Thread by @ekverstania

Inferences about autistic people's body language, made by others who don't understand autism (this includes the majority of 'autism experts'), has led to enormous and widespread human rights violations.

https://twitter.com/BiggMattWeaford/status/1476600001186914308

This article explains one of the common misconceptions about nonspeaking autistic people and what they purportedly communicate via their bodies.

tania.co.za/behaviour-is-c…

The accusation and trial of Matthew Rushin was problematic for many reasons (some described in this article). One of the problems was that his body language was interpreted as guilt.
neuroclastic.com/where-is-the-t…

Thanks to the #FreeMatthewRushin campaign led by @NeuroClastic, Matthew is no longer in prison, but justice has not yet been fully served.

Misinterpreting body language has also led to a ridiculous and counterproductive educational practice called Whole Body Listening. community.undivided.io/news/25287

There's a helpful saying which I've heard Nicola Sowah (communication therapist at @SpellYourMind) use, which is the OPPOSITE of the notion of Whole Body Listening: "Listening does not have a look."

Based on what allistic people teach autistic children, I think we can infer that many of these people can't even interpret the body language of "average people" well, let alone the body language of autistic people.

https://twitter.com/ekverstania/status/1404343923913506818?t=UCTUqwIMBcf8A79ONMDxJw&s=19

And yet they make these completely wild and subjective assumptions about what a looks or movements mean, and the lives of people so judged are completely rerouted by these judgements.

Think about cultural differences: I've heard Tswana people say that a failure to make eye contact means guilt. But I grew up in Xhosa country, where lowering your eyes or looking away meant deference in Xhosa country, and...

White bosses used to shout, "Look at me when I talk to you!" making it incredibly difficult for a traditional Xhosa worker, because he'd have to force himself to do exactly what his family taught him over many years NOT to do, namely to look straight at a person in authority.

Body language provides CLUES. They're useful for rules of thumb. Like, if the policeman sees the suspect's eyes darting, he is be alerted to the possibility that the person wants to bolt, and can prepare himself to quickly grab the suspect, should the need arise.

But that's only a rule of thumb.

The person could have nystagmus.

Or they may be trying to figure out how to say that they need the toilet.

OR WHATEVER.

There are other instances in which people in authority become very stubborn when we challenge their interpretation of signs.

This entire thread is about arrogantly and obstinately misreading symptoms and disbelieving patients' self-reports.

Like judges in courts of law, healthcare practitioners are gatekeepers with the power to free people or to condemn them and sentence them.

https://twitter.com/ekverstania/status/1002168592723513344?t=wZxINJ381778wplgJ6sp6A&s=19

I recently learned a new expression: hostile incredulity. It arises when people with commitment bias get cross with those who challenge their beliefs.

https://twitter.com/NinaGerling/status/1475553340981399554?t=wZxINJ381778wplgJ6sp6A&s=19

Some people will cling to their hostile incredulity even if it kills them, as this thread shows. (The thread also teaches what we can do about the problem, if we have enough power to drive a process.)

https://twitter.com/EBHarrington/status/1418281619312586755?t=wZxINJ381778wplgJ6sp6A&s=19