Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity

by Devon Price

Informed by eugenicist ideals that only granted rights to those who were “valuable” to society, Asperger focused on describing Autism as a disorder for intelligent, yet troubled boys, usually ones from wealthy families. Girls with disabilities were seen as more disposable, so they were left out of the conversation.[57] Black and brown Autistics weren’t described at all by Asperger or most of his contemporaries, even those who were doing research in more racially diverse countries such as the United States. The existence of LGBTQ and gender nonconforming Autistics was similarly ignored. In fact, the developer of the first therapeutic “treatment” for Autism, Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy, was Ole Ivar Lovaas, who also invented anti-gay conversion therapy.[58] That legacy still haunts the lives of many LGBTQ Autistics, who often feel out of place both in mainstream queer spaces and in Autism groups.[59]