Autism-pedia / Identity, community and disability / Models of disabilitybrianspringer.com
Identity, community and disability

Models of disability

The medical model, the social model and the positions in between: where each came from, how each is applied to autism, and what studies show about which models autistic people hold and how framing relates to stigma and wellbeing.

A model of disability is a way of explaining what disability is. This page looks at the main models, where they came from, and what studies say about how autistic people see them.

Last reviewed 5 October 2026 · one person's reading of the research · 31 research and 17 community sources

The medical model and deficit language Established

In the medical model, disability is a problem inside the person, to be diagnosed and then treated. The two diagnostic manuals, DSM-5 and ICD-11, list autism spectrum disorder as a neurodevelopmental disorder made up of "persistent deficits" in social communication and interaction, together with restricted, repetitive and inflexible patterns of behavior, interests or activities.1 Critics name its limits. Pellicano and den Houting, reviewing autism science, list three: it focuses too much on deficits, it looks at the individual more than their surroundings, and it draws on a narrow range of perspectives.1 Bottema-Beutel and colleagues write that autism research often uses medical-model frameworks that treat every difference linked to autism as a deficit.2 Defenders of this language, such as Singer and colleagues, argue that researchers and clinicians must be free to use any scientifically accurate terms, including words for impairment, to describe the difficulties some autistic people have.19

The cognitive theories built on this framing, such as theory of mind and weak central coherence, have their own entries.

The medical model says disability is a problem inside a person. Doctors find it, name it and try to treat it.

Doctors use two big books to diagnose autism. Both books describe autism as "persistent deficits." A deficit means having less of a skill than expected. The books list differences in talking and getting along with others. They also list repeated actions and strong, fixed interests.1

Some researchers say this way of seeing autism has limits. It looks mostly at what people find hard. It looks at the person and not the world around them.1 Other researchers say a lot of autism research treats every autistic difference as a deficit.2 People who defend these words say they help describe real difficulties.19

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Established

Established here means the documents say this. The medical model is a framework; this section reports the manuals' wording and what its critics and defenders argue.

Word
Deficit

In diagnostic language, a skill or behavior that falls below what is expected for a person's age.

See also
Established

This is what the official books and writers actually say. The model itself is a way of looking at things, not something scientists tested.

See also

Where the social model came from Established

The social model of disability began with disabled activists in Britain. In a booklet dated November 1976, the Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation (UPIAS) separated impairment, lacking part or all of a limb or having a defective limb, organ or mechanism of the body, from disability. It defined disability as the disadvantage caused by a social organization "which takes no or little account of people who have physical impairments", and concluded that physical disability is "a particular form of social oppression".3 The definitions were written about physical impairment.

The name came later. By his own account, Mike Oliver introduced "the social model" in his 1983 book Social Work with Disabled People, alongside an "individual model", writing mainly for professionals.4,5,6 Looking back, Oliver wrote that he had never suggested abandoning the individual model, nor claimed that the social model could explain everything that happens to disabled people.5

The social model came from disabled people in Britain. In 1976 a group called UPIAS wrote a short booklet. It said there are two different things.3 An impairment is a difference in the body, like a missing limb. A disability is the harm caused when society leaves people with impairments out.3 The group was writing about physical impairments.

The name came later. A writer named Mike Oliver first called it "the social model" in a 1983 book.4,5,6 Later he said the model was never meant to explain everything.5

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Established

These are dates and definitions from the original documents and from Oliver's own account of them.

Word
Impairment

In the social model, a difference in the body or mind. Disability is the disadvantage that society adds to it.

Established

These dates and words come from the first papers and from the man who named the model.

