Our large group size attracts a number of would-be spammers, so I recently decided to pre-screen forum messages before they’re made active.  I approve most messages (hint: mention the word ‘autism’ in the first 12 words and you’re in!), but I have some pet peeves that prevent a post from going live.

My biggest pet peeve is when a parent labels his/her kid as “HFA” (high-functioning Autism), especially when it is used to diminish the stigma of an Autism diagnosis.

In my mind, playing the HFA card is just plain wrong. “Your kid has Autism. Period.”  Any further qualification is pointless and harmful.

“We’re All In This Together,” was the catch phrase of Harry Tuttle, the renegade HVAC engineer in Terry Gilliam’s widely misunderstood yet brilliant film Brazil.

First, I think “HFA” is a subjective and useless label.  It is an overly broad, lay-person description.   In fact the newest DSM Autism classification has no categorization of “high-functioning autism.”  Worst news for the status-conscious, Asperger’s Syndrome is now redistricted into the unincorporated city of “Autism.”

Second, the HFA label causes people to infer that there’s a less-desirable, “low-functioning Autism” alternate.  This creates an unhelpful pecking order among families of children with disabilities. Telling someone that your child has Autism…then quickly adding “but he’s high-functioning” is like climbing over other families to get on a higher rung of the social-status ladder. And doing so sends a subtle signal to the general public that 1) there *is* a hierarchy worth noting and 2) higher is better than lower.

Suddenly, as our children struggle for equal and unconditional social acceptance, society insists on ranking and sorting them in order of preference.

The Autism Caste System

Unlike Down Syndrome (which comes with convenient visible clues for the clueless), Autism doesn’t have an obvious “signal” or classification guide.  So some parents seem to want to invent one on their own.

As in the Hindi Caste System, the “Brahman” equivalent is the diagnosis of Learning Disabled, followed by Aspergers, “HFA” (high-functioning Autism), and “Regular” Autism or “Low-Functioning” Autism if you prefer.

(Are the “untouchables” those individuals with challenging behavior issues, or people with concurrent physical disabilities?  Just asking.)

If it exists, the Autism Caste System is a subtle form of internecine bigotry that’s one-part human nature, two-parts denial, and a healthy dose of disability aversion. I think the term was probably coined by some well-meaning teacher or family physician to soften a devastating diagnosis. But its perpetuation is a negative prejudice that must stop.

India has long since shed the caste system yet I think we, parents of children with Autism, have yet to learn the same lesson.

“Since members of all the four castes are children of God, they all belong to the same caste.  All human beings have the same father, and children of the same father cannot have different castes.”

— Amartya Sen, illustrating caste discussion in Bhavishya Purana^{Book on Amazon}

I use the caste system analogy to be provocative and to drive home a point:  making arbitrary classifications based on what a person lacks is inhumane to the person, and self-defeating. If we collectively care about our childrens’ futures, we need to act in the self-interest of all children with Autism.

If we focus on what our kids CAN do, and don’t dwell on what they can’t do, we’ll eventually get the rest of society to do the same and provide more acceptance, support and opportunity.

We’re all in this together, so we need to resist language and classifications that divide us.

What do you think?