@rachelwattier.bsky.social
Reposted
I will not be reacting to what The Orange Men have to say about autism. It is ridiculous. At some point you gotta stop repeating your opponent's absurd claims, even if only to refute them, and get back on message.
Autism is a normal occurrence among humans; autistic people are worthy.
Autism is a normal occurrence among humans; autistic people are worthy.
October 9, 2025 at 9:48 PM
I will not be reacting to what The Orange Men have to say about autism. It is ridiculous. At some point you gotta stop repeating your opponent's absurd claims, even if only to refute them, and get back on message.
Autism is a normal occurrence among humans; autistic people are worthy.
Autism is a normal occurrence among humans; autistic people are worthy.
Reposted
Steve's book is all the more relevant today than when it came out a decade ago. Do yourself a favor and buy a copy if you don't have it. Steve work matters and is a candle in the shroud of disinformation from Washington these days.
Hey everyone! I'm extremely excited to announce that today marks the release of the 10th Anniversary Edition of Steve Silberman's ground-breaking NeuroTribes, with a new foreword by John Elder Robison.
Neurotribes by Steve Silberman: 9780399185618 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
This New York Times–bestselling book upends conventional thinking about autism and suggests a broader model for acceptance, understanding, and full participation in society for people who think differ...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
October 5, 2025 at 11:49 PM
Steve's book is all the more relevant today than when it came out a decade ago. Do yourself a favor and buy a copy if you don't have it. Steve work matters and is a candle in the shroud of disinformation from Washington these days.
Reposted
"Anti-ableism vs. scientific accuracy is a false dichotomy," plus "autism science has a history of false leads in part because of unexamined ableist ideologies that undergird researcher framings & interpretations of evidence." @kbottemabeutel.bsky.social et al:
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Anti-ableism and scientific accuracy in autism research: a false dichotomy
It was recently argued that autism researchers committed to rejecting ableist frameworks in their research may sacrifice “scientifically accurate” conceptualizations of autism. In this perspective pie...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
October 2, 2025 at 5:20 PM
"Anti-ableism vs. scientific accuracy is a false dichotomy," plus "autism science has a history of false leads in part because of unexamined ableist ideologies that undergird researcher framings & interpretations of evidence." @kbottemabeutel.bsky.social et al:
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...
Reposted
"We’re facing a massive public health crisis because a disturbing number of people believe that autism is worse than illness or death. My neurology is the boogeyman behind a completely preventable plague in the making." @fodderfigure.bsky.social, at TPGA:
thinkingautismguide.com/2025/03/im-a...
thinkingautismguide.com/2025/03/im-a...
I’m Autistic, And Believe Me, It’s A Lot Better Than Measles — THINKING PERSON'S GUIDE TO AUTISM
Vaccines like the MMR (measles, mumps & rubella) don’t cause autism. But even if they did, is being like me really a fate worse than death?
thinkingautismguide.com
September 28, 2025 at 3:32 AM
"We’re facing a massive public health crisis because a disturbing number of people believe that autism is worse than illness or death. My neurology is the boogeyman behind a completely preventable plague in the making." @fodderfigure.bsky.social, at TPGA:
thinkingautismguide.com/2025/03/im-a...
thinkingautismguide.com/2025/03/im-a...
Reposted
Neurodivergence isn’t a weakness.
It’s difference.
And difference drives creativity, innovation, and resilience.
Society doesn’t suffer from autistic or ADHD people, it suffers when it silences us.
It’s difference.
And difference drives creativity, innovation, and resilience.
Society doesn’t suffer from autistic or ADHD people, it suffers when it silences us.
September 25, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Neurodivergence isn’t a weakness.
It’s difference.
And difference drives creativity, innovation, and resilience.
Society doesn’t suffer from autistic or ADHD people, it suffers when it silences us.
It’s difference.
And difference drives creativity, innovation, and resilience.
Society doesn’t suffer from autistic or ADHD people, it suffers when it silences us.
Reposted
“This administration has not asked autistic people what we think of its policies that target our community, nor listened when we have spoken up publicly.” @colinkillick.bsky.social, at @usatoday.com:
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio... #autism #autistic #neurodiversity
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio... #autism #autistic #neurodiversity
I'm autistic. Trump and RFK Jr. must stop treating us like a plague to be eradicated.
