Autism/Neurodiversity excluded from Diversity PSA

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I have been noticing for a while that media campaign championing diversity (minorities, women, LGBTG+, etc.) always excluded neurodiversity and autism.

The following Lifewtr Life Unseen PSA, which I've been seeing in theatres for the past few months, is of particular note for a reason I'll explain shortly:



"We are the unseen creators" the ad proclaims; "because of our gender (women, trans), color of our skin (people of color), who we fall in love with (LGBTQ); our life's work may never be seen or heard." As always, the neurodiverse are notably excluded. But it goes even further with the line "or the ability of our bodies" (but not the abilities of our brains). With this line, Lifewtr is making a deliberate effort to emphasize that when they talk about people with disabilities, they specifically and exclusively mean physical disabilities only. As always, the neurodiverse are the unseen even among the unseen.

All too often this is still true

I've been told on multiple occasion that I am not allowed to identify as marginalized or oppressed.

I agree, it's unfair and narrow-minded.

Even though I am "marginalized" and "oppressed," I don't feel I want to identify as being either one of those things.

If one stays stuck in those labels, it becomes very difficult to get out from under those labels.

I want to identify as being a better person every day through learning. And I don't want people to know when I feel "marginalized" and "oppressed."

Being a victim is the philosophical orientation which I seek to avoid at all costs----even though I might be a victim. My task is to become less of a victim.

Whenever my mother feels anxious, she doesn't want me to try to make her feel better. She wants to experience the "totality" of feeling anxious. I really don't get why.

I think it's a bummer that this is the case. Neuodiverse people have a lot to offer to the world, but Life Water ignored that. Have things really changed since the 1950s, or not really?

I don't want to be put under labels either. I just want to identify as normal.

If you are concerned only about improving your own life and no one else's, and if you are trying to do so without any help from anyone else, then there may be a point to minimizing a sense of "being a victim."

On the other hand, if your aim is to improve things for autistic people generally, or if you are seeking help with difficulties in which your autism has a role, then recognizing the ways that autistic people are marginalized is essential.

Yep, that's a big problem.

The reason for it, IMO, is that our community is vastly under-organized, thus not yet able to function effectively as part of an alliance of marginalized communities.

IMO our community needs to become at least several orders of magnitude better-organized than it is now. (See Longterm visions for the autistic community.) In particular, one of the main kinds of organizations we need is a wide variety of career-oriented groups for autistic people (or neurodivergent people more generally) who work, or who want to work, in particular categories of professions / occupations / jobs. We also need more organizations of other kinds too, including basic peer-led support groups and hobby-oriented social groups, as well as advocacy/activist groups.

And we need leadership self-training groups, so that more of us will be able to build the other afore-mentioned kinds of groups -- and also to help the leaders stay in touch with each other, so our groups don't become just a bunch of isolated little silos.


I think you meant the "neurodivergent"? (See Neurodiversity: Some Basic Terms & Definitions by Nick Walker.)

Also, there's big money in recognizing other diversity categories but not so much in neurodiversity.

We have the worst employment and earning outcomes.

There would be "big money" in recognizing neurodiversity too if the autistic community community were much better organized. Organization is how a community (subculture) gets "big money," as well as political clout.

I hate that. We are some of the most marginalized people on the planet.

I agree with this.

It's wonderful that this works for you and I think that that is really a good thing. But it only works if you have the means to make it work. If you are someone who cannot survive without outside help and resources, what you are doing won't work.