Ableism is not a list of bad words. Language is *one* tool of an oppressive system. Being aware of language -- for those of us who have the privilege of being able to change our language -- can help us understand how pervasive ableism is. Ableism is systematic, institutional devaluing of bodies and minds deemed deviant, abnormal, defective, subhuman, less than. Ableism is *violence.*
— Lʏᴅɪᴀ X. Z. Bʀᴏᴡɴ (aka, autistic hoya)
15 Crazy Examples Of Insanely Ableist Language
“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.”
The older I get, the more I realize how wrong that childhood axiom really is. Words have power. Throughout history, the right words, spoken by the right person, have been used for good and for evil. They’ve given hope to the hopeless, and they’ve been used to convince entire nations to do unspeakably nefarious things. Words convey our most powerful emotions: love, hate, anger, joy.
We need to talk about words, specifically, ableist words. One all-too-common practice of headline writing and casual speaking is flippantly using ableist vocabulary, which may cause some people real emotional harm. I’d like to see a shift away from this type of language, which I’ll get to in a moment. Obviously, you’re the only one who can determine what words you want to use in conversation or in writing, so I’ll preemptively say, no, I am not advocating censorship (beat you to it, comments section), but rather, just some thought into future word choice.
Over 500 people on Daily Kos seem to think recommending a post that associates Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with having the mind of a three year old and, by virtue of associating this with Trump, indirectly linking it with racism, misogyny, bigotry and anti-immigrant nativism. In a diary characterizing the President-elect with a litany of various forms of mental illness, the diarist threw in a common neurological disorder as well, in a string of epithets designed to make Trump seem as if out of his mind. To quote the diary:
Look up the criteria for ADD as well and you have your man. He does not read about issues because he lacks the attention span. He speaks at a third grade level.
Riiiight. Everyone with ADHD is thinking and perceiving on the level of a three year old, as if people with this atypical neurology are, well, lacking in intellectual development and are incapable of tying their shoelaces... just like a three year old. Oh, and they can’t read. Here's more:
In what way could the pussy-grabbing President elect with untreated ADD and a personality disorder who tells more lies than any politician in modern history possibly make this country better? Yes, hatred and stupidity reign, thanks to you.
Oh, right, people with ADHD are now tied in with pussy-grabbing and assaulting women, dishonesty, personality disorders, hatred, stupidity, and if this isn’t enough, ADHD apparently renders a person to be unqualified for office, and people who think an ADHD person can do anything requiring responsibility and intelligence are stupid. Did you know John F. Kennedy was thought to have ADHD?
Good job. You showed me this time.
Or maybe, diarist, you need to learn a few things about these terms you're misusing.
That diary with those bigoted comments got some 550 recs on this site, and Daily Kos moderators punished one commenter (that would be me) who complained about the ableism by taking away the member’s rating privileges.
I think the most ironic part of all of this, are these words written by the diarist in her own diary:
I think that words matter. Perhaps you were happier in a world where kids were called “retards” and some boys were called “faggots,” but I would rather live in a civilized and polite world.
I share that desire, and sympathize. Which is why I had to respond.
Several remarks in the diary's comment section take this further, linking Trump to Asperger's, a form of mild Autism, which is the form diagnosed in some 80% of people on the autistic spectrum.
Not only is he DSM-IV/NPD, but he has Asperger's Syndrome — look it up and then tell me he is normal!
I posted two very calmly stated comments attempting to correct this wrong-headed labeling, and I listed a large number of talented, principled, brilliant, accomplished people with either ADHD or Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and was mocked by one person who answered with this:
You need to calm down. It’s not like that was something that jumped out at folk when reading the piece, damn. Maybe if you adjust your attitude instead of going off on a rant as if the OP did this on purpose, then perhaps the OP would revise the diary accordingly.
Yes, that is the response by one Kossack to my raising the issue.
I actually did post two or three very polite, respectful comments, none of which were particularly insulting, until someone came in and essentially spit in my face with that incredibly callous, insensitive, dismissive answer.
Look, it isn't that I don’t understand and I empathize with people who sometimes do things unintentionally, because we’re all human and these attitudes get passed around a lot with no push-back or objections. People keep their heads down at work and no one wants to be stigmatized, and thus refrain from defending the different ones, the neuro-diversity that is among us. But this is why I have to write this, to do precisely that, to push back, to speak up, when no one else will.
So its my turn. Okay. I don’t want to offend anyone I've cited here, or to embarrass, or hurt anyone's feelings. I just want to bring the issues out into the open. You know it really isn’t cool to mock people unfairly. I know this about you all… you don't want to be bigots.