Applying the social model to autism Hypothesis

Pellicano and den Houting write that the neurodiversity paradigm is closely aligned with the social model: on this view, disability comes from environments that do not accommodate a person's characteristics more than from the characteristics themselves.1 Woods argued in 2017 that the social model was not being applied to autism, and proposed applying it through positive language about autism and full use of the UK's Autism Act 2009 and Equality Act 2010.7

Others have asked for more than the social model offers. Chapman argues that neurodiversity proponents borrowed social models of disability without giving their own account of what counts as healthy functioning, and proposes an "ecological" model that also weighs how a person contributes to the groups they belong to.8 Dwyer notes that some critics read neurodiversity approaches as denying that a person's own traits contribute to disability, and argues, with other writers, that both the person and society contribute.9 Bottema-Beutel and colleagues write that current versions of the social model accept that social barriers do not explain every part of disability.2

Some researchers link the social model to autism. They say much of the trouble comes from places that do not fit autistic people. It does not come only from being autistic.1 One writer said the UK should use the social model for autism. That meant kinder words about autism and using the laws it already had.7

Other writers want more than the social model gives. One says we need a new idea of what "working well" means. It should count how a person adds to their group.8 Another says both the person and the world play a part in disability.9 Some researchers say the social model today accepts this too.2

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Hypothesis

These are arguments from reviews and theory papers. They describe ways of seeing autism, not tested findings.

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Hypothesis

These are ideas that writers argue for. Nobody has tested them like an experiment.

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Critiques and middle positions Hypothesis

Disability scholars criticized the social model well before it reached autism. Hughes and Paterson argued in 1997 that it makes the body "an exile", and called for a sociology of impairment.10 Shakespeare and Watson raised three objections, about impairment, about the sharp split between impairment and disability, and about identity, and proposed starting from an "embodied ontology", an account of disability that begins with the body.11 Shakespeare's later book takes a critical realist approach, treating disability as the product of many factors in the person and around them, in place of a choice between medical and social models.12

Two frameworks from medicine aim at similar middle ground. In 1977 George Engel argued that the biomedical model left no room for the social, psychological and behavioral sides of illness, and proposed a biopsychosocial model.13 The World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), endorsed in May 2001, treats functioning and disability as occurring in a context and includes a list of environmental factors.14 An international panel of 20 experts agreed ICF Core Sets for autism; the comprehensive set has 111 categories, 31 of them environmental factors.15 Bölte and colleagues argue that the ICF could reconcile the biomedical and neurodiversity paradigms, and note that research and practice have largely overlooked it.16

Some disability writers have criticized the social model. One pair said it forgets about the body.10 Another pair said it splits the body and society too sharply.11 Tom Shakespeare later said disability comes from many things at once. Some are in the person, and some are around them.12

Some ideas from medicine sit in the middle. In 1977 a researcher said medicine should look at the body, the mind and a person's life together.13 In 2001 the World Health Organization agreed on a system called the ICF. It looks at how people manage their lives in their own surroundings.14 Twenty experts chose a list of things from the ICF to check for autism. Some items on the list are about the person. Others are about the world around them.15 Some researchers think the ICF could bring the two sides together.16

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Hypothesis

These are frameworks and arguments. The dates and the structure of the ICF are facts about documents; whether any of these models describes autism best has not been tested.

Word
Critical realism

A philosophy holding that bodies and minds are real and also shaped by society, so neither alone explains disability.

Word
Core Set

A short list of ICF categories chosen as most relevant to one condition.

Hypothesis

These are ideas and arguments. Nobody has tested which one fits autism best.

Word
ICF

A system from the World Health Organization. It describes how people manage daily life, and what helps or blocks them.

The critique from high support needs Emerging

Some researchers argue that social-model readings of autism leave out autistic people with the highest support needs. In 2022 the Lancet Commission on autism proposed "profound autism" as a descriptive term, not a diagnosis, for autistic people who need 24-hour access to an adult who can care for them, cannot be left alone in a residence, and cannot meet basic daily needs. It said these needs usually go with an IQ below 50, very limited language, or both. Defined as an IQ of 50 or below or being minimally verbal, the term covered about 18%, 23% and 48% of the autistic people in three cohorts from Norway, the UK and the US; the authors call the US sample, which was referred to a clinic, unrepresentative.17 Applying a version of the definition (nonverbal, minimally verbal, or IQ below 50) to US surveillance records of 20,135 autistic 8-year-olds, Hughes and colleagues found that 26.7% met it. Those children were more likely to be girls, to be from racial and ethnic minority groups, and to be of low socioeconomic status.18 In a commentary, Alison Singer of the Autism Science Foundation, one of the Commission's authors, and colleagues argue that recommendations to avoid words for impairment came from only part of the autism community, and that researchers need such words to describe the full range of autistic people.19 In a reply titled "Autistic Perspectives on the Future of Clinical Autism Research", Pukki and colleagues wrote that the report misunderstands the neurodiversity paradigm, and called "profound autism" "misleading and counterproductive", a "step back" while "low-functioning" falls out of use.30

