AUTISM IS NOT A DISEASE

A muddled argument for neurodivergent liberation.

First-time British author Hare was diagnosed with autism in 2020 and at that point became involved with online autistic and neurodivergent communities. Her book is an earnest but often disjointed attempt to make the obvious case that “neurodivergent and/or disabled people belong in this world just as much as anyone else.” Though Hare does not believe that autism (a word she uses interchangeably with neurodiversity) is a disease, she does believe that it is a disability. “Being disabled is not shameful, and I will not treat it as such,” she writes. When discussing autism, she tends to conflate it with other forms of disability, to the point where any discussion of the particular challenges and possible advantages of autism gets lost in calls for “abolishing capitalism, racism, imperialism, the patriarchy, and every other system that works against a system in which we are all liberated.” At the same time, her own point of view is often buried in the frequently conflicting opinions of the many authors she cites as she explains one point of view and then moves on to the next. Occasionally, Hare offers practical advice on, for example, how to make the workplace more friendly to autistic people (a term she prefers over “people with autism”): provide a less intense sensory environment, implement neurodiversity training, offer opportunities to work from home, and so forth. More frequently, she drifts away from practicalities to make jargon-filled statements such as, “The binary oppositions that have been created in the service of hegemony and the status quo have been built within strict boundaries that alienate parts of the population.” Readers looking for insight into the experience of autism or the specific ways in which people with autism are discriminated against will likely be frustrated.

Flawed treatment of an important topic.