Autism Causes: Beyond Myths of Damage and Prevention

Explore why "autism causes" debates are harmful. Autism isn’t damage or tragedy, Autistic people deserve support to thrive, not prevention.

This article is part of my wider writing regarding the ongoing campaign to get Amazon to remove harmful “cure” books from their platform. Click here to read more.

Autism elicits a wide range of responses from people. Within Autistic community spaces, many of us can find some protection from the most harmful narratives; places where our existence is not constantly questioned, but the wider world has not caught up. Beyond our circles, there is the ever-present threat of being reduced to a tragedy, or worse, a mistake of nature that should never have happened.

This is particularly clear in conversations about the so-called “causes” of autism. For decades, people have argued ad nauseam about autism causes: vaccines, radiation, antenatal use of paracetamol. At one point, I was even told with complete seriousness that Peppa Pig causes autism. These theories range from the pseudoscientific to the absurd, and yet they persist.

Autism Causes: The Hidden Assumption

Beneath every discussion of autism causes lurks a damaging assumption:;that autistic people are somehow broken. When society asks “what causes autism?” what it often really means is “what caused this person to be damaged?”

This is a profoundly harmful way to think about human beings. Autism is not an illness or an external force that “happens” to someone. It is part of the natural diversity of human minds. There is no pre-autism version of us, no moment where we were whole before autism appeared. We are, and always have been, Autistic.

Tragedy Narratives and Prevention Agendas

The fixation on autism causes feeds directly into tragedy narratives. We are cast as broken lives, burdens on families, or emotionless automatons. Parents are told their child has been “stolen” by an abstract condition. Entire research industries grow around the idea that autistic life is a mistake to be prevented.

The Violence of Prevention

Prevention narratives are particularly insidious. They tell us that society would be better off if people like us were never born. That our existence is a public health problem to be solved. They erase the fact that Autistic life is human life, worthy in and of itself.

The time, money, and energy spent trying to stop Autistic people from existing could instead be channelled into supporting us to thrive. But thriving has to be defined on our own terms. It does not mean conforming to neuronormative milestones; full-time employment, nuclear families, quiet compliance.

For some, thriving looks like deep focus in a monotropic flow state, or building a nest that protects against burnout, or lilipadding gently from one demand to another in a way that honours our rhythms.

Autism Does Not Discriminate

Autism does not discriminate because it is not an outside invader. It is part of how human minds develop and diversify. Autistic people exist in every race, gender, class, and culture. Some of us are more visible to the system than others.

Intersectionality and Power Horizons

Of course, my own position comes with privilege. I am white, cisgender, perceptible as male, and relatively well-educated. Autistic people exist at every intersection of identity, carrying varied support needs and multiple neurodivergences. For some, racism, transphobia, classism, or psychiatric oppression compound the barriers erected by ableism.

And as I’ve written elsewhere, our lives are shaped not just by direct experiences but by the wider ecosystem; political climates, power struggles, cultural narratives, intergroup conflict, even when we are not directly engaged with them. Power horizons may obscure our knowledge of who gets to define what autism means, and whose voices are heard when policies are drafted or research agendas set. Too often, those beyond the horizon exclude Autistic voices, especially those of multiply marginalised people.

Different, Not Damaged

Autism “causes” debates will no doubt continue, but the framing itself is misguided. Autism is not a problem to be solved or an error to be prevented. It is a way of being human.

Autistic people deserve to exist as we are. No human life should be judged by how comfortable it makes others feel. The time has come to stop chasing mythical causes and start building communities where Autistic people can thrive.

Rather than asking what caused us to exist, society could ask:

how can we help Autistic people live well?

We are different, not damaged.