Thread by @AutSciPerson

This tweet is asking the wrong question.

The question should be,

"Why did cis white non-autistic researchers create absurd diagnostic criteria off of autistic cis white boys and literally no other demographic while equating autism to behavior?"

https://twitter.com/thetimes/status/1443982304762810376

It's fine to talk about a specific demographic (and I don't have access to the article),

But focusing on cis white autistic women as a "why are they going under the radar narrative" continues to erase autistic people of color and LGBTQ+ autistic people.

I just don't see any other articles that are going to be getting as much coverage that say
"Transgender people and autism: Why are there so many new diagnoses?"

or

"People of color and autism: Why are there so many new diagnoses?"

We once again focus on one group of people and platform them above all else which ignores the bigger picture -

That the autism criteria has always been broken. It has missed autistic people of color (including men), LGBTQIA+ autistic people, and even cis white men.

The framework should not be "Hey this thing also should be diagnosed in women!"

It should be

"Hey cis white men created this criteria that doesn't define what autism is at all, which is missing a giant portion of the population for all marginalized groups!"

This is a problem. A quote from the article:
“Post-diagnosis, I finally had a name for this experience: masking, where autistic people, usually women, try to mask how being autistic can affect them.”

All marginalized groups of autistic people mask! Not just women!