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 š
A thread š§µ
#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 itāll 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
I read it and I actually feel this. I was in special edā¦ its tough not having a label anymore where most of the other people are dealing with more similar barriersā¦ people are increasinglyā¦. Not similar circumstance to myselfā¦ and that is unhelpful for meā¦
Unhelpful for advocacy. Unhelpful for strategies. Unhelpful because of increased social expectations.
Im fine with having an entirely different label.
But I donāt really wanna share with those who are so much more capable than meā¦ im comfy being separated from both the main buckets so I can find more similar peopleā¦.
Its hard to set reasonable expectationsā¦
I do see what you're saying. Yes. And that must be hard actually. I was disadvantaged at school, but not like that.
Hm I guess, regarding this, I think it may be time to support people with what they need in the ways that they need it? That is, the support should centre around their needs, and not round their diagnosis.
I think her commentary is designed to be divisive... which is exactly what it's doing š¢
PS and just to say good on you for saying this... I realise that might have taken some courage in the context. š
Ok here is a concrete example of personal trouble.
I call placesā¦ trying to get help for autism. The services donāt serve my age group, my functioning level (either they want high or low functioning not between and spikey profile), or my government (medicaid) insurance.
If I call some place seeking help for ADHD, the same doesnāt happen.
So like how functional can a label really be if when you call for help for itā¦ To help literally isnāt even there. And also the government probably canāt even measure that the help for you isnāt there because itās all got the same label.
It was easy by comparison to get help for the ADHD part. Oh I just need to get diagnosed with a Neuro psychiatrist with multiple eight hour long appointments and itās really hard to get? So much easier than trying to get the actual intense help that Iām looking for for autism for an adultā¦
I got the autism label when I wasnāt looking for it at the neuropsych btwā¦ which means I am not someone who decided they were autistic before someone elseā¦ then I told peopleā¦ they were shocked I wasnāt diagnosedā¦. š¬ Im really obviously according to even people I hardly know.
K.J. Elphinstone
Energetic Nova