Some researchers think the social model leaves out autistic people who need the most help. In 2022 a group of experts suggested a new term: "profound autism". It is for autistic people who need an adult nearby all day and night. They cannot be left alone and need help with basic daily tasks.17 In three groups of autistic people, about 18 to 48 out of every 100 fit a version of this term.17 A large US study looked at records of 8-year-olds. About 27 out of every 100 autistic children fit it.18

Some researchers also want to keep words like "deficit." They say these words help describe all autistic people.19 A group of autistic writers disagreed. They called "profound autism" a step backward.30

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Emerging

The numbers are estimates of how many people fit the label, from the Commission's three cohorts and one large US records study of 8-year-olds. Whether the social model leaves these people out is argued on both sides, not tested.

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Emerging

The numbers count how many people fit the label. Whether the social model leaves them out is still argued.

See also

Which models autistic people hold Emerging

Among autistic adults who can take part in online surveys or interviews, studies suggest many lean toward social and difference models without denying difficulties. In an online survey of 657 people, some autistic and some not, identifying as autistic and knowing about neurodiversity went with seeing autism as a positive identity that needs no cure. Recognizing the negative aspects of autism did not differ between groups, and the authors described a "deficit-as-difference" view in which both can hold.20 A second survey by the same group, of 636 adults, found autistic participants more likely than others to describe autism from experience or as a neutral difference, and more likely to oppose the medical model.21 In interviews with 14 French-speaking autistic adults in Quebec, participants tended to see autism through a social model, as a neurological difference rather than a mental illness. Many were reluctant to call it a disability, and described "disabling situations" created by environments and norms built for the non-autistic majority. Many described disability itself as a personal limitation, and the authors also discuss an interactionist model, in which disability arises from a poor fit between the person and the demands around them.22 Autistic adults with intellectual disability are rarely asked: a systematic review found only 14 studies, published from January 2013 to July 2023, that gathered their views by self-report.31

Surveys suggest many autistic adults who can answer them prefer the social model. One online survey asked people what they think autism is. Autistic people were more likely to see it as part of who they are. They were less likely to want a cure.20 But they did not deny that autism can be hard. Both ideas can be true together.20 A second survey by the same team found that autistic adults more often disagreed with the medical model.21

In a small study in Canada, 14 autistic adults were interviewed. Many saw autism as a difference in the brain, not an illness. Many did not want to call it a disability. They talked about situations that disable them. Some still saw disability as something inside a person.22 Autistic adults with an intellectual disability are rarely asked their views.31

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Emerging

The two large surveys come from one research group, recruited online and mixed autistic and non-autistic people; the third study is 14 interviews. None is a representative sample.

Emerging

Most of this comes from online surveys by one team, plus one small interview study.

Does the framing make a difference? Emerging

Among 123 autistic and 104 non-autistic US adults, agreeing that autism is a difference went with higher self-esteem in the autistic participants only.23 Two other surveys measured experiences of acceptance and stigma, not which model a person holds, so they bear on framing only indirectly. In 111 autistic adults, acceptance from others and self-acceptance were associated with depression scores, and acceptance from others with stress; acceptance was not associated with anxiety, and camouflaging may relate to higher depression.24 In another sample of 111 autistic people, which its authors described as "high-functioning", everyday discrimination, internalized stigma and concealing being autistic were associated with poorer mental health after allowing for general stress.25 In the survey of 636 adults, autistic people and their family members reported lower stigma, and stronger agreement with "the importance of normalizing autistic people" went with more stigma.21

