I’m not sure when autism bumper stickers first started appearing but they are certainly propagating like tribbles now. Like autism itself, they run the spectrum. Some are supportive (“Proud parent/teacher of a child with autism”), some are educational (“Not being able to speak is not the same as not having anything to say”), some are inspirational (“Autism is treatable! Let’s put the pieces together”), some are tongue-in-cheek (“Get your stim on”), some are confrontational (“Back off or my autistic kid will flick a booger on your windshield”).
And some are just plain wrong: “Autistic today, genius tomorrow.”
Stereotypes are seldom useful and most often harmful. This bumper sticker, unquestionably well-intended, is also unquestionably dangerous. In perpetuating a lofty stereotype that most individuals with autism will never achieve, it sets up for failure the very people it seeks to support…
Read the full text of When Good Bumper Stickers Go Bad on my Facebook page.
