Dear Reframers,
As someone who watches the framing of news with a hawk-eyed gaze, I’ve often seen bias shape narratives, and accountability shifting from systems to marginalised folx.
The same goes for autism reporting, when certain patterns are repeated.
A headline mentions a crime, and somewhere, in the lede, autism appears—as explanation, context, or a subtle suggestion. A feature story leans on struggle, burden, or inspiration. An interview is conducted quickly, shaped for clarity, edited for fluency. The autistic person at the centre becomes part of a narrative that was already decided.
Sounds familiar?
We know quite well that media bias shapes public opinion by deciding what is shown, how it is framed, and whose voices are prioritised, ultimately influencing how audiences understand and respond to a community.
Today, on the last day of April, the Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month, this edition presents a manifesto from autistic people about journalism and representation.
Namrata, writer and editor from India says:
“Reframing Disability does something Indian media rarely does: it makes invisibility visible. It gives space to the narratives that are usually brushed aside because they don’t fit the inspirational template. It acknowledges that chronic illness is a social experience, a political experience, and an emotional experience.”
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Last year, Maxime Toussaint, the head of podcasts at Lëtzebuerger Journal of Luxembourg reached out to independent consultant Joanne Theisen to host a podcast.
“He assured me that I could share what I wanted about my life and leave out anything delicate,” Theisen recalled. “[He] didn’t just want a story from me, [he] wanted us to work on it together.”
In their first conversation, Toussaint explained the podcast in a rapid five-minute monologue. Then came a long pause from Theisen. She told him that as an autistic person, she needed time to process information, asking him to slow down, break things into smaller parts, and repeat details when needed. “So, I started again and did it her way,” Toussaint said.
The collaboration didn’t end with communication. It reshaped the work environment itself. Theisen preferred quiet spaces, low lighting, and minimal interruptions, so her voiceovers were recorded when the office was empty. What seemed like an accommodation soon revealed itself as curb-cut effect. “I realised that I and everyone else would prefer to record in such an environment as well,” Toussaint said.
This example comes from a story Reframing Disability recently reported.
Journalism often treats access as an adjustment made at the margins, rather than a shift in practice. But when autistic people are not just subjects of stories, rather collaborators in how those stories are told, the process changes, and the work improves. To build on this, I reached out to autistic friends of Reframing Disability to ask what fair reporting on autism would entail and what journalists should know when they approach them for an interview.
Find and follow their advice:
”I would appreciate if journalists are willing to answer my questions about the interview even if they are basic.
What are they going to do with the recording? Will they reassure me that the things I say will not make me look bad, because sometimes I do not know what I say would mean for other people, or how they’ll understand or misunderstand it. Journalists should help us out in understanding that.”
Joanne Theisen, and other autistic people from Luxembourg
I would prefer journalists to be honest and professional. Most of the time they take advantage and create words and messages which were not even spoken.
Pranav Sethi, Disaster Risk Reduction Professional
Many autistic people have been misunderstood or misrepresented before. Trust takes time. Please do not just take our words and use them without care. Let us have some say in how our stories are told.
Beatrice Leong, documentary filmmaker and gender-disability activist
[Image Description: Poster for World Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month: a bright yellow-brown background, features colorful overlapping paper-cut hands around a globe, with text reading “Listen, Understand, Report Fairly” and a link to reframingdisability.substack.com.]
Autism is not a disease to overcome and people who achieve success don’t stop being autistic!
Aditi Sowmyanarayan, Team Reframing Disability
”Treat us as equals but also give us space when required. Also acknowledge we might prefer different forms of interviews like written or radio/podcast.”
Rohan Dixit, owner