50 pages • 1 hour read
Devon PriceUnmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2022A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapter 8-ConclusionChapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 8 Summary: “Creating a Neurodiverse World”
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.
Price also argues that Autistic people should be welcomed into social spaces to normalize neurodiverse mannerisms and communication styles. Price points out that the isolation of disabled and neurodivergent individuals perpetuates stigma and narrows the scope of socially acceptable behavior. He contends that collaborative and equal contact between neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals can effectively change societal attitudes.
Price stresses the importance of educating the public and professionals about neurodiversity. Such education should start from childhood, he argues, and should include targeted training for doctors, teachers, and mental health professionals. This approach would challenge narrow definitions of sanity and functionality and promote understanding and acceptance of neurodiversity.
The chapter highlights the challenges Autistic individuals face in accessing mental health care and finding employment, exacerbated by the costly nature of Autism assessments and the precariousness of the job market for Autistic individuals. Price argues for universal health care and basic income as solutions that would alleviate the financial and societal pressures on Autistic individuals, allowing them a more secure and dignified existence without the constant need to mask their neurodivergence.
Price points out that many Autistic children of color are punished for small misbehaviors and put on the school-to-prison pipeline at a young age. He asserts that the mental healthcare system and the carceral system are intertwined, and that both perpetuate ableism. Disabled people, and especially Black disabled people, are at a high risk of being shot by police. Price argues that defunding the police and abolishing the prison system would help liberate Black Autistic people.
Conclusion Summary: “Integration”
Price, who is gay and transgender, believes that the experience of being a masked Autistic “is eerily similar to being in the closet about being gay or trans” (252). Both experiences, he says, can come with self-loathing and a feeling of denial that is caused by the external world’s insistence that you are not who you say you are. Before Price came out as trans, he maintained a feminine gender presentation and was affirmed by the outside world for presenting this way. But when he broke through the internal and external resistance holding him back, and started moving through the world as an androgynous trans person, he felt freer.
Similarly, as a masked Autistic person, Price survived by imposing rules on himself, making himself smaller, in an effort to “pass” as neurotypical. But masking alienated him from himself and his loved ones.
The antithesis to alienation, Price says, is integration; someone with an integrated sense of self accepts growth and change, while knowing that there is a through line that connects “the many selves they have been across various times and places” (254). Price likens this state of being to the unmasked Autistic self. An integrated, redemptive sense of self can arise through narrative therapy, he says, or through the organic process of forging healthy, supportive bonds with others.
Price encourages readers to contemplate their values again, and to picture how those values form a cohesive, integrated whole. He shares his own values: candor, courage, inspiration, and passion. Looking back on his past, he says he sees that his values are the opposite of his mask—rather, they center his Autistic traits.
In closing, Price acknowledges that unmasking is not an easy task, but that doing so is an act of activism, one that will help everyone to build a more neurodiverse society.
Chapter 8-Conclusion Analysis
Chapter 8 expands on the theme of Challenging Stereotypes and Misconceptions About Autism by addressing the inadequacies of the medical model of disability, which locates disability within the individual and seeks to treat or cure it. Price argues that this model fails to consider the societal barriers and stigmatization that actually disable people. He contrasts this with the social model of disability, which recognizes that societal structures and attitudes are responsible for disabling individuals. Price points out:
Where the medical model of disability fails is in making sense of disabilities that come from social exclusion or oppression. Sometimes what society (and the psychiatric establishment) considers to be an individual defect is in fact a perfectly benign difference that needs accommodation and acceptance instead (230).
The social model of disability shifts the focus from individual deficits to the need for systemic change, thus challenging the traditional conception of Autism as an individual problem and emphasizing the role of society in creating and sustaining disability.
Price further delves into the theme of Intersectionality and Autism, particularly focusing on the school-to-prison pipeline and its disproportionate impact on Black Autistic individuals. He highlights how the educational and legal systems often criminalize the behavior of Autistic children of color, leading to a higher likelihood of incarceration and encounters with law enforcement. This discussion underscores the complexities of being Autistic and Black, as Black Autistics navigate a society structured by both ableism and racism. Price argues that understanding these intersecting oppressions is crucial in advocating for systemic changes that support all Autistic individuals, especially those who are most marginalized.
Throughout the book, Price advocates for a reevaluation and reframing of Autistic traits. He challenges the view that Autistic behaviors and ways of being are inherently negative, instead suggesting that these traits should be seen as different but not inferior. This reframing is crucial for fostering self-acceptance among Autistic individuals and for changing societal perceptions. By presenting Autistic traits in a positive light, Price promotes a more nuanced understanding of Autism, countering the pathologizing and stigmatizing narratives that often dominate discussions about neurodiversity.
In the Conclusion, Price portrays unmasking as a gradual and worthwhile experience, emphasizing that unmasking is not just about revealing one’s Autistic identity but also about integrating various aspects of oneself. He encourages readers to see unmasking as an ongoing process that involves self-reflection, embracing one’s values, and forming supportive relationships. This journey, while challenging, is framed as an act of self-love and activism that contributes to building a more inclusive and understanding society.