Framing also shapes how non-autistic people see autistic people. In a study of 238 non-autistic adults that compared an autism acceptance training with a general mental-health training and with no training, those who did the autism training showed lower explicit stigma and fewer misconceptions afterwards, but no difference in implicit bias.26 An online training for 365 college students, from the group behind the two surveys above, was followed by lower stigma and more knowledge, though that study had no control group.27 A meta-analysis of 28 experiments on psychological problems in general, not autism, found that biological explanations slightly reduced blame (g = -0.32) but slightly increased pessimism about recovery (g = 0.26) and, possibly because of publication bias, beliefs that people are dangerous (g = 0.20); they did not usually affect social distance. A biological explanation is narrower than a medical-model framing.28 Among 195 autism researchers, those who described autism in medical terms had higher odds of dehumanizing, objectifying or stigmatizing language than those who used social-model or neutral descriptions; both were coded from the same written answers. Researchers who involved autistic people more in their research had lower odds of such language.29

No study found as of October 2026 has compared a social-model and a medical-model framing of autism and measured the effect on autistic people's own wellbeing.

In one survey, autistic adults who saw autism as a difference had better self-esteem.23 In another, how accepted autistic adults felt was linked to how depressed they felt.24 Unfair treatment and having to hide being autistic went with worse mental health.25

Training can change how other people see autism. In one study, non-autistic adults watched a short video about autism. Afterwards they had fewer wrong ideas and less prejudice. Their quick, automatic reactions did not change.26 Another training for college students had similar results, but it had no comparison group.27

Experiments about other mental health conditions found mixed effects. Saying a problem comes from genes or the brain made people blame others less. But it also made them a little more hopeless about getting better.28

No study we found has tested which model is better for autistic people's own wellbeing.

Suggest a correction
Emerging

The studies of autistic people are one-time surveys, which show associations, not causes, and some share authors. The training studies measured non-autistic people's attitudes.

Word
Implicit bias

An automatic association, measured by reaction-time tasks, that a person may not report or be aware of.

Emerging

Most of these studies asked people questions only once. That shows two things go together, not that one causes the other.

In the community Community

Many autistic writers describe their lives through the social model. Devon Price writes that the medical model "understands disability as a condition that exists inside an individual person's body or mind", while accepting a medical lens for conditions such as nerve pain or multiple sclerosis, and links the social model to masking: "Having a social disability goes hand in hand with the obligation to mask."c1 Sol Smith puts it briefly: "In most cases, autism is a social disability, not a medical one."c2 Eric Garcia summarizes the social model as holding that "the problem isn't disability but rather that society is not accessible to disabled people", and adds that it does not diminish disabled people's needs.c3 Megan Anna Neff lists among the drawbacks of a formal diagnosis that "The medical model of disability often pathologizes neurodivergent identities."c4

Other writers hold both views at once. Megan Griffith writes that if society were more inclusive "much of that disability would disappear, but there are also some inherently disabling traits of autism that cannot be accommodated socially".c5 Writing in the first person, Griffith adds that even with accommodating, kind people and no shame, "it still disables me".c6 A respondent quoted in the same book, Rachael L., takes the social side: "if I am disabled, it's by the neurotypical world rather than by my autism."c7 Frank, writing in his fifties, says the same of himself: "I see myself as disabled by society."c9 Pete Wharmby writes that to be autistic in the world as it works "is to be considerably disabled in a number of ways", and that whether this is intrinsic to autism or social "is open to fierce debate"; on that question, "I see strong evidence on both sides."c10 Nick Chown, writing on autism theory, supports the aims of the neurodiversity movement while holding that autism "inevitably gives rise to an element of disability" even where society does not discriminate.c11 Nick Walker draws the line in the words themselves: "if you ask me whether autism is a disability, I'll say no, but if you ask me whether autistic people are disabled, I'll say yes."c12 The journalist Steve Silberman, who is not autistic, describes newly diagnosed adults sharing their stories and finding that many daily challenges were "hardships imposed by a society that refuses to make basic accommodations".c8

