Hi! My name is Shayna Thomas and I am a graduating senior and American Studies and anthropology double major at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut. As a part of my spring semester course load I am taking a course called \u201cAutistic Blackness\u201d, taught by Professor Diana Paulin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The aim of the course is to analyze how Blackness and autism come into conversation with one another. The goal of the collection which this contribution is a part of is to develop a digital archive where my classmates and I can both highlight the experiences of Black autistic individuals and analyze the dynamic between Blackness and autism on a more general level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
For my contribution I create the following research question: How do common practices of discipline and child-rearing in Black families affect the lived experiences of Black Autistic people? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The question was inspired by the TikTok created by @thesituationaltherapist that can be found further down on this page. In the video he suggests that one of the reasons that many Black people go undiagnosed is because as children their parents beat any symptoms of autism out of them, leaving those habits repressed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He states that the actions of these parents effectively serve as Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy, a very popular form of treatment for autism that has been drawing increasingly more criticism as those who have undergone it have become able to advocate for themselves. Chloe Everett\u2019s TED Talk provides more insight into ABA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The idea of uneducated and unaware parents is continued in the TikToks included from user @autieoddity. They discuss the resentment that they hold against their parents for failing to get them diagnosed as a child, but simultaneously have to reconcile that resentment with the centuries of history that have fueled a complicated relationship between Black people and the medical field. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet despite not receiving a diagnosis until later in life, @autieoddity always felt out of place amongst their family, as their autism prevented them from connecting with some cultural aspects in the same way. They felt ostracized amongst their family who continually highlighted their difference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Even in scenarios where parents do not receive their child\u2019s autistic traits with any form of negativity, it is still far less likely to be diagnosed as autistic while blank as white people, men specifically, are made to be the face of autism. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
To reiterate, I want to look at the impact that these invalidating and violent early childhood encounters have on Black autistic people and the dynamics that inform these circumstances. With this in mind I looked for sources that could both bridge my own gaps in knowledge and provide some more context for some of the narratives presented in the media selections that I chose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The concept that @thesituationaltherapist discussed was so interesting to me that it was able to guide the search for the rest of my media as I wanted pieces that would work in conversation with that one. In order to make my contribution accessible I attempted to make my writing less academic and slightly more casual. In addition, I also chose to use black and white text and short paragraphs and bullet points in order to make sure that my content is easier to read and digest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Autism and Cultural Assimilation by @autieoddity<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n