Dear Ms. Yip and Ms. Yeoh,
We are writing in response to your thoughtful article, “Commentary: Does the word ‘autistic’ make you uncomfortable? It shouldn’t says the community.” Thank you for bringing light to the current state of autism in Singapore, sharing local experiences of adults who have been diagnosed later in life, and using the commentary as an opportunity to challenge some of your own preconceived notions about autism. The autism diagnosis is complex and diverse, and needed support varies immensely from one autistic individual to another. In fact, several paradigm shifts have occurred in the autism community over the past couple of years – The community is calling from a move away from a medical model of disability (which views disability as something within a person to be fixed) toward a biopsychosocial model of disability (which views disability as the result of a person’s interaction with his or her environment) and a human rights model of disability (which recognizes that people with disability have the same rights as non-disabled people, and disability status should not be used as an excuse to deny a person their rights). In addition, the autism community has called for a shift from autism awareness to acceptance and has advocated for a strengths-based approach to supporting people on the autism spectrum that recognizes each person’s unique preferences, values, and needs.
Allied health professionals, including practitioners in the field of applied behavior analysis, are now beginning to veer away from the use of labels (common in the medical model) that frame the diagnosis as binary (e.g., low functioning versus high functioning). Instead, professionals are encouraged to understand the diverse ways in which an autism diagnosis might affect a person. For example, an autistic person might have high support needs in some aspects of life and relatively low support needs in other aspects of life. Similarly, an autistic person’s support needs might increase or decrease at different stages of life. However, we agree with you that the media continues to portray autism as one-dimensional: autistic people are portrayed as quirky geniuses, or too disabled to participate meaningfully in the world around them. The reality of autism is much richer, and much more diverse. One-dimensional portrayals of autistic people in the media may serve to further isolate and stigmatize the autistic community. We invite journalists and other media professionals who are interested in writing about autism to check out our website resources for media professionals for helpful tips and up-to-date information about autism and evidence-based support.
Best,
Beatriz Querol-Cintron, M.S., BCBA, LABA
Dr Erin Leif, PhD, BCBA-D
Association for Science in Autism Treatment
