever own a house, I’ll have it professionally cleaned at least once a month. A nutritionist used to plan my meals. I used to outsource my laundry.

Autistic adults don’t easily have access to that kind of thing unless they have a job that pays well…which usually comes at the expense of masking their neurodivergence.

Managing life seems to be this thing non-autistic people are capable of doing by default, even if they had to learn how to on their own first.

The autistic people who can do it and make it seem “easy” or pass it off as “easy” fail to acknowledge how stressful it can be, too, and wind up dismissing autistic people whose bodies literally cannot function like that.

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What makes autism a disability for you?