autism rights movement autism rights movement the autism rights movement, also known as the autistic acceptance movement, is a social movement allied with disability rights that emphasizes a neurodiversity paradigm, viewing the autism as a disability with variations in the human brain rather than as a disease to be cured. the movement advocates for several goals, including greater acceptance of autistic traits and behaviors; reforms of services - i.e. services that focus on improving quality of life and well-being instead of suppression and masking of autistic traits that are adaptive or not harmful or imitations of social behaviors of neurotypical (non-autistic) peers (which have been associated with poorer mental health); the creation of social networks and events that allow autistic people to socialize on their own terms; and the recognition of the autistic community as a minority group. neurodiversity paradigm philosophy bodily autonomy disability rights movement independent living movement self-advocacy organizations aspies for freedom autism network international autistic self advocacy network national autistic society events autism acceptance day & month autism history month autistic pride day autscape disability day of mourning weird pride day issues ableism anti-autism all in a row applied behavior analysis augmentative and alternative communication autism-friendly autism speaks communication shutdown community integration controversies in autism deinstitutionalisation disability-selective abortion double empathy problem ethical challenges to autism treatment eugenics facilitated communication filicide inclusion in education inclusion as a right judge rotenberg educational center ole ivar lovaas social model of disability societal and cultural aspects of autism universal design for learning people alex plank ari ne'eman damian milton daniel lightwing devon price donna williams govy jim sinclair john elder robison judy singer julia bascom lydia brown mel baggs michelle dawson morénike giwa onaiwu morton ann gernsbacher roy richard grinker shain neumeier stephen shore steve silberman temple grandin william davenport films citizen autistic loving lampposts neurotypical criticism pro-cure perspective national council on severe autism matthew belmonte manuel casanova jill escher michael fitzpatrick bruce hall thomas a. mckean david miedzianik jonathan mitchell jonathan shestack alison singer the rainbow-colored infinity symbol is a popular symbol among autistic people and autism rights advocates, symbolising a broad and varied spectrum of experiences. autism rights advocates believe that the autism spectrum should be accepted as a natural expression of the human genome, and accommodated like any other condition (the social model of disability). this perspective is distinct from two other views: that autism is a genetic defect and should be addressed by targeting the autism gene(s), or is caused by environmental factors (including fringe theories such as the debunked and false narrative that autism is caused by vaccines). there are a wide variety of both supportive and critical opinions about the movement among people who are autistic or associated with people with autism. a common criticism leveled against autistic activists is that the majority of them do not have co-occurring intellectual disability and critics argued that their views do not represent the views of autistic people with intellectual disability and their parents. history 1980s–1990s: autistic-run organizations, newsletters, and conferences jim sinclair is credited as the first person to communicate the anti-cure or autism rights perspective in the late 1980s. in 1992, sinclair co-founded the autism network international, an organization that publishes newsletters "written by and for autistic people." other individuals involved in the creation of the ani were donna williams and kathy grant, two autistic people who knew sinclair through pen pal lists and autism conferences. the ani newsletter, our voice, had its first issue distributed online in november 1992, to an audience of mostly neurotypical professionals and parents of young autistic children. the number of autistics in the organization slowly grew over the years, and ani eventually became a communication network for like-minded autistics. sinclair wrote the essay, "don't mourn for us", published in 1993 in the ani newsletter (volume 1, number 3), with an anti-cure perspective on autism. the essay has been thought of by some to be a touchstone for the fledgling autism-rights movement, and has been mentioned in the new york times and new york magazine. in 1996, ani established a yearly retreat known as "autreat". autreat was a retreat and conference held in the united states specifically for autistic people and was held every year from 1996 to 2013, except in 2001. the theme of the first conference in 1996 was "celebrating autistic culture" and had close to 60 participants. it was hosted at camp bristol hills in canadaigua, new york. the success of autreat later inspired similar autistic retreats, such as the association for autistic community's conference, autspace, in the united states; autscape in the united kingdom; and projekt empowerment in sweden. also in 1996, martijn dekker, an autistic computer programmer from the netherlands, launched an e-mail list called "independent living on the autism spectrum", or "inlv". the list also welcomed those with "cousin" conditions, such as adhd, dyslexia, and dyscalculia. american writer harvey blume was a member of the list and described it as embracing what he called "neurological pluralism" in a 1997 article in the new york times. blume discussed the concept of neurological diversity with australian sociologist judy singer. the term "neurodiversity" was first published in singer's 1998 honours thesis and in blume's 1998 article in the atlantic. 