Autism is Not a Superpower

One of the common things that is said about autism is that it is a superpower. I, and many autistic people, have problems with this myth.

I don't like the autism superpower stereotype, because:

1) It's wrong about what autism is.

To call autism a "superpower" is to minimize how disabling autism can be. Even if autism comes with "perks", it is still a disability. It makes the world extremely difficult to live in.

Some autistic people are good at memorizing prime numbers, but they may not be able to go to the store to buy their own food and clothing. They may have trouble finding people patient enough to listen to them. They may have difficulties identifying their own emotions. They may hit themselves when they're upset. They may not make enough money to sustain themselves. They still may be victims of harassment and violence. Adult autistics may be treated like children, instead of the adults they are. Being good with numbers does not make their problems go away.

To understand this, it is helpful to compare autism to a more familiar disability. In an analogy that I hope is humorous and not offensive, imagine if an able-bodied person told a person in a wheelchair, "you may not be able to walk, but at least you're really good at rolling!" Being good at using a wheelchair does not minimize the fact that the person cannot use stairs. It does not change the fact that some places they want to access lack ramps. It does not change the fact that wheelchairs are difficult and tiring to use and transport. It does not prevent other people from harassing wheelchair users. The person in the wheelchair is still not as mobile as an able-bodied person, even if they are better at moving in one way. (Autism is clearly different than being wheelchair-bound; the point of this analogy is to relate to people who are not familiar with autism at all, or who claim it is never a disability.)

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The superpower myth also supports the idea that autistic people are superior to allistic people. This isn't true, just as allistic people aren't superior to autistic people. No one is superior to anyone. Everyone has an equal right to life and fair treatment.

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It also suggests that autism can't ever be a good thing without some special skill associated with it.

The "autism is a superpower" idea is often used in positivity narratives. It is meant to empower autistic people and make us feel better about ourselves. But for autistic people who don't feel superpowered, it makes us feel like we are defective. It makes us think we have all of the negative traits of autism - the ones that don't make us superhuman - and we lack the positive traits of autism, which are the ones that make us special.

Many autistic people do not feel any more special than anyone else. And I believe we don't need to - we can have our own strengths and weaknesses without putting anyone else down. We can derive our self-worth from what makes us unique, but not super.

What I hope is that one day, autism itself will be seen as a neutral trait. I want autism to be considered one of the fascinating and worthy varieties of human experience. It doesn't need to be anything more than that.

2) It's a narrative created for us, not by us.

The people calling autistic people superpowered are often parents. They mean to console other, concerned parents who are afraid that their autistic child will be delayed or defective. They may use other words like talented, gifted, or exceptional.

Good parents want their children to have a healthy and happy future, so it makes sense that they want to believe their autistic child will be special in a good way. But parents of autistic people are often the ones speaking for autistic people. They are the people who determine how allistic people see autistic people. Autistic people therefore lack agency in our own image - we don't have control over how we are perceived, because our parents are speaking for us.

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Even when autistic people are the ones using the superpower myth, they are speaking for other autistic people and taking away their agency. Autistic advocates often have a high masking ability - they find it easier than other autistic people to talk about what they mean, interact with other people, and manage their sensory difficulties. (Within the medical model, these autistic people would be called high-functioning, mildly autistic, low-support needs, or level 1.) They may also have access to financial resources that other autistic people do not have. They may have grown up in a supportive environment, surrounded by loving and accepting people. They may not have any other disabilities that make it harder for them to live their lives.

When autistic advocates with high masking abilities speak for other autistic people, they may get important details wrong about how life is for non-masking autistic people. Autistic people with different struggles, who do not consider themselves superpowered, can feel insulted by being called superpowered. They may find it ironic that autistic advocates with high masking abilities and financial resources call themselves superpowered, when in reality they are simply lucky.

I consider myself to have a medium- to high ability to mask. I have financial resources, and I have had a mostly stable childhood and a supportive environment. I don't consider myself disabled in other ways. As I am writing this section, I am referring to conversations I have had with autistic people across the spectrum, who all have different opinions on the high- and low-ability divisions and the superpower myth. I am doing my best to incorporate their opinions, too. But I still want to make it clear that this section is based on my limited perspective.

3) It's a way of forcing autistics to be what they cannot be.

The superpower myth implies that autistic people need to prove our worth by being savants in order to be accommodated and welcomed as a member of society. Autistic savants can become famous curiosities, and they can come to represent all autistic people.

But being "superpowered" is an unattainable goal. Most autistic people do not have savant-level abilities. Autistic people who don't perceive themselves as "superpowered" feel insecure when they compare themselves to both allistic people and autistic savants.

Autistic people who don't feel superpowered may feel like they aren't trying hard enough. Possibly, the allistic people in their lives have told them that hard work will gain them intelligence, money, success, and whatever else they want in life. This attitude minimizes how hard autistic people are already working - either to attain success, or just to survive. The ways to help autistic people involve awareness, acceptance, and advocacy. The responsibility should not be on autistic people to conform to a superpowered ideal.

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The idea of a superpowered autistic is a forced identity that many of us cannot be. It is rooted in the ableist projections of allistic people, who want autistic people to be a curiosity. It is a way of taking the personhood from autistic people.

To be "superhuman" is to be "not human". It is to be abnormal. It is to be isolated. An autistic person who is told they have superpowers may feel dehumanized. Autistic people can be considered so exceptional that they feel removed from human society.

4) It's an excuse to avoid making meaningful institutional changes.

The superpower narrative implies there is something "wrong" with being disabled without also being unusually good at something. But there's nothing inherently wrong with being disabled. What is wrong is a hostile and non-accomodating society.

The superpower narrative can be used to help allistics and people in power, like legislators and caregivers, think they're accommodating for autistic people. They may believe they are giving us opportunities to "overcome" our own shortcomings and use our "super abilities". Instead, what they should be doing is making meaningful policy, practical, and attitude changes to incorporate autistic people in society, regardless of superpower status.

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The idea that autistic people are superpowered, or that we have special abilties in general, is related to the idea that financial self-sufficiency, and usefulness to society through full-time work, is the end goal for everyone.

People sometimes mention autistic "skills" and "powers". What they often mean is that they believe autistic people can be good at their jobs, or generally of use to allistic people. They may say that autistic people are good at following directions, sorting and organizing things, and doing menial labour without complaining. Not every autistic person finds these tasks easy to do. Even those autistic people who are good at these tasks are not good at them all of the time.

An autistic person may enjoy a certain task. They may be better at it than they are at doing anything else. But even then, they may not be better at it than the average allistic person.

Autistic people have differing levels of ability to work. Some can work full-time their whole lives. Some can work part-time. Some can work infrequently, between breakdowns. And some will never have a job. Regardless of our work ability, autistic people still deserve support. We still deserve to be treated as a part of society. Our worth cannot be based in powers or skills; it must be based in our humanity.

For some autistic people, the superpower stereotype may be the best way of describing how they experience their lives. I don't wish to take that away from them. But I want to point out the reasons why the superpower myth cannot be generalized to all autistic people.

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All of these ideas came together thanks to the help of many autistic (and allistic) people I know. I don't want to name them or describe how I know them, in case they are targeted by harassment. But I want to recognize how helpful the autistic community is to me, and that these ideas are not solely my own.

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