Thread by @AutSciPerson

So, I want to do a short thread on autistic labor.

Recently I got asked to give input for some sort of design or study from a graduate student. I was asked if I could answer a couple of questions about X and just give my personal opinion and experience.

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I asked if the project had autistic input and they said yes, and that their sibling is autistic (which generally means the person running it is not autistic).

Basically, by autistic input, they meant that they were asking autistic people like me to answer questions.

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I ran out of spoons to really respond to this, but I said something like "generally it's best if you can pay autistic people."

The person responded saying they don't have much money for this, they're a graduate student, and it's "only a few minutes" of my time.

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So this is what I want non-autistic people to understand:

It is never only "a few minutes" of our time. It is constant inquiries about what we think, so that you can make something "for us," or write something "about us."

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My requests ebb and flow, but sometimes, especially in months like April, there really are 10 non-autistic people a week asking for "only a few minutes" of my free labor.

And it's not just me. Autistic people get this all of the time.

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Do you know how many emails certain research databases send to autistic people, asking to participate? Having to read the descriptions?

Do you know how many non-autistic people ask for autistic input as if We Owe Them Something? Because they are doing things to "help" us?

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I don't think non-autistic people realize how ridiculous their requests are sometimes. & no, I don't think the example I gave is a ridiculous one.

But saying it doesn't take that much of my time-
That's just incorrect.

Non-autistic people ask for my free labor constantly.

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And sometimes it's things that I need to educate others on to be anywhere near accommodated by them. It's explaining to a counselor that yes, sometimes I will need to use the chat box, and that person going "Oh I've never even thought of that!"

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It's the refusal to pay autistic people for their expertise, and instead siphon their input into research studies, articles, and videos that only serve to pay non-autistic people both with monetary value and a feeling that the poor autistics were "helped."

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Autistic people aren't allowed to have our own narrative.

We're not allowed to have our own voice represented in journalism, moves, tv shows.

We're not allowed to design and co-produce research that impacts our lives and often even causes harm.

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We are allowed to give "free input" that they either accept, ignore, or refuse.

We are allowed to tell our stories only filtered through a non-autistic lens, if we want views.

We are allowed to be the spokespeople only for things which do us harm (A$, ABA, Spectrum10k).

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We are allowed to speak up as long as it is comfortable for non-autistic people. As long as we don't point fingers or don't speak some harsh truths.

So no, I will not be giving "a few minutes of my time" right now. Instead I have spent those minutes writing this thread.

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