Autistic joy is the point

Awareness campaigns have spent decades selling autism as a tragedy. Autistic people have spent those same decades building lives, art, science, humour, and community.

Joy might look like lining objects in a perfect row, looping a song, sitting on the floor of a quiet aisle, or talking about one subject until the air feels clear. It does not have to look photogenic to be real.

Inspiration stories that say “despite autism” miss the plot. The person is not impressive because they overcame themselves. They are impressive, and they are autistic, and those facts can sit in the same sentence.

The work of acceptance is ordinary: keep the promise, keep the light low, keep the interest welcome, keep asking the person — not the stereotype — who they are.