How Can I Teach My Autistic Students to Love Their Disability?

Autistic Advice #1: A New Column by a Neurodiverse Psychologist

Photo by Robert Collins on Unsplash

Welcome to Autistic Advice, a new, semi-regular column where I respond to questions about neurodiversity, Autism acceptance, and disability rights from Autistic people and their allies. For the past month or so, I’ve had a Curious Cat question box open, and have accepted questions from educators, parents, and Autistic people themselves. You can anonymously send me questions there as well.

Before we dive in, a bit about me: I am a 32-year-old Autistic person who didn’t realize they were on the spectrum until their mid-20’s. My whole family is full of people with Autism-spectrum traits of one kind or another, and at this point in my life I socialize with fellow neurodiverse people almost exclusively. On Medium, I’ve written extensively about my experiences, and the experiences of other adult Autistics whom I’ve interviewed. Though I am a research psychologist, I am not a therapist, and this column should not be treated as therapy.

My first question comes from an educator who works with Autistic children and adults. They wanted to know how they could teach their Autistic students to take pride in their own disabilities. They wrote:

When did you start to see…