Autism Self-Advocacy

A movement led by autistic individuals who advocate for their own rights, autonomy, and inclusion in decisions that affect their lives. Autism self-advocacy challenges the dominance of non-autistic parents, professionals, and researchers in speaking for and making decisions about autistic people. Key principles include "Nothing About Us Without Us," identity-first language preferences, rejection of cure narratives, acceptance of neurodiversity, and centering autistic perspectives in research, policy, and technology design. Organizations like the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) have been instrumental in shifting autism discourse from deficit-focused to rights-based frameworks.