What connects author Neil Gaiman, rapper Kanye West and broadcaster Gregg Wallace? Firstly, they’re all men who have allegedly behaved in – shall we say – socially unacceptable ways. Gaiman was accused of sexual misconduct towards a number of women last year, as was Wallace. West, meanwhile, has found himself embroiled in a seemingly endless string of controversies.
The second similarity is that these men seem to be claiming that autism is partially to blame for their behaviour. Wallace tried to argue that his sexually inappropriate conduct towards his female coworkers was a result of his undiagnosed autism. Similarly, one of Gaiman’s alleged victims claimed that the author blamed his autism for not recognising her ‘body language and social cues’. West has also suggested that autism was behind his anti-Semitic outbursts and erratic behaviour.
It is entirely plausible that Gaiman, Wallace and West do indeed have autism. It is primarily a communication and sensory disorder that causes those with it – like myself – to process the social and sensual world differently from most other people. While there are some common denominators, the condition manifests itself differently from person to person, with no real textbook example. Many autists are non-verbal, fidget uncontrollably and struggle with eye contact. Others have difficulties with friendships, small talk and romantic relationships. Autism can vary wildly in how severely it impacts someone’s life, but most people diagnosed are still able to function normally as part of society.
Crucially, when you’re autistic, you often don’t naturally intuit what is and isn’t acceptable, culturally and socially. You might not know how to time a joke, how to network for your career or how to navigate a conversation without inadvertently interrupting or offending someone.
The reality is that society is designed for non-autistic (or neurotypical) people, as they make up the majority of our world. As a result, autistic people can often come across as anti-social, simply when they’re being themselves. I have been guilty of this many times, for which I have always sincerely apologised. An apology may not always feel fair, given that an autistic person’s anti-social actions are usually unintentional. But life isn’t fair. Everyone, autistic or otherwise, is battling their own exclusive obstacles. Such obstacles might help to explain poor behaviour, but they are never excuses for them.
Autism has, for some bad actors, become a kind of get-out-of-jail-free card for acting inappropriately. Connecting this condition to bad behaviour is hugely harmful to the millions of well-behaved autistic people worldwide. Assuming that autism strips people of agency or makes them incapable of telling right from wrong is a dangerous road to go down. If we followed this logic, nobody could ever be held responsible for anything.
This weaponisation of autism is often dressed up in a way that makes it sound like it is beneficial for people with autism. It usually comes couched in the language of ‘awareness’ and ‘acceptance’. The reality is that it only makes things much worse. I know several autistic people who hide their diagnoses from friends, family and colleagues, because they don’t want to be viewed and treated differently. Like most people, we simply want to live our lives without drama or stigma. This is also why many people who suspect they might be autistic avoid being professionally diagnosed. Many cultures, employers and legal systems unfortunately still discriminate against people with autism. Those who use this condition as a shield for their poor behaviour are definitely not helping.
For all their many faults, Gaiman, West and Wallace are successful public figures. If they do have autism, they are high-functioning enough to identify the basic norms and values of the societies they live in. They are also wealthy enough to invest in counselling, which could teach them how to read social cues or control their impulses. All of these men certainly know better than they or their supporters are suggesting.
On the flipside to this, do you know what connects filmmaker Tim Burton, musician David Byrne and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg? Firstly, they’re all men who have made huge contributions to humanity. Secondly, they all have autism. While their conditions may have helped focus their unique talents, their success isn’t solely down to being autistic. Just as being anti-social is not because of autism, nor is being pro-social. Autism is quite simply a communication and sensory disorder – there is no set of morals or behaviours, good or bad, that come with it.
Having autism in and of itself does not make someone an anti-social monster, a gifted super-genius or a helpless victim. We need to see autistic people as people – and that means holding them to the same standards as everyone else.
Rebecca Stanton is a writer and author of The Disneyification of Animals.
