In The Politics of Autism, I discuss the growing number of college students on the spectrum.
Many autistic self-advocates — people with autism who believe that autistic people understand the condition best and should have control over what therapies they receive — are also working to ensure that autistic students have a safer, more accessible learning environment both in K-12 schooling and higher education. For [Eryn] Star, this has meant joining the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN)’s Campus Inclusion Program, a weeklong annual training program attended by about 20 autistic college students who want to ensure that college campuses are accessible for and accepting of neurodivergent and disabled students. During the program, Star, who is in the process of cofounding what they say will be the first disabled students' organization at Albion College in Michigan, attended workshops on topics ranging from creating student organizations by and for disabled students, centering intersectionality in on-campus activism, and crafting developmental disability policy. “I had never been in a space comprised of only autistic people before, so feeling that sense of community was something I've always wanted to experience,” Star said.
