Autistic Pride Day, June 18th

Autistic Pride and Autistic History

Today is Autistic Pride Day. This was started in 2005 in the UK to celebrate Autism and autistic identity, as opposed to seeing it as a stigma. In the past, autistic people were institutionalised (or worse), particularly when their condition was considered severe; Today, Autistic people still struggle with being accepted and treated with the respect they deserve.

The first person to identify and diagnose ‘autism’ was the Ukrainian child psychiatrist Grunya Sukhareva. She conducted her research when working at a Moscow children’s clinic from the 1920s onwards in the Soviet Union.

Characteristics

Nowadays, autism is seen as existing on a broad spectrum (Autism Spectrum Disorder), with autistic people experiencing a variety of characteristics to varying degrees.

Common characteristics are:

  • Motor Difficulties
  • Communication Difficulties
  • Sensitivity to Change and Stimulation
  • Social Impediments
  • Repetitive Behaviour

An autistic person on one side of the spectrum might be non-verbal, and have great difficulty in processing sounds, emotions, information etc. They may also need carers to support their day-to-day lives. Alternatively, there are also low support need individuals. They can hold down jobs, complete complicated tasks, socialise, and be verbally eloquent, whilst also experiencing other features of autism. For instance, they can find it hard to understand social conventions, experience sensory overload, and find it difficult to deal with sudden changes in routine.

Some people like to think of autism through the bio-psychological-social model (BPSM) – that is to say, what we consider illness and health are based on interactions between biology, psychology and social life. Sukhareva hypothesised in the 1950s that autistic brains were different in a biological sense – something that brain scan imaging is proving today. The condition has measurable psychological effects (e.g links to social anxiety), and is undoubtedly shaped by the social attitudes to difference/differently abled people.

A Broad Church

Every autistic person is different, an original. Autistic people excel in a variety of fields, from academia to music, sports to visual art and politics. Without question, autism is a broad church.

Expert on animal husbandry and care, Temple Grandin is autistic – in more recent years, she has become a prominent public advocate for autistic people. Scottish-born David Byrne, the singer/guitarist of the band Talking Heads, is likewise on the spectrum. He was the driving musical force of the band, a sometime film-maker, as well as a distinguished writer. His book How Music Works is in the library catalogue.

Lisa Llorens, a multiple Paralympic Games winning athlete, is autistic, as is ultramarathon runner Jacqueline Herron. Likewise, Irish footballer James McClean (currently playing for the Ryan Reynolds/Rob McIlhenney-owned Wrexham F.C) and former World Number 1 tennis player Chilean Marcelo Rios – both were, like Byrne, diagnosed as adults.

Fife-born artist Richard Wawro was autistic. Legally blind, Wawro primarily used crayons as opposed to a more traditional artistic medium; he became well known in the 1970s after receiving the patronage of Edinburgh arts impresario Richard Demarco, one of the co-founders of the Traverse Theatre and, later in life, pivotal in setting up Summerhall. The 1983 documentary With Eyes Wide Open depicts his life and artistic practice. Last but certainly not least, the most famous climate and social justice activist on the planet – Greta Thunberg – is autistic.

By Kieran Curran

Read more on the blog about mental health with this article: World mental health day