Luke Beardon, a lecturer who writes for autistic adults, puts the social side as an equation: "Autism + environment = outcome."c13 Being autistic "in and of itself means nothing aside from the fact that you are autistic", Beardon writes; being autistic in an environment unsuited to the person raises the risk of high anxiety.c14 Amy Pearson and Kieran Rose call it "Beardon's golden equation" and read it into the neurodiversity paradigm, under which autistic functioning "is driven by the relationship between the individual and their environment".c15

Some writers tie the models to culture. Jules Edwards, an Ojibwe autistic parent of autistic children, writes that "The medical model of disability relies heavily on a colonial-capitalist worldview that values conformity", and links the social model to a relational worldview; the Ojibwe language, Edwards writes, has no word for disability.c16 Kayla Rodriguez, a Puerto Rican autistic writer, puts her childhood in social-model terms: "Being autistic didn't make it difficult, it was society's reaction to autism that often made it unbearable."c17

Price credits the social model to "disabled academic Mike Oliver" in the 1980s.c1 Oliver's term dates from 1983, and the ideas behind it from UPIAS in 1976.4,3

Many autistic writers use the social model. Devon Price says the medical model puts the problem inside the person. Price links the social model to masking. Masking means hiding autistic traits.c1 Sol Smith says that in most cases autism is "a social disability, not a medical one".c2 Eric Garcia says the problem is that society does not let disabled people in.c3 Megan Anna Neff says the medical model often treats autistic people as if they were ill.c4

Some writers take a middle view. Megan Griffith says a fairer world would remove much of the disability, but not all of it.c5 Griffith also writes, "it still disables me."c6 Someone quoted by Griffith says the world, not autism, is what disables them.c7 Another writer, Frank, says the same. Frank feels disabled by society, not by autism.c9 Pete Wharmby says autistic people are very disabled in today's world. Wharmby sees good reasons on both sides of the question of why.c10 Nick Chown supports the movement. But Chown thinks autism brings some disability even when people are fair.c11 Nick Walker says autism is not a disability, but autistic people are disabled by the world around them.c12

Luke Beardon teaches about autism. Beardon sums up the social side in a simple sum: "Autism + environment = outcome".c13 The environment means the people, places and rules around you. Beardon says being autistic in a place that does not suit you makes strong worry more likely.c14 Amy Pearson and Kieran Rose agree. They say how well autistic people do depends on the person and their surroundings together.c15

Some writers link the models to culture. Jules Edwards is an Ojibwe autistic parent. The Ojibwe are a Native American people. Edwards says the medical model comes from a way of thinking that values fitting in.c16 Edwards also says the Ojibwe language has no word for disability.c16 Kayla Rodriguez is a Puerto Rican autistic writer. She says being autistic was not what made her childhood hard. It was how other people reacted to it.c17

Suggest a correction
Community

How autistic writers describe the models of disability. Not a research finding.

Community

This is how autistic writers describe the models. It is not a research finding.

