if you ask me whether autism is a disability, I’ll say no, but if you ask me whether autistic people are disabled, I’ll say yes. To people who don’t understand the distinction between the medical model of disability and the social model of disability, “autism is a disability” and “autistic people are disabled” might seem like they mean the same thing. But the implications of these two phrases are actually quite different. “Autism is a disability” essentially means “autism is a pathology or deficit,” whereas “autistic people are disabled” essentially means “autistic people’s needs are not
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