#autisticdarkweb: A promising twitter hashtag and crusade against neurodiversity

Neurodiversity proponents have been very effective in getting their message across and influencing policy making, both in the federal government and private sector organizations. As I've noted in this blog, there have been several anti-cure autistic public members of the interagency autism coordinating committee, which provides policy recommendations on autism to the federal government.  There have been zero pro-cure autistic members appointed, despite the fact that pro-treatment, pro-cure autists, Jake Crosby and Roger Kulp were nominated and turned down. Autism Speaks is out of the autism curing and prevention business, and they no longer regard autism as a "global health crisis". Stephen Shore and Valerie Paradiz, two anti-cure autistics, have been appointed to their board of directors.

One of the reasons for neurodiversity's clout is the massive numbers of them who write prolifically on social media, particularly twitter. Twitter provides the use of hash tags, which can go viral and reach enough people if done effectively. In the past, the ND's have used #actuallyautistic and #actuallyatypical as hash tags. When the ND's were offended by a project Autism Speaks funded entitled #Mssng, to find missing genes in autism disorders, they countered this with angry tweets and the hashtag #notmssng. One of their most effective hashtags was #don'tcombatme, which was in response to the combating autism act whose name they didn't like. Congress responded by renaming the law to something less offensive to the NDs.

For years, it seemed that I was a figurative diamond in the rough. For a time, as far as I could tell, there were no other autistic people who were attempting to refute this horrid philosophy other than your humble blogger. The anti-cure, pro-neurodiversity continued to use "the royal we" (We don't want to be cured, etc.).  I was told by one ND that I was "the exception to the rule".  Another told me that of all the autistic persons she'd encountered on the internet, I was the only one who opposed neurodiversity and did not want a cure.  A few autistics wrote me or signed my guestbook on my website, stating they were glad to see me pontificate my views among the plethora of neurodiversity blogs and writings on the web.  However, these individuals mostly did not have the inclination to write blog posts or refute the ND tenets anywhere online. 

Recently, this trend has started to change and there's been a slow growth of autistics who see the problems with neurodiversity.  Writers Tom Clements, Gwen Kansen, and Twilah Hiari have written unfavorable pieces about neurodiversity.  Anorther writer, and twitter user Jonathan Ferguson (AKA One-Tongued Johnny and Wallace Runnymeade) has also spoken out against neurodiversity.  Yuval Levental is another individual who occasionally contributes to the discourse about this loathesome movement and the problems associated with it.  One-Tongued Johnny started a #neurodiversityishistory hashtag, but it's use was noneffective and ephemeral.  

Lately, there's a new kid in town, something called the #autisticdarkweb and this is a growing hastag on twitter.  Someone with the twitter handle "TreatingAutism" sums it up in this tweet:

It's a list of #autistic people who are critical of the dogma and intolerance of some neurodiversity advocates who often claim to speak for all people with #autism. It includes a number of talented young writers fighting back with their pens against this narrow-minded doctrine.

— Treating Autism (@TweetingAutism) June 3, 2018

This hashtag seems to be growing lately and I'm grateful there's a small body of people on twitter (now including myself) who will use this hashtag and challenge the ND movement.  Regardless, those of us who don't like neurodiversity still have an uphill battle, but this is still a start.