Is Autism a Neurotype, Disorder, or Disability?
Autism is ALL THREE of those things simultaneously. It is a neurotype, a natural variation in brain wiring. Unfortunately those natural brain wiring variations lead to disabilities.
Disability Is Not a Bad Word
There exists an abundance of stigma around the term “disabled”. “Disabled” doesn’t mean broken, or lesser. All it means is that a person requires more support than the average person in certain aspects of life.
“Disability and disorder can both be applicable when describing autism because they mean different things and highlight different aspects of the experience.Autism can simultaneously be a disorder, a neurotype, a difference, and a disability—these are not mutually exclusive. Personally, I choose to reclaim all these terms because there is nothing wrong with having a disorder, a disability, or being different. The stigma lies in societal perceptions, not in the words themselves.” - Kaligirwa