2000s–2010s: the rise of self-advocacy and autistic pride aspies for freedom (aff) was founded in 2004, and established 18 june as autistic pride day starting in 2005. aff was also instrumental in initiating protests against the national alliance for autism research, cure autism now, and the judge rotenberg center. in 2004, michelle dawson challenged applied behavior analysis (aba) on ethical grounds. she testified in auton v. british columbia against the lack of required government funding of aba. that same year the new york times covered the autism rights perspective by publishing amy harmon's article, "how about not curing us? some autistics are pleading." in 2006, the autism acceptance project was founded by estée klar, the mother of an autistic child, with help from an autistic advisory and board. the project affiliated with the autistic self advocacy network (asan) and other activist groups in north america and was one of the first to sign the petition against the new york child study campaign. it is also recognized by asan in a letter to the united nations of being one of the first autism organizations to promote autism acceptance. from 2005 to 2008, taaproject organized arts-based events to show the public an active autism rights movement that burgeoned online. in addition, it sponsored the controversial joy of autism: redefining ability and quality of life events and lectures in toronto, featuring dozens of autistic artists and speakers including jim sinclair, michelle dawson, phil schwartz, morton ann gernsbacher, larry bissonnette and more. in 2008, asan succeeded in halting two ad campaigns it stated were demeaning to autistics. the first ads were a series published by the nyu child study center that appeared in the form of ransom notes. one read, "we have your son. we will make sure he will no longer be able to care for himself or interact socially as long as he lives. this is only the beginning", and was signed, "autism". the second ads were published by peta and featured a bowl of milk with the leftover bits of cereal forming a frowning face. the text read, "got autism?" and was meant to advertise what peta claims is a link between autism and the casein in milk. phone calls, letters and petitions organized by asan led to the removal of these ads. the rise of the internet has provided more opportunities for autistic individuals to connect and organize. considering the geographical distance, communication and speech patterns of autistic individuals, and the domination of neurotypical professionals and family members in established autism organizations, the internet has provided an invaluable space for members of the movement to organize and communicate. 2020 onwards the start of the decade was quickly dominated by the covid-19 pandemic, causing a drop-off in the number of physical events in the summer of 2020, including autism pride events. much of autism awareness and campaigning was driven by social media, including the notable growth of tiktok and the emergence of autistic advocates like chloe hayden and paige layle. at the same time, autism advocacy made progress within the traditional media with the autistic perspective making its way into influential business publications such as harvard business review and fast company. a comprehensive approach to inclusion in the workplace, the canary code, was developed with a specific focus on autistic talent as well as other marginalized communities. advocacy controversy the neurodiversity paradigm falls in contrast with the medical model of autism, which considers autism a pathology. those who favour the pathology paradigm, which aligns with the medical model of disability, see autism as a disorder to be treated or cured. proponents of the pathology paradigm argue that atypical behaviors of autistic individuals are detrimental and should therefore be reduced or eliminated through behavior modification. their efforts focus primarily on medical research to identify genetic and environmental risk factors in autism. those who favour the neurodiversity paradigm, which aligns with the social model of disability, see autism as a naturally-occurring variation in the brain. neurodiversity advocates argue that efforts to eliminate autism should not be compared, for example, to curing cancer, but instead to the antiquated notion of curing left-handedness. their advocacy efforts focus primarily on acceptance, accommodation, and support for autistic people as "neuro-minorities" in society. proponents of neurodiversity often argue that it is harmful to autistic people to pathologize their behavior. pathology paradigm the pathology paradigm is the traditional view of autism through a biomedical lens, in which it is seen as a disorder characterized by various impairments, mainly in communication and social interaction. those taking this perspective believe that autism is generally a kind of harmful dysfunction. ways of functioning which diverge from a typical brain are "incorrect" or "unhealthy" and must therefore be treated or cured. the atypical behaviors of autistic individuals are considered a detriment to social and professional success and should therefore be reduced or eliminated through behavior modification therapy such as applied behavioural therapy. proponents of this view include very few autistic adults as this is more often the view of parents when compared to autistic adults adopting the neurodiversity paradigm. these advocates believe that medical research is necessary to address the "autism epidemic", reduce suffering, and provide the best outcomes for autistic individuals. in addition to etiological research, other areas of focus may include biology, diagnosis, and treatment, including medication, behavioural and psychological interventions, and the treatment of co-existing medical conditions. advocacy groups in the us that focus primarily on medical research include autism speaks, who some in the autistic community consider to be a hate group, the autism science foundation, and its predecessor organizations, the autism coalition for research and education, the national alliance for autism research, and cure autism now, and the former autism research institute. neurodiversity paradigm and autistic self-advocacy movement main article: neurodiversity the neurodiversity paradigm is the understanding that humanity has a variety of neurotypes, and always has. the autistic self-advocacy group autistics for autistics describes it this way: "neurodiversity means that –like biodiversity– all of us have a role to play in society ...and we should be valued for who we are. included in public life, such as school and employment. for nonverbal autistics, this also means equal and fair access to communication, such as aac." the neurodiversity movement views autism as a different way of being rather than as a disease or disorder that must be cured, and embraces the social model of disability which focuses on removing access barriers in society so that disabled people can be included, rather than on "fixing" disabled people. in this way, it is aligned with the principles of the broader disability rights movement. the autistic self-advocacy movement, made up of autistic individuals, works from a social model of disability perspective. for example, asan describes its mandate as to "advance the principles of the disability rights movement with regard to autism". the social model of disability is especially important to many autistic people who have been raised to think they are "broken versions of normal" rather than being accepted and having accommodations made for their disabilities. a shift