Evidence for Trump's Tylenol claim is weak. Yet no prior administration has cared less about what either autism experts or autistic people have to say
www.usatoday.com
September 25, 2025 at 3:55 AM
“This administration has not asked autistic people what we think of its policies that target our community, nor listened when we have spoken up publicly.” @colinkillick.bsky.social, at @usatoday.com:
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio... #autism #autistic #neurodiversity
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio... #autism #autistic #neurodiversity
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The RFK Jr. effect. One father in Colorado told me that he's pretty sure his kids are #ActuallyAutistic. But they're afraid of getting kids screened because of Trump and Kennedy.
"What's best for him now is to kind of hide it" he told me about his son.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
"What's best for him now is to kind of hide it" he told me about his son.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
I was diagnosed with autism before RFK Jr.’s claims ... and I’m grateful for that
The Independent’s Capitol Hill reporter Eric Garcia talks to families who fear getting their children screened for autism because of Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s fear-mongering
www.independent.co.uk
September 24, 2025 at 12:39 PM
The RFK Jr. effect. One father in Colorado told me that he's pretty sure his kids are #ActuallyAutistic. But they're afraid of getting kids screened because of Trump and Kennedy.
"What's best for him now is to kind of hide it" he told me about his son.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
"What's best for him now is to kind of hide it" he told me about his son.
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
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Whether they're blaming vaccines and Tylenol, or selling dubious "remedies," what they're really doing is promoting the perception that families (and especially mothers) can prevent and treat Autism. And thus also the perception that people with Autism and their families don't need social support.
September 23, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Whether they're blaming vaccines and Tylenol, or selling dubious "remedies," what they're really doing is promoting the perception that families (and especially mothers) can prevent and treat Autism. And thus also the perception that people with Autism and their families don't need social support.
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If my writing about autism does anything, whether it be in my books, my columns or my reported stories, I hope it advances the idea that autistic people are whole human beings as they are with legitimate needs and inner lives that deserve to be told the same as other stories.
September 23, 2025 at 9:41 PM
If my writing about autism does anything, whether it be in my books, my columns or my reported stories, I hope it advances the idea that autistic people are whole human beings as they are with legitimate needs and inner lives that deserve to be told the same as other stories.
Reposted
I’m autistic. Not because of Tylenol.
Not because of vaccines.
Not because of some headline.
I’m autistic because that’s how
my brain works. Stop treating us
like a problem. Start listening to us.
Not because of vaccines.
Not because of some headline.
I’m autistic because that’s how
my brain works. Stop treating us
like a problem. Start listening to us.
September 23, 2025 at 2:11 PM
I’m autistic. Not because of Tylenol.
Not because of vaccines.
Not because of some headline.
I’m autistic because that’s how
my brain works. Stop treating us
like a problem. Start listening to us.
Not because of vaccines.
Not because of some headline.
I’m autistic because that’s how
my brain works. Stop treating us
like a problem. Start listening to us.
Reposted
If you, like me, are the parent of a neuro-atypical child dreading this autism press conference, please remember: These are the people hurting our kids. Not us. They are the ones stigmatizing and pathologizing them. They are the ones peddling untested science. And we should be very, very angry.
September 22, 2025 at 9:03 PM
If you, like me, are the parent of a neuro-atypical child dreading this autism press conference, please remember: These are the people hurting our kids. Not us. They are the ones stigmatizing and pathologizing them. They are the ones peddling untested science. And we should be very, very angry.
Reposted
Hey a thing I really don’t want to get lost here is that while Tylenol doesn’t cause autism, IT’S FINE TO BE AUTISTIC. Let’s not grant them the premise that autism should be eradicated in our way to correct the science, okay? Okay.
September 22, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Hey a thing I really don’t want to get lost here is that while Tylenol doesn’t cause autism, IT’S FINE TO BE AUTISTIC. Let’s not grant them the premise that autism should be eradicated in our way to correct the science, okay? Okay.
