Autism Is Not an Epidemic: Our Lives Are Bigger Than a Political Talking Point

Recently, President Donald Trump once again brought autism into the national conversation while discussing childhood vaccines. He suggested that giving children smaller doses and separating vaccines could help bring down what he described as the “epidemic” of autism.

As an autistic person and autism advocate, hearing autism continuously described this way is frustrating.

I was diagnosed with autism when I was three years old. I was nonverbal when I was younger. I had challenges growing up, and even today there are things I experience differently because I am autistic.

But I am not an epidemic.

Autistic children are not an epidemic.

Autistic adults are not an epidemic.

We are people.

Whenever politicians talk about autism primarily as something that needs to be stopped, prevented, or reduced, I wonder where autistic people fit into that conversation. Where are our voices? Where are our experiences? Where is the discussion about making our lives better right now?

Instead of constantly asking, “How do we stop autism?” I wish more leaders would ask:

How do we make schools more inclusive for autistic students?

How do we make workplaces more accepting of autistic adults?

How do we improve services for autistic people who need significant lifelong support?

How do we help families access affordable resources?

How do we teach police officers, teachers, employers, doctors, and communities to better understand autism?

Those conversations could change lives.

The vaccine-and-autism debate has been going on for decades. Large studies have found no association between the MMR vaccine and autism, including research involving children considered at higher risk for autism. Yet autistic people continue to find ourselves in the middle of this debate.

And sometimes it feels like everybody is talking about us without talking to us.

Autism can absolutely come with challenges. Advocacy should never mean pretending those challenges don’t exist. Some autistic people require substantial support throughout their lives, while others live independently. That is why it is called a spectrum.

But acknowledging disability and supporting autistic people is very different from treating our existence like a national emergency.

I want research.

I want better services.

I want families to have answers to their questions.

I want autistic people with high support needs to receive the care and resources they deserve.

But I also want dignity.

I want autistic children growing up today to know that hearing the word “autism” shouldn’t automatically mean hearing something negative.

Autistic people are already here.

We are your children, siblings, friends, coworkers, classmates, neighbors, authors, advocates, and community members.

Instead of making autistic people feel like something went wrong because we exist, let’s put that energy into building a world where autistic people have the opportunity to succeed.

We don’t need politicians debating whether people like us should exist.

We need leaders willing to listen to us, support us, and make room for us.

— Daniel Gillespie
The Brown Side of Autism