The Unexpected Gift: Using Hip-Hop and Autoethnographic Methods to Challenge the “Symbolic Death” Discourse of a Child’s Autism Diagnosis

This article explores the social construction of autism through an autoethnographic account of parenting an autistic child in Canada. Drawing on Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s grief model, neurodiversity scholarship, and post-traumatic growth theory, the paper examines how parents may experience grief, uncertainty, and the collapse of imagined futures following an autism diagnosis, while also arguing that much of this distress is produced by ableist and deficit-oriented social systems rather than autism itself. Using arts-based research, including a rap song and music video, the article explores: (1) what it is like to receive an autism diagnosis as a parent; (2) the grieving process that may follow; (3) how institutions either support or harm families navigating autism; and (4) how my daughter’s diagnosis ultimately transformed my worldview from one rooted in pathology and loss toward one recognizing strength, resilience, neurodiversity, and the possibility of post-traumatic growth.