Replying to Uta Frith's views, one by one.
With thanks to all the members of the autistic community who've informed me & inspired me to write this thread.
For those lucky not to know about her article in The Times, and various other related statements, links at the end.
CW: it's upsetting 😟
A thread 🧵
#UtaFrith #Research #Autism #Autistic #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent
Her view: Autism in women has gone too far.
Reply: Interesting. Has freedom in women gone too far, too?
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Her view: We must categorise autism into smaller subgroups.
Reply: Interesting also - a bit like how Hans Asperger did in Nazi Germany? I think, in this case, the purpose is to exclude a lot of people from the category "autism" and to divide the autistic community.
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Her view: We can't have this many autistic people because it’ll overload the system.
Reply: This makes it plain that it's the people who serve the system, and not the other way around. Maybe society should be structured so that all people's needs are met, instead?
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It almost seems she's been rolled out as part of the Old Guard, to try to turn the tide.
It saddens me that this article, and campaign in general, will do a lot of harm to many autistic people, in making sure they aren't taken seriously and won't get the support they need.
An excellent commentary from the author of Embrace Autism: https://resiliencymentalhealth.com/2026/03/10/the-autism-spectrum/
(Thanks to @adelinej for sharing this with me)
Links below.
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The Times article: https://www.tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/general/uta-frith-interview-autism-not-spectrum
Her podcast with Naomi Fisher: https://substack.com/@naomicfisher/note/p-189989936?r=ql236
Wasn't it awful?! 😟
K.J. Elphinstone
Ari "Two Foxes" Jackson