Sources

Research

  1. 1Pellicano E, den Houting J. Annual Research Review: Shifting from 'normal science' to neurodiversity in autism science. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13534
  2. 2Bottema-Beutel K, Kapp SK, Lester JN, et al. Avoiding Ableist Language: Suggestions for Autism Researchers. Autism in Adulthood, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2020.0014
  3. 3Union of the Physically Impaired Against Segregation, The Disability Alliance. Fundamental Principles of Disability. UPIAS, 1976. https://disabledpeoplesarchive.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/39/2021/01/001-FundamentalPrinciplesOfDisability-UPIAS-DA-22Nov1975.pdf
  4. 4Oliver M. Social Work with Disabled People. Macmillan, 1983. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-86058-6
  5. 5Oliver M. The social model of disability and physiotherapy: some personal reflections from Mike Oliver. Critical Physiotherapy Network, 2015. https://criticalphysio.substack.com/p/the-social-model-of-disability-and-physiotherapy-some-personal-reflections-from-mike-oliver
  6. 6Oliver M. The social model of disability: thirty years on. Disability & Society, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2013.818773
  7. 7Woods R. Exploring how the social model of disability can be re-invigorated for autism: in response to Jonathan Levitt. Disability & Society, 2017. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2017.1328157
  8. 8Chapman R. Neurodiversity and the Social Ecology of Mental Functions. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691620959833
  9. 9Dwyer P. The Neurodiversity Approach(es): What Are They and What Do They Mean for Researchers? Human Development, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1159/000523723
  10. 10Hughes B, Paterson K. The Social Model of Disability and the Disappearing Body: Towards a sociology of impairment. Disability & Society, 1997. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599727209
  11. 11Shakespeare T, Watson N. The social model of disability: An outdated ideology? Research in Social Science and Disability, 2001. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1479-3547(01)80018-X
  12. 12Shakespeare T. Disability Rights and Wrongs Revisited. Routledge, 2013. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315887456
  13. 13Engel GL. The Need for a New Medical Model: A Challenge for Biomedicine. Science, 1977. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.847460
  14. 14World Health Organization. International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). WHO, 2001. https://www.who.int/standards/classifications/international-classification-of-functioning-disability-and-health
  15. 15Bölte S, Mahdi S, de Vries PJ, et al. The Gestalt of functioning in autism spectrum disorder: Results of the international conference to develop final consensus International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health core sets. Autism, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361318755522
  16. 16Bölte S, Lawson WB, Marschik PB, et al. Reconciling the seemingly irreconcilable: The WHO's ICF system integrates biological and psychosocial environmental determinants of autism and ADHD. BioEssays, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1002/bies.202000254
  17. 17Lord C, Charman T, Havdahl A, et al. The Lancet Commission on the future of care and clinical research in autism. The Lancet, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01541-5
  18. 18Hughes MM, Shaw KA, DiRienzo M, et al. The Prevalence and Characteristics of Children With Profound Autism, 15 Sites, United States, 2000-2016. Public Health Reports, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1177/00333549231163551
  19. 19Singer A, Lutz A, Escher J, et al. A full semantic toolbox is essential for autism research and practice to thrive. Autism Research, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2876
  20. 20Kapp SK, Gillespie-Lynch K, Sherman LE, et al. Deficit, difference, or both? Autism and neurodiversity. Developmental Psychology, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028353
  21. 21Gillespie-Lynch K, Kapp SK, Brooks PJ, et al. Whose Expertise Is It? Evidence for Autistic Adults as Critical Autism Experts. Frontiers in Psychology, 2017. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00438
  22. 22Normand CL, Cloutier I, Ovalle G, et al. Is Autism a Disability? The Perception of Autistic Adults in Quebec. Neurodiversity, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1177/27546330251328438
  23. 23VanDaalen RA, Liu SY. Endorsement of the Neurodiversity Framework and Self-Esteem Among Autistic and Non-Autistic Adults. Autism in Adulthood, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1177/25739581251398955
  24. 24Cage E, Di Monaco J, Newell V. Experiences of Autism Acceptance and Mental Health in Autistic Adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3342-7
  25. 25Botha M, Frost DM. Extending the Minority Stress Model to Understand Mental Health Problems Experienced by the Autistic Population. Society and Mental Health, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156869318804297
  26. 26Jones DR, DeBrabander KM, Sasson NJ. Effects of autism acceptance training on explicit and implicit biases toward autism. Autism, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361320984896
  27. 27Gillespie-Lynch K, Brooks PJ, Someki F, et al. Changing College Students' Conceptions of Autism: An Online Training to Increase Knowledge and Decrease Stigma. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2422-9
  28. 28Kvaale EP, Haslam N, Gottdiener WH. The 'side effects' of medicalization: A meta-analytic review of how biogenetic explanations affect stigma. Clinical Psychology Review, 2013. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2013.06.002
  29. 29Botha M, Cage E. "Autism research is in crisis": A mixed method study of researcher's constructions of autistic people and autism research. Frontiers in Psychology, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1050897
  30. 30Pukki H, Bettin J, Outlaw AG, et al. Autistic Perspectives on the Future of Clinical Autism Research. Autism in Adulthood, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2022.0017
  31. 31Gibbs V, Cai RY, Love A, et al. Unheard Voices: A Systematic Literature Review of Studies Using Self-Report Methods to Gather the Perspectives of Autistic Adults with Intellectual Disability. Autism in Adulthood, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2024.0272

