My Autistic Manifesto

This is a bit late for Autistics Speaking Day, but it’s something I’ve been meaning to write. I hope it helps others find the rebellious joy in their own Autistic identities.

I am Autistic. My brain is wired in an Autistic manner. This is not a disorder. It is a natural variation of the mind, and it comes with its own set of benefits and challenges.

I embrace the Autistic community as my community, and Autistic culture as my culture.

I will learn the history and culture of my community from those who have lived it. When I am able, I will teach it to those who are beginning to learn for themselves.

I do not believe that Autistic people are inherently superior to allistic people, as that would make me no better than my oppressors. Instead, I seek to build a future in which the neurodiversity paradigm is truly honored in everyday life.

I believe in mutual aid as a mechanism of gaining independence from the society that alienates and oppresses us.

I reject all externally imposed categorizations — high functioning, low functioning, Asperger’s syndrome, PDD-NOS, et cetera — as the only purpose that they serve is to separate me from the rest of my people.

I reject the idea that I am a “person with autism.” My neurological wiring is inseparable from who I am, and I choose to embrace it.

I reject “autism research” not conducted by and for Autistic people.

I do not engage in mockery of any individual for being harmlessly eccentric — they may indeed be one of my people, and even if they are not, they are still as deserving of respect as any other sentient being.

I choose to value my life as an Autistic person, as a declaration that Autistic lives are valuable.

I choose to cultivate self-love as an act of protest against a society that believes that I am not worthy of it.

I choose to cultivate love for those that share my neurotype, as an act of protest against a society that believes that we are not capable of it.

I mourn for those whose lives have been lost to anti-Autistic violence, as well as those whose lives have been lost to ableist violence in general.

I seek to build solidarity with other neurodivergent and disabled people as well as my own community.

I believe that as Autistic people, we have the right to control our own narratives.

I declare myself and my community unconditionally worthy of the same rights that are enjoyed by the allistic majority.

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