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submitted 4 days ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/science_memes@mander.xyz

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[-] idiomaddict@lemmy.world 7 points 3 days ago

I mean, I think autism could be partially a social construct, in the sense that many people who have been diagnosed with autism (though nowhere close to all) would have very few symptoms if society were geared towards them. My autism is mostly problematic because of how other people react to it or because of getting overwhelmed by things that would be greatly reduced in a world where (at least a subsection of) autism was neurotypical.

I am not trying to minimize the experience of people whose autism is a significant disability that wouldn’t be noticeably affected by societal change, to be clear.

[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

It's absolutely a social construct in the same way Mexico is

[-] AmbitiousProcess@piefed.social 2 points 3 days ago

Yeah, it's a social construct in the sense that it's just natural differences among humans, specifically differences that don't as often square with societal/social norms as the average person. If society were comprised of all autistic people, you wouldn't have the label "autism", you'd just have "people that are the way people are."

That said, unlike the article implies, autism is, of course, not just something everyone is choosing, making up, or using to justify not doing work.

I will note the article doesn't technically say "everyone with autism is faking it and it's not real", it just implies that because a lot of people self-diagnose with it now, that must mean that the real numbers are way lower than they actually are, and that people who have autism, but don't experience major social or productivity related issues from it, aren't actually autistic and are just "introverted" or some other general term that could theoretically apply.