It’s my turn, I guess, because by sheer happenstance, it was I who posted a diary a few days ago (12/23/16) highlighting the incredible performance of a 10 year old autistic girl who also has ADHD.
Do you really want this gifted child, or any other child with ADHD or ASD to grow up thinking she is in anyway like this horrible gasbag, who is known to mock the disabled and anyone who is different from social norms?
Listen to this angelic child sing! Just listen to her, please, and tell me if you see any resemblance to Trump?
Holiday Cheer: 10 yr old Kayleigh, shy, autistic, opens up, blows minds, sings Cohen's Hallelujah
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And in that diary I did something I haven’t really done publicly before, at least not in a diary. Only one person in my life, until that diary, knows I identify with ASD. I “came out” for the first time as a person on the autistic spectrum. My own ASD experience is mild, and I also have ADHD (I still relate to the older labels: Asperger’s, a mild form, and ADD — without hyperactivity). Yes that’s me. I am also likely to be mildly dyslexic, if the former isn’t enough. All mild atypical neurological diversity in my case, but they do add up to being a handful in dealing with NTs (neurotypicals), for reasons you might not even begin to understand, not having lived my life or walked in my shoes. Hint: it isn’t because I am stupid. Or can’t read. Or am functioning on the level of a three year old.
As John M. Grohol, Psy.D. writes at PsychCentral:
Attention deficit disorder (with or without hyperactivity) affects people of all ages, races, professions and walks of life. The impact of attention deficit disorder symptoms can make a person less productive, but still no less able to make their mark on this world. It’s estimated that approximately 5 percent of children today may have a form of attention deficit disorder.
Having ADHD doesn’t mean you have a handicap. As somebody once noted, “ADHD often endows children and adults with gifts such as creativity, intuition, imagination, and a sense of adventure.” Indeed, if you have ADHD, you are in very good company with the list of famous people below who either have been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder, or have many of the symptoms of this disorder that suggest they may have had it (in no particular order):
[Note: I edited the list for brevity]
Albert Einstein, Galileo, Mozart, Leonardo da Vinci, Cher, Danny Glover, Walt Disney, John Lennon, Winston Churchill, Henry Ford, Stephen Hawking, Jules Verne, Alexander Graham Bell, Woodrow Wilson, Hans Christian, Anderson, Nelson Rockefeller, Thomas Edison, Agatha Christie, John F. Kennedy, Whoopi Goldberg, Rodin, Thoreau, Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, Louis Pasteur, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Robert Kennedy, Prince Charles, Harry Belafonte, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Mariel Hemingway, George C. Scott, George Bernard Shaw, Beethoven, Carl Lewis, Jackie Stewart, “Magic” Johnson
As to Autistic Spectrum Disorder, it too is known for its positive aspects. As I wrote in my referenced diary:
And I have to tell you it isn’t at all what people so often describe. It isn’t defined by intellectual deficiency by a long shot. It isn’t really defined, necessarily, by lack of empathy, as so many think. ASD people can often, as new studies reveal, have even more intense forms of empathy than neurotypical people. It is Intense World Syndrome as far as my experience and opinion goes. The world floods in too intensely, too bright, too noisy, too much sensory input blowing circuits, and then those circuits shut down.
And it isn't mental illness. You do know there is a difference?
As this research article puts it:
The Intense World Syndrome suggests that the autistic person is an individual with remarkable and far above average capabilities due to greatly enhanced perception, attention and memory. In fact it is this hyper-functionality, which could render the individual debilitated.
[… ]
It may well turn out that successful treatments could expose truly capable and highly gifted individuals.
There are many articles that focus of the positive traits of ASD and list famous persons in history who are thought to exhibit ASD traits. This is an example:
Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Tim Burton, Bob Dylan, Thomas Jefferson, Andy Warhol, Nikola Tesla, Steven Spielberg
So, maybe you don’t think Albert Einstein was autistic? A lot of experts don’t agree.
One of the most gifted minds in our history, Einstein has often been rumored to have an autism spectrum disorder. BBC News reported that researchers at Cambridge and Oxford universities believe that the scientist displayed signs of Asperger’s Syndrome.
Mesmerizing, stunning short clip (1 ½ minutes) about Einstein’s autism:
Notice that some on the ASD list are also on the ADHD list. That’s because these traits overlap and sometimes a person has both. There are many other compilations of lists like these, and this is just a sampling.
