[ID: a comic titled “Morality & How Researchers Talk About Us.” The comic reads…
“In 2020, researchers conducted a study with autistic and allistic people… Participants were from Brazil and between the ages of 14-25.
“They were given a choice: support a bad cause for monetary gain. Don’t support the bad cause but miss out on the money. The choice was given in two different settings: public, and private.
“This is what the study discovered: “Allistic people were more likely to support the bad cause. The higher the monetary reward was, the more likely they were to do so, and they were more likely to support it in a private setting.” [the illustration shows a person saying, “I don’t support it!” in public, while saying, “give me the money!” later in private.]
“Autistics, on the other hand, were much less likely to support the bad cause, and their answer stayed the same regardless of setting.
“So, how did researchers feel about these results? Well… They concluded that autistic people were too concerned with their principles and morals. They framed it as a negative thing.” [The illustration shows someone writing two notes: “…Inflexible when following a moral rule even when an immoral action can benefit them…” and “…suffer an undue concern about […] the moral cost…”]
“Basically, they decided that autistics care too much and should be more willing to sacrifice their principles for money. What! I know, I’m shocked too! But let’s remember that this is only one study. Not all autistics are selfless, and not all allistics are selfish. Yet it does shine a spotlight on how researchers talk about us.
“It often feels like everything about us autistics is twisted into negative traits. Even the good stuff! Our strong sense of justice, our passion for our special interests, and our rich inner lives, are all viewed with skepticism. We can see it all across autism research carried out by neurotypicals. There is an inherent bias.
“Imagine if we talked about neurotypicals the same way researchers talk about autistics: "Agressive obsession with eye contact.” “Inflexible adherence to unwritten social rules.” “Inexplicable compulsion to project negative subtext into simple conversations.” Silly, right?“
"We need to have a serious conversation about how we research and talk about autism! And above all, autistic voices need to be the ones leading the charge. Let us head the research! Let us share our experiences!” /end ID]
2087
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