Autistic culture online: virtual communication and cultural expression on the spectrum

Drawing on first-hand accounts of the Autism Spectrum (AS), this paper argues that that there are distinctive autistic styles of communication. It suggests that these differences can usefully be conceptualized in Wittgensteinian terms as ‘language games’, and further, that these are associated with an autistic culture emerging alongside their practice, particularly online. The Internet is shown to be an appropriate, accommodating medium for those on the spectrum, given characteristic preferences for communication at a socio-spatial distance. The Internet has potential implications for AS social exclusion/inclusion, and hopes expressed in AS writings are high; one author claims that ‘the impact of the Internet on autistics may one day be compared to the spread of sign language among the deaf’ (Singer 1999 Singer, J. 1999. “‘Why can't you be normal for once in your life?’ From a ‘problem with no name’ to the emergence of a new category of difference”. In Disability Discourse, Edited by: Corker, M. and French, S. 59–67. Buckingham: Open University Press. Google Scholar: 67). This paper investigates such claims, and the extent to which those with autism describe using the Internet to connect with similar Others, not just for social support, but to organize and advocate for recognition of autistic cultural difference.