So, you’ve started / joined / come to be in a position of power in a socialist organization. Great! Now, assuming you’re not a basement dwelling scuzzball, presumably you care about the plight of autistic people, and want to do whatever you can to help them politically. Assuming further that you’re not a cocky dickweasel with a savior complex, you know to include autistic people in your organization and let them take the lead on issues such as these. Awesome! You’re a decent person!

Now: What do you do here to help accommodate them? This can be tricky. “Autistic” isn’t a monolith. Contrary to popular belief, the autism spectrum isn’t linear, but radial. Autism comes in many many forms, and is a diverse disability, never mind the diversity of autistic people. That said, there are some things you can take into consideration when trying to be inclusive of comrades on the spectrum.

DISCLAIMER: This is not a definitive be-all end-all guide to how to accommodate autistic people. These are just some common things you can do. Everyone is different and has different needs.

1: Don’t force us to make eye contact

Eye contact is a very difficult thing for people on the spectrum. Just because we’re not looking at you doesn’t mean we’re not listening.

2: Be patient with us when we’re communicating

Many of us have a hard time speaking, some of us are non-verbal. We may not be the best speakers in the room, but we’re not unintelligent.

3: Take sensory issues into consideration

This varies from person to person, but to the extent you’re able to, make accommodations for autistic folk based on sensory problems. I for instance have a hard time with loud, screeching noises and so do my best to avoid them. One example: If your organization is forming/attending a picket line, bring ear plugs. My first picket line made me nauseous and almost gave me a meltdown. If you’re unsure of what your comrades need, ask.

4: Don’t use ableist language

There’s some (keyword some, you don’t get a free pass to do whatever) discourse about what constitutes ableist language and what doesn’t, and not every disabled person is going to take the same words the same way, but there are some basics. First, “retard”. I don’t think I need to explain why that’s awful. Second, making “REEEEE” and “autistic screeching” jokes. Again, I don’t think that needs explaining. Third, calling someone “high or low on the spectrum”. This may seem innocent, but again, autism isn’t a linear spectrum, it’s a radial one. Furthermore, as a term it’s used to disqualify people from certain activities and considerations. People aren’t “high functioning” or “low functioning”. It’s dated and usually offensive. Lastly, “You don’t look/sound autistic”. This is a deeply offensive and downright strange thing to say to a person. Autism isn’t a puppy, it doesn’t have a distinct look/sound to it. I don’t come up to you and say “You don’t sound like a person”.

5: Don’t condescend to us

While taking our needs into consideration is good, what it does not mean is that you should talk to us like we’re infants. We’re humans with dignity just like you, and following any appropriate accommodations, treat us as you would any other comrade.

6: Critique in good faith

Just like anyone else in a marginalized community, autistic people are not immune to being criticized, but it must be done in any kind of good faith. Furthermore, it must be done with some patience. Autistic people are very bad with understanding social situations, and some of us are even bad with understanding consent. This doesn’t excuse shitty behavior mind you, and if anyone weaponizes it in such a way, they should frankly be dismissed, but this is nonetheless important to consider.

7: No Becky, you don’t understand what it’s like

A common grievance autistic people have is encountering what we call “Autism Moms”. These are non-autistic mothers of autistic children who will claim they know what it’s like to be on the spectrum, or they’ll claim they “lost” their child to autism. This is all extremely grotesque and ableist, and if you want any kind of chance of retaining autistic people in your organization, don’t do this. Incidentally, it should go without saying that this behavior isn’t exclusive to Autism Moms.

8: Don’t Donate To Autism $peaks, For God’s Sake

Look, I get it. Autism Speaks is the biggest name in the room, neurotypicals and allistics (non-autistics) think it’s the default. But Autism $peaks is to the autistic community what Susan G. Komen is to breast cancer. There are tons, I mean tons, I mean TONS of reasons not to do so, and if you must give money or support to an organization, most of us on the spectrum recommend ASAN (Autism Self-Advocacy Network) or buying some stuff of Stimtastic.

9: Don’t Tell Us Not To Stim

Stimming is when autistic people move about or make a repetitive sound or motion. It’s not only because we enjoy it, it’s something we need to do. If someone’s being disruptive, by all means hold a conversation, I’m sure this comrade would be willing to be a little quieter or a little less flashy while there’s a meeting. But we gotta do this, and there’s no real way around it.

10: Elevate, Elevate, Elevate!!

There are things that affect us directly in ways that they don’t affect allistic people. In these cases, it’s not your place to speak on our behalf. It’s your duty to elevate us in these conversations, and to prioritize our concerns in these aspects of the struggle.

11: Don’t Gaslight Us About Our Own Disability

We know it better than you do. Unless you are a licensed doctor with a specialty in autism, you don’t get to lecture us about our own condition. This includes the aforementioned “you don’t look autistic”, but also includes crap like “oh, don’t say that!”, “it’s all a state of mind!”, and trying to sell us the snake oil that is holistic medicine on the grounds that it helps us. (By the by, if you ever come across a “socialist” at a meeting try to sell holistic medicine, you are officially dealing with the worst breed of capitalist).

Bonus: Don’t Be A Primitivist

The whole ideology of anarcho-primitivism is an ableist, transphobic, misanthropic, and frankly ultra-reactionary ideology whose potential body count puts fascism to shame – but that’s another article. Needless to say, if you want the support of autistic people, or disabled people of any kind for that matter, don’t advocate a world where we couldn’t get our needs met.