When pathologizing aliens distorts understanding (them).
If we glued our eyes to a microscope or telescope, we might forget that the universe, that understanding, is so much more expansive than our current limited view. Though we don’t literally glue our eyes to tunneled-vision, I think we can essentially still create this effect for ourselves while exclaiming our keyhole-perspective is the definition of ‘what is’.
Prolific bluffers in poker project their own tendencies onto nearly every other player. “He’s bluffing!” Prolific liars see lies all around them. I suppose what we “know” is how we perceive the world.
Since I learned that I’m autistic ADHD (or AuDHD) at 46, it’s been an ongoing journey of pulling back from the tunnel vision created by those labels & colouring in the nuances and complexities of the spectrums. Admittedly, I had a lot of preconceptions about both, ADHD & autism. Throw in healthy doses of internalized ableism along with some of the ableist-laced pathology, and the perpetual revelations have given birth to a personal metamorphosis that’s been both gut-wrenching and euphoric.
Recently, I’ve been wondering if what “experts” observe & describe as “autistic scripting” is perhaps, in part, another example of the “double empathy problem”.
The double empathy problem posits that the difficulties autistics face when communicating with allistics (aka non-autistics) is actually bi-directional. It reframes the communication challenges from pathologization of autistic communication skills to a more zoomed out and nuanced view.
Think of it like this. Two very different species coming together; aliens and humans. We’d approach the interactions much like an anthropologist. We’d make observations and interact with the aliens, categorizing the things we learn about them as neither good nor bad, just different. We’d conclude that aliens communicate effectively with aliens and humans effectively with humans, relatively speaking. Only in our world, humans (allistics) have pathologized aliens (autistics), ignoring or dismissing that the aliens communicate effectively with fellow aliens.
The “experts” make an observation about autistics then take it up a notch by pathologizing it. For example, “autistic scripting”. As an alien observing humans my entire life, I’ve come to recognize patterns upon patterns in human behaviour. I used to lament how everyone seems to operate according to “menu options” or “coding”. There’s a menu (a collection of decision trees) for nearly any scenario that includes social dynamics, body language, facial expressions, language, etc. Matrices within matrices. A human’s responses become fairly predictable, or at the very least, can be narrowed down to a handful of possibilities. To me it seems very “scripted”, but the “experts” describe it as “intuitive” human interaction and communication. From where I’m observing, it seems the “experts” have their noses to the glass.
When an autistic (alien) is equipped to do so and attempts to blend in, we study allistics (humans), anthropologically. We observe & study the coding, the scripts, and then attempt to palatably reproduce them. However, if we are not equipped or haven’t extensively studied and practiced our facial expressions in the mirror, listened and analyzed our voice for tone, inflection, pauses, word choices, etc., in order to convincingly perform the scripted/coded responses we can come across as “doing it wrong”, “deficient”, etc. And suddenly, when the “intuitive” window dressing is stripped away, the scripts become blatantly obvious. Enter stage right, the pathologization — “autistic scripting”.
The irony is that it seems every human (allistic and autistic) does varied types of scripting to differing degrees. It’s just that allistics do it intuitively and autistics often do it more cognitively. When the cognitively constructed scripts are performed, it can stand out. “Something is off.” Instead of considering the differing processes behind the curtain, the script becomes what’s obvious as it takes center stage. It’s deemed “other” and not part of intuitive human interaction and communication.
The prolific bluffers perceive other poker players through bluff-coloured lenses, that almost don’t allow for them to see anything else. The “experts” study their subjects through the lens of “other”. Not anthropologically, as one might try to understand a fellow human, but more like how one studies problematic specimens under the microscope. It may be one thing to study plants, animals, or minerals in this way, but fellow humans deserve better. Especially, if the goal is understanding — for all (autistics & allistics).
Keeping the frame in motion allows for more clearly identifying what is pathology and what is simply a difference. What is pathologized as “autistic scripting”, I would describe as a difference. An accommodation aliens make for humans, in an attempt to connect in the ways that humans find meaningful and important.
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