Here are some articles about positive aspects of Autistic Spectrum Disorder:
The Benefits of Asperger’s Syndrome
This article begins by mentioning another round-up of famous people and geniuses with ASD, and the list is impressive. But even better, it concludes with this far more inclusive commentary:
Many people who are experts in Asperger Syndrome such as Dr. Teresa Bolick, Dr. Tony Attwood, and Dierdre Lovecky write about the positive aspects of Asperger Syndrome without focusing on the idea of genius. Lovecky notes how Aspies often have advanced vocabularies, recognize patterns others do not, and pursue ideas despite evidence to the contrary because they are not easily swayed by others’ opinions. Their ability to focus on details and their inability to see the big picture means they can come up with solutions to problems others overlook. Aspies are often willing to spend long hours in laboratories and in front of computer screens because they do not mind being alone. All this enables them to make tremendous contributions at work and school. Author Patricia Bashe points out that people often admire those who can work independently. She writes, “Our society celebrates the individual who does what he thinks is right and goes his own way.”
Because of their unusual reactions to stimuli such as light and sound, Aspies see the world differently than most people. They are able to comprehend multiple levels of meanings of words and can be fabulous punsters. When told they had to “eat and run,” one Aspie said, “Oh, that makes us carnivorous panty hose.”
Many experts relate that Aspies can make amazingly loyal friends. They are usually free from sexism or racism. They do not manipulate people but speak out frankly and honestly. They are sincere truth-tellers, whose naivety and trusting nature makes them incapable of backstabbing. As employees, they are completely dependable and follow the rules of the job. Psychologist Teresa Bolick writes, “Their deficits are actually assets, as they are unfettered by convention or manners. Aspies help us stay grounded by questioning why we do what we do, why we need to get married” and other basic societal assumptions.
And there is this, coming from a wonderful Aspie writer on her blog:
7 Positive Traits of Asperger’s Syndrome
From the list, which goes in to Focus, Motivation, Higher Fluid Intelligence, Creative Thinking / Problem Solving, Detail Oriented, “Out of the Box” Thinking, and Honesty, I’ve edited this to include just three: :
Higher Fluid Intelligence
Research has shown that children with Asperger’s Syndrome have a higher level of fluid intelligence than non-autistic children. Fluid intelligence is the “ability to find meaning in confusion and solve new problems. It is the ability to draw inferences and understand the relationships of various concepts, independent of acquiring knowledge.” (Wikipedia 2009). Many with Asperger’s Syndrome have a higher than average I.Q.
Creative Thinking / Problem Solving
As Temple Grandin famously put it, many autistic people “think in pictures”. It is the visual, three-dimensional thinking that birth numerous creative inventions and allow for creative problem solving.
Honesty
Many people with Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome do not see the need for lies, especially the “white lies” that are told in social situations. Although this may make social situations awkward at times, it also credits the autistic individual with placing a higher value on truth and honestly than social niceties. If you want the truth—these are the people to ask.
And, just as ASD people are not Donald freaking Trump, and just as it is unfair to label kids as narcissistic buffoons suffering from bigotries they don’t have, it is just as unfair to associate them with savants or geniuses, even though many are, and there are some special, beneficial traits.
As another excellent Aspie writer says:
If you’re a woman on the spectrum, within moments of mentioning to an acquaintance that you’re autistic or have Aspergers, you’ll often be asked, “Have you heard of Temple Grandin?”
This is a bit like asking a physicist if they’ve heard of Stephen Hawking. Probably, right?
The thing is, the average physicist has little in common with Stephen Hawking. And I have little in common with Temple Grandin.
[omitted several very nice, well written paragraphs that really deserve to be read in full — it is such an excellent article]
Even if Bill Gates or Einstein is on the spectrum, they are once in a generation people. Just like I’m not Temple Grandin, the average autistic kid is not going to grow up to be Bill Gates or Einstein. What’s more, he or she doesn’t have to. Most of us are spectacularly average and that’s okay. We don’t have to have to be once in a generation geniuses to be valuable people.But what about having goals, you ask. Isn’t it good to have role models? Of course it is. But holding up only the most brilliant and successful people as examples of “people like you” can make a kid feel bad if they don’t measure up. Autistic people are quite literal. A kid who’s told they’re just like [insert famous person here] may think that they literally have to live up to the accomplishments of that famous person. And if they don’t, they can start feeling pretty bad about themselves.
I am not Temple Grandin and the average autistic kid is not going to grow up to be Bill Gates and that’s fine.
And don’t associate us with Trump, because that's not fair, and its insulting.
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