In The Politics of Autism, I write about the everyday struggles facing autistic people. Steve Silberman chronicled those struggles
A recent study by Rutgers University’s Annabelle Mournet and colleagues concluded that autistic people may be even more powerfully motivated to seek out friendships and community than nonautistic people. These desires are often frustrated by widespread misconceptions about autism, particularly the assumption that people on the spectrum aren’t interested in seeking comfort and support in the company of others. “Autistic adults cannot be assumed to have fewer social connections—or less desire to have social connections,” Mournet wrote in Spectrum. “Our field must work to dismantle these damaging and inaccurate notions.” Dismantling these false notions matters urgently, Mournet points out, because autistic adults are at high risk for suicide, and having a network of supportive connections protects against suicidal ideation.
The tendency of neurotypicals to stigmatize autistic behavior as weird and off-putting also hampers the formation of relationships. This process unfolds subconsciously—even in the first few seconds of interaction, observes Noah Sasson, a psychology professor at the University of Texas at Dallas whose work is deeply informed by the insights of autistic colleagues like Monique Botha. By conducting a study of neurotypicals’ first impressions of autistic people (known in psychology as “thin-slice judgments”), Sasson and his colleagues determined that negative reactions to autistic adults’ atypical body language, facial expressions, tone of voice and frequency of eye contact lead neurotypicals to be less inclined to pursue further interactions. These thin-slice judgments pervasively harm autistic adults’ attempts to find employment, build networks of support and navigate the social landscape in ways that lead to happy, secure and successful lives.
From the Autistic Self Advocacy Network:
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network mourns the passing of Steve Silberman, author of NeuroTribes and a longtime friend of ASAN and the neurodiversity movement.
In the writing of NeuroTribes, Steve brought to bear his formidable skills as a writer to tell the story of autism history in ways that few in the public had then been aware of. His book played a groundbreaking role in changing the public conversation on autism, elevating the concept of neurodiversity and the voices of autistic people into the mainstream. In writing NeuroTribes, Steve embedded himself in the autistic community, attending Autreat and other community gatherings as well as participating wholeheartedly in both online and offline autistic culture spaces.
He also traveled the world to understand the hidden history of autism over the years, uncovering crucial information on the early history of the diagnosis that had not previously been brought to light. In sharing these stories with his exceptional literary ability, Steve’s work educated the public about the autistic self-advocacy and neurodiversity movements and helped to empower ASAN’s advocacy work.
Though not autistic himself, Steve worked hard to bring autistic people into the conversation, contributing to our shared effort to build a world in which autistic people can enjoy full equality, inclusion and dignity. We are grateful to him for his years of work as a part of our movement and shared community.
Steve is survived by his husband and sister. ASAN extends our condolences to them and joins them in mourning this tremendous loss.
Steve Silberman was one of the greatest writers to ever put pen to paper about the subject of neurodiversity. Yet Silberman was not autistic; I learned this because, on the one occasion we had a conversation that made it to print, I accidentally claimed he was.
I erroneously believed that to be the case because, when Silberman wrote about neurodiversity for Wired, he wrote with a passion and authority that could not be denied. When Silberman explored the concerns of people who are neurologically different, he had the detailed knowledge of an expert — and the empathy of someone who has also walked the walk. This is why he is perhaps best known for authoring "NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity," a 500-page classic that is part detailed historical narrative, part scathing sociological critique. With "NeuroTribes," Silberman traced how society has attempted to diagnose and treat autism, as well as by extension other neurodivergent conditions. Yet instead of centering the doctors, parents and other "normal" people, Silberman kept the neurodivergent people themselves as the focus of his work.
