Becoming Authority: How Autistics Use Written Rhetoric to Dismantle Stereotypes and Reclaim Authority

Autistic stereotypes of emotionless loners rob autistics of the rhetorical agency to be accepted authorities about autism and autistic experiences. These stereotypes are inaccurate, borne out of observing autistics in real time, where challenges with sociocultural norms make them appear un- or anti-social in most interpersonal interactions. Some high-functioning autistics can mask their autism, but when their speech and actions do not align with autistic stereotypes, they are thought not “autistic enough” to speak about autistic lived experiences, one half of a situation that I have termed the “Autism Paradox.” (The Autism Paradox, briefly, is the insurmountable challenge facing high-functioning autistics wherein they must choose between showing their autism and being socially rejected, or hiding it and being denied necessary assistance and accommodations.) When writing, however, divorced from in-person social challenges, autistics are eloquent and articulate about their experiences, as gleaned from the coding of texts posted to autism social media groups and interviews with other high-functioning autistics. These data demonstrate that autistics can use rhetoric the same way non-autistics do. Most important, they also suggest that our assumptions about what constitutes rhetorical authority are ill-suited to a time when digital communication makes up a more significant share of our interpersonal interactions.