Reposted
Things today's White House autism announcement did not do:
-Discuss strategies to increase supports and services for autistic people/families
-Highlight why autistic people and families deserve respect, not pity or fear
-Endorse one speck of autism research that is not dangerous pseudoscience
-Discuss strategies to increase supports and services for autistic people/families
-Highlight why autistic people and families deserve respect, not pity or fear
-Endorse one speck of autism research that is not dangerous pseudoscience
September 23, 2025 at 12:57 AM
Things today's White House autism announcement did not do:
-Discuss strategies to increase supports and services for autistic people/families
-Highlight why autistic people and families deserve respect, not pity or fear
-Endorse one speck of autism research that is not dangerous pseudoscience
-Discuss strategies to increase supports and services for autistic people/families
-Highlight why autistic people and families deserve respect, not pity or fear
-Endorse one speck of autism research that is not dangerous pseudoscience
Reposted
Happy new week!
Autism spectrum disorder isn't caused by one single factor.
Tylenol is safe to use in pregnancy.
People with autism spectrum disorder are not pawns in a political game and should not be further stigmatized for an agenda.
Autism spectrum disorder isn't caused by one single factor.
Tylenol is safe to use in pregnancy.
People with autism spectrum disorder are not pawns in a political game and should not be further stigmatized for an agenda.
September 22, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Happy new week!
Autism spectrum disorder isn't caused by one single factor.
Tylenol is safe to use in pregnancy.
People with autism spectrum disorder are not pawns in a political game and should not be further stigmatized for an agenda.
Autism spectrum disorder isn't caused by one single factor.
Tylenol is safe to use in pregnancy.
People with autism spectrum disorder are not pawns in a political game and should not be further stigmatized for an agenda.
Reposted
We're hiring! Well, we're not hiring you, since you're probably seeing this post while goofing off at your current job.
September 10, 2025 at 3:42 PM
We're hiring! Well, we're not hiring you, since you're probably seeing this post while goofing off at your current job.
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Claiming that routine immunization requirements for school are an issue of parental rights dehumanizes children. Kids have intrinsic rights just as anyone, and parents are obligated to provide the best care possible for them. That includes providing them with indicated medical interventions.
September 7, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Claiming that routine immunization requirements for school are an issue of parental rights dehumanizes children. Kids have intrinsic rights just as anyone, and parents are obligated to provide the best care possible for them. That includes providing them with indicated medical interventions.
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A reminder: "Neurodiversity emphasises the equal value of every human being, regardless of their needs, their communication profile, or the ways in which they express distress, or manage anxiety." Thank you, @suereviews.bsky.social:
medium.com/@suefletcher... #neurodiversity #autism #autistic
medium.com/@suefletcher... #neurodiversity #autism #autistic
Its time to embrace autistic expertise
I simply cannot comprehend why the crucial and unique revelations of autistic people are being rejected…
medium.com
September 3, 2025 at 11:21 PM
A reminder: "Neurodiversity emphasises the equal value of every human being, regardless of their needs, their communication profile, or the ways in which they express distress, or manage anxiety." Thank you, @suereviews.bsky.social:
medium.com/@suefletcher... #neurodiversity #autism #autistic
medium.com/@suefletcher... #neurodiversity #autism #autistic
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I lost my friend @stevesilberman.bsky.social a year ago. I simultaneously wish he were here to write about the chaos in public health. But I also know he would be horrified with how autism has been stigmatized. More than anything, I just miss his friendship. I miss being able to text him.
August 30, 2025 at 12:08 AM
I lost my friend @stevesilberman.bsky.social a year ago. I simultaneously wish he were here to write about the chaos in public health. But I also know he would be horrified with how autism has been stigmatized. More than anything, I just miss his friendship. I miss being able to text him.
Reposted
"As a scholar of rhetoric and the mother of an autistic child, in the language of MAHA I hear a disregard for the humanity of people with disabilities and a shift from supporting them to blaming them for their needs." By Beth Donelson, at @theconversation.com:
theconversation.com/how-federal-...
theconversation.com/how-federal-...
How federal officials talk about health is shifting in troubling ways – and that change makes me worried for my autistic child
By blaming chronic disease and disability on food and toxins, and ‘just asking questions’ about widely accepted science, MAHA discounts the government’s responsibility for meeting disabled peoples’ ne...
theconversation.com
August 27, 2025 at 9:56 PM
"As a scholar of rhetoric and the mother of an autistic child, in the language of MAHA I hear a disregard for the humanity of people with disabilities and a shift from supporting them to blaming them for their needs." By Beth Donelson, at @theconversation.com:
theconversation.com/how-federal-...
theconversation.com/how-federal-...
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“Every dollar spent relitigating the disproven vaccine-autism link is a dollar stolen from research that could actually help people with autism.” On those infamous self-citing antivax research grifters, The Geiers (RFK Jr. gave David Geier an autism job). gift link:
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | The Playbook Used to ‘Prove’ Vaccines Cause Autism (Gift Article)
Data can easily be manipulated to show causation that doesn’t exist.
www.nytimes.com
August 20, 2025 at 10:04 PM
“Every dollar spent relitigating the disproven vaccine-autism link is a dollar stolen from research that could actually help people with autism.” On those infamous self-citing antivax research grifters, The Geiers (RFK Jr. gave David Geier an autism job). gift link:
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted
"Researchers, clinicians, and society more broadly need to do a better job at advocating for the rights of autistic people. This starts with the understanding that autistic people are a marginalized population that experience discrimination."
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy... #neurodiversity
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy... #neurodiversity
Frontiers | Editorial: Break the stigma: autism
Stigma can be extremely impactful. For autistic people, stigma increases camouflaging behaviours aimed at concealing their autistic traits (4), it interferes...
www.frontiersin.org
August 3, 2025 at 12:34 AM
"Researchers, clinicians, and society more broadly need to do a better job at advocating for the rights of autistic people. This starts with the understanding that autistic people are a marginalized population that experience discrimination."
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy... #neurodiversity
www.frontiersin.org/journals/psy... #neurodiversity
Reposted
Opinion: Medicaid cuts will hurt all American children — not just those publicly insured www.statnews.com/2025/07/02/m...
Medicaid cuts will hurt all American children — not just those publicly insured
“Cutting Medicaid will affect all children through a large toll on pediatric health systems,” writes a pediatric ICU physician.
www.statnews.com
July 2, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Opinion: Medicaid cuts will hurt all American children — not just those publicly insured www.statnews.com/2025/07/02/m...
Reposted
Too many people recognize their opinions as feelings, but mistake their beliefs for facts.
Closed minds hold truths to be self-evident. Open minds are willing to question even strongly held views.
Lifelong learning requires the courage to challenge our own convictions.
Closed minds hold truths to be self-evident. Open minds are willing to question even strongly held views.
Lifelong learning requires the courage to challenge our own convictions.
June 28, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Too many people recognize their opinions as feelings, but mistake their beliefs for facts.
Closed minds hold truths to be self-evident. Open minds are willing to question even strongly held views.
Lifelong learning requires the courage to challenge our own convictions.
Closed minds hold truths to be self-evident. Open minds are willing to question even strongly held views.
Lifelong learning requires the courage to challenge our own convictions.
Reposted
YES we get to be mad that autistic people and our families don't get enough supports—But NO ONE gets to blame autistics for being autistic.
One way to be an autism ally is to calmly ask unkind or thoughtless autistic-shamers, "how would you feel if someone blamed you for the way your brain works?"
One way to be an autism ally is to calmly ask unkind or thoughtless autistic-shamers, "how would you feel if someone blamed you for the way your brain works?"
June 17, 2025 at 6:56 PM
YES we get to be mad that autistic people and our families don't get enough supports—But NO ONE gets to blame autistics for being autistic.
One way to be an autism ally is to calmly ask unkind or thoughtless autistic-shamers, "how would you feel if someone blamed you for the way your brain works?"
One way to be an autism ally is to calmly ask unkind or thoughtless autistic-shamers, "how would you feel if someone blamed you for the way your brain works?"
Reposted
"You don’t grow out of autism; you grow into a world that isn’t ready." Only by acknowledging the full arc of autistic life can we create policies and programs that truly meet people where they are, writes @neuroscientist.bsky.social:
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/givi... #neurodiversity #autism
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/givi... #neurodiversity #autism
Do You Grow Out of Autism?
Autism has come full circle; from perceptions of the disability as lifelong, to beliefs of “growing out of it” and back again, all shaping how we support autistic individuals.
www.psychologytoday.com
June 12, 2025 at 12:11 AM
"You don’t grow out of autism; you grow into a world that isn’t ready." Only by acknowledging the full arc of autistic life can we create policies and programs that truly meet people where they are, writes @neuroscientist.bsky.social:
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/givi... #neurodiversity #autism
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/givi... #neurodiversity #autism