Autism Myths: Autism is a mental illness

A few years back an American broadcaster described Greta Thunberg – referring to her autism – as being a “mentally ill” teenager. The TV network apologised shortly afterwards but the myth that autism is a mental illness remains. But surely autism is something wrong with your brain, so it’s a mental illness, right? Well no. I’ll pick out the reasons why I think this is not a helpful description.

Autism is lifelong

Autism is something lifelong, although it manifests differently in different people at different ages. Some children start to show signs in babyhood, at particular stages of language or social development, at puberty, or (as with me) it only gets picked up in adulthood. By then an adult may have had a lifetime of coping that could well have done mental damage. Autistic people frequently have mental health problems, probably as a result of attempting to function in a world not suited to us. But autism itself is a difference in brain wiring rather than something you can “catch” or “cause”. It was there when I was born, and it will be there when I die, and without it I wouldn’t be me.

Autism cannot be cured

I’ve written about this in more detail elsewhere, but I’ll summarise by saying that autism is something that can be disguised or hidden in some autistic people, but it cannot be got rid of.

Autism is a disability

Not only is autism a long-term proposition, it is a protected disability under section 6 of the Equality Act 2010; there’s information from the NHS here. That matters because it gives certain legal rights and protections, whether or not an autistic person wants to regard themselves as disabled (I do, but many don’t). A disability is fundamentally different from an illness in how society treats it and how the affected person.

Autism is a way of being different

Being different can be a superpower in the right circumstances and thinking differently can be a real benefit. As an autistic leader I tend to focus on the outcome I’m aiming for first, and only afterwards get into the process of how to get there. That frees me up to consider a wider range of possibilities including things that are unconventional or haven’t been tried before. I can also get a sense of wellbeing from trivial things. Differences in how we think are part of the rich diversity of humanity, rather than an illness that needs to be got rid of. You don’t get to be an innovator or a visionary by being exactly the same as everyone else.

Autism is part of me

An illness is something that you suffer from and are likely to want to get rid of. Although I sometimes hate the trouble, stress and suffering it causes me and others, I rarely want to get rid of my autism. I’m not sure who I’d be without it. It’s part of my identity, rather than an add on. That’s a reason why many (most) autistic people to prefer the formulation “autistic people” to “people with autism”. I can’t associate with the idea of being a “person with autism” because autism isn’t something “with” me, it’s part “of” me. It’s hardly surprising that the way your brain is wired up should be a key part of your identity, really.

In our culture “mentally ill” is a rude word

[Well OK two words. But I could hyphenate them: mentally-ill. So there. Yes I’m a pedant. It’s probably because I’m a literal-minded autistic – did I mention?]

Going back to the Greta Thunberg reference at the top, the commentator who called her “mentally ill” did so to imply that there was no need to listen to her. If we call someone “mad” or “crazy” or any number of other words meaning “mentally ill” then we often mean we can discount what they’re saying. That usage is really bad for people who actually are mentally ill, and who deserve to be listened to as much as anyone else. But pretending the unfair stigma isn’t there in the words “mentally ill” won’t make it go away. When an autistic person is called “mentally ill” it’s a coded way of saying that they’re wrong, they don’t know what they’re talking about, that their differences are unacceptable and should be covered up or got rid of.

So, in summary, to described autism as a mental illness is inaccurate, and we autistics hate inaccuracy. It’s also dismissive and patronising, and we REALLY hate that. Well, maybe some autistics like it – I just haven’t met any. [That last comment represents the accuracy thing coming out again there.] Illnesses are also something frightening and I hope that as awareness and acceptance of autism builds up over time, it will become much harder to view autism as something terrifying and to be avoided at all costs.