Community sources

  1. c1Price D. Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity. Harmony Books, 2022. Chapter 8, "Creating a Neurodiverse World". Devon Price's site
  2. c2Smith S. The Autistic's Guide to Self-Discovery: Flourishing as a Neurodivergent Adult. New World Library, 2025. Chapter 2, "We Are Not All on the Spectrum: Coming Out as an Autistic Adult", section "Social Application". Sol Smith's site
  3. c3Garcia E. We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021. Chapter 5, "Somebody Get Me a Doctor: Health Care". Eric Garcia's site
  4. c4Neff MA. Self-Care for Autistic People: 100+ Ways to Recharge, De-Stress, and Unmask! Adams Media, 2024. Chapter 4, "Mental Self-Care", section "Explore the Benefits and Drawbacks of Formal Diagnosis". Megan Anna Neff's site
  5. c5Griffith M. Welcome to AuDHD: How to Survive (and Thrive) as an Adult with Autism and ADHD. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2026. Chapter 1, "What Is Autism, ADHD, and AuDHD?", section "What is autism?". Megan Griffith's site
  6. c6Griffith M. Welcome to AuDHD: How to Survive (and Thrive) as an Adult with Autism and ADHD. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2026. Chapter 9, "We Are Good Enough, Exactly As We Are", section "Self-acceptance can't cure AuDHD". Megan Griffith's site
  7. c7Griffith M. Welcome to AuDHD: How to Survive (and Thrive) as an Adult with Autism and ADHD. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2026. Chapter 7, "Disability Is Not a Dirty Word", section "What is disability?". Megan Griffith's site
  8. c8Silberman S. NeuroTribes: The Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity. Avery, 2015. Introduction, "Beyond the Geek Syndrome". Steve Silberman's site
  9. c9Ratcliffe A, ed. Our Autistic Lives: Personal Accounts from Autistic Adults Around the World Aged 20 to 70+. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2019. Part "Our 50s", chapter "Frank".
  10. c10Wharmby P. Untypical: How the World Isn't Built for Autistic People and What We Should All Do About It. Mudlark, 2023. Chapter 1, "The Social Web". Pete Wharmby's site
  11. c11Chown N. Understanding and Evaluating Autism Theory. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2016. Chapter 9, "What Has 70 Years Taught Us about Autism?".
  12. c12Walker N. Neuroqueer Heresies: Notes on the Neurodiversity Paradigm, Autistic Empowerment, and Postnormal Possibilities. Autonomous Press, 2021. Part I, "Neurodivergence & Disability", section "Autism & Disability". Nick Walker's site
  13. c13Beardon L. What Works for Autistic Adults. Sheldon Press, 2023. Introduction.
  14. c14Beardon L. Avoiding Anxiety in Autistic Adults: A Guide for Autistic Wellbeing. Sheldon Press, 2021. Chapter 1, "Autistic anxiety", section "Autism + Environment = Outcome".
  15. c15Pearson A, Rose K. Autistic Masking: Understanding Identity Management and the Role of Stigma. Pavilion Publishing and Media, 2023. Chapter 2, "Setting the scene: Social and historical context", section "Current conceptualisations of autism".
  16. c16Ashburn M, Edwards J, Onaiwu M. I Will Die On This Hill: Autistic Adults, Autism Parents, and the Children Who Deserve a Better World. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2023. Chapter 2, "A Different Lens", section "Jules", "Worldview and Disability".
  17. c17Ballou EP, daVanport S, Onaiwu MG, eds. Sincerely, Your Autistic Child: What People on the Autism Spectrum Wish Their Parents Knew About Growing Up, Acceptance, and Identity. Beacon Press, 2021. Chapter 25, "Safe Harbors in a Difficult World" (Kayla Rodriguez).