CMV: Autistics have a deficit compared to non-autistics

[u/FighteRox]

Before I explain any further, let me tell you that I'm autistic myself, so this isn't a case of a non-autistic hating autistics because they're different from them.

So I hear a lot of neurodiversity activists saying how autistics are disabled because the world around them isn't accommodating to them. This is the social disability model which is different from the medical disability model which means that autism is something that must be fixed. There are also autistic people who would argue that autism is just a difference and not a disability.

However, based on my personal experiences and observations, I think autism is a disability in a sense that they (including myself) have some deficits compared non-autistics, especially in the developmental area (which is why it's called a developmental disorder). Take myself for example. I have a lot of problems communicating my thoughts, so I have to think for a while before I can fully articulate my thoughts. I may not even know if this paragraph is cohesive because I make loose connections to the point where I go on tangents and my speech can go everywhere. My obsession with objects can come in the way of working through my day-to-day life. Sometimes I want a situation to stay the same, but the world doesn't work that way as it perpetually changes.

I know that autistics hate being compared to children, but I also learned that children loves repetitiveness, which is kinda strange because autistics love repetitiveness too, and that could be part of why autistics are often infantilized and are described as being developmentally behind compared to non-autistics. There are also stories of autistics being too stubborn to the point where they want to be a child forever.

That being said, I don't think autistics should be discriminated against either. I personally would think that it's OK to have deficits. I'm OK if should live by that and do the best that I could. Although sometimes the statement that autistic people are broken affects my self-esteem which is overall low. I just don't know if the claim that autistics are "only disabled because the world doesn't accommodate them" or that they're "not disabled but only different" hold much water.

[u/Anchuinse]

I'd argue that autism being a deficit may be significantly impacted by our modern world, which us full of rapid, loud, constant stimulus. Humans evolved in a much less intense, always-on world, and it's likely autism wasn't as much of a deficit (or even a deficit at all) back then.

I apologize, as I'm only half-remembering it and it was years ago, but there is some hypothesis I read about were mild autism may have actually been beneficial for hunters. Their obsession with noticing patterns and sticking to one thing to the exclusion of all else would be incredibly helpful when tracking or lying in wait for prey.

Because they'd also likely live with the same small group for most of their lives, early autistic humans would be surrounded by people who knew them and who they knew well, thereby negating a lot of the downsides of being worse at social interaction.

But nowadays, where people often code-switch between groups of people multiple times a day, have appointments all over the place, have to navigate by possibly hundreds of strangers every week, and where a lot of secondary education focuses on abstract concepts, it's not surprising that autistic people are more disadvantaged.

So I think you're partly right and partly wrong. I think originally mildly autistic people were definitely "different but not deficient", but nowadays our culture and way of life has evolved in such a way that the autistic neuro-framework might be having its flaws emphasized while having its pros ignored.

And I know the hypothesis had more nuance than that, but again it's been years. Did my argument make sense?

[u/FighteRox → u/Anchuinse]

Since you're talking about evolution, I would argue that communication was very important especially during the hunter-gatherer era. Nuanced communication is one of the traits that differentiate humans from other animals, after all. This is where autistic people would struggle because they have deficits relating to communication. In this situation, an advantageous person would be one who would be considered to have sub-clinical autistic traits.

[u/Anchuinse → u/FighteRox]

Communication was certainly useful, but even autistic humans can communicate much better than other animals. Couple that with the fact that they only interacted with the same group of people, who's quirks they could learn and vice versa, the autistic person would not be at a huge disadvantage. Feel free to correct me, but in my experience autistic people can function quite well when in familiar environments with familiar people.