Stop writing stories about “normal” characters learning to love marginalised kids. Stop buying them. Stop supporting them. And please stop nominating them for awards. It’s offensive to constantly see narratives about how people have to learn to love you for being disabled. https://twitter.com/ahomeforthelost/status/1326268688669011968

I usually channel the fury I feel about these ableist narratives into writing but on days when I’m so fatigued I can barely sit up, they get into me, like horrible burying beetles. I don’t think people understand the damage they are doing with these stories.

We need far more autistic characters in literature but this is exactly the type we need less of. Our lives should not revolve around teaching allistic people that we’re worthy of respect or love. That’s only a step away from us being worthy of human rights.

You might think I am being hyperbolic in making the leap between terrible autism rep in children’s books and human rights but literature sows seeds, shapes minds, reflects cultural and societal ideas about how we view other people.

When you write about how someone has to learn to love an autistic sibling and therefore position us as inherently difficult, unloveable and problems, you contribute to a society that treats autistic people like this, quite frankly. https://news.sky.com/story/autistic-girl-who-was-locked-up-24-7-now-loves-hair-dye-gardening-and-fishing-one-year-on-12087199

This is not a US publishing phenomenon, because there are plenty of examples of similar narratives published in the UK. I’m tired of them, and I’m tired of seeing how their presence quashes the hope, spirit and creativity of autistics around me.

There are lines from books like this that I have read over the years that still go round in my head, and I’m a fairly resilient adult. What do you think that does for a child, especially when autistic children are already more likely to be bullied by both children and adults?

Also considering that 90% of autism is directly inherited from an immediate family member, what do people think these books achieve in terms of overall family dynamics? When it’s highly possible that kid may grow up to have autistic kids of their own?