Donald Trump’s claims about autism deserve as little oxygen as possible, but it’s been a depressing, infuriating week for many autistic people and those of us who love them. His administration unveiled contentious claims about the causes of autism – pregnant women taking Tylenol, also known as paracetamol – and pushed for research to find a “cure”. It got me thinking about how to cope psychologically, and my conclusion – and that of many of my friends in the autism community – is that you have to laugh or you’ll cry.
There’s a saying that when you’ve met one autistic child, you’ve met one autistic child. I’ve never loved the “autism as superpower” narrative, and how it erases those with high-support needs and the challenges autistic people can face. Equally, Trump’s framing of autism as a tragedy and a disease in need of curing is deeply problematic, so I feel it’s important to highlight some of the incredible, brilliant things about autism. The fact is that the autistic children I’ve met have more to teach a man like Trump, more than he is ever capable of learning. Things such as:
