When people say they can’t believe I am autistic, they mean it as a compliment. But the comment is really a backhanded insult, rooted in the fact that society defines disabled people as incompetent, inferior, and permanently infantile. When Thunberg first learned about the devastating effects of climate change in 2011, she fell ill, and it was only then that she was diagnosed as autistic. ADADAttacks on Thunberg that rely on claims that she is to be pitied and saved from adults may seem motivated by benevolent concern. But they only reinforce the ableist and ageist idea that children and autistic people lack agency and cannot exercise their own autonomy, which is wrong.

Source: Washington Post December 14, 2019 10:52 UTC