Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity

In Chapter 8, Price discusses how legal systems and societal structures often fail to accommodate neurodiversity and the specific needs of Autistic individuals. This chapter proposes a shift toward a more inclusive and neurodiverse world through expanded legal protections, broadened social norms, and comprehensive public education on neurodiversity.

Price critiques the medical model of disability, which views disability as a condition that arises from within the individual. Under this view, disabilities must be diagnosed, and treated or cured. Price criticizes this model for focusing on individual deficits rather than societal barriers. He describes an alternative model for conceptualizing disability: the social model of disability. This model, as defined by disabled academic Mike Oliver, emphasizes the role of societal systems in creating disability. Under this model, disabled people, such as Autistic people and Deaf people, are only disabled by their societies, which fail to accommodate them and instead view their differences as defective and shameful.

Price highlights that Autistic individuals often face social exclusion and oppression due to societal misconceptions about Autism. Legal protections like the ADA have improved life for disabled people but still fall short in fully supporting neurodiverse individuals. Price suggests that these laws need to be reworked to empower self-advocacy and expand access to accommodations.