We Are Not the Enemy

How research narratives and broken systems turned autistic communities against each other

Over the last two days I tried to have a conversation.

The topic was autism. More specifically, a growing debate about whether the autism spectrum has become too broad.

The article that started the discussion was written by a parent raising children with profound autism. It described the intense realities of caregiving and argued that the category of autism may now include experiences so different that they no longer belong together.

I responded carefully.

I acknowledged the reality of profound autism. I shared that my own family includes autistic people with higher support needs. I explained that late-identified autistic adults have their own developmental story—one that often involves decades of confusion, masking, burnout, and trying to survive in environments that never recognized our neurology.

The response I received was simple.

I was told to “sit and think about the reality of profound autism for thirty seconds”.

What struck me about that moment was not the comment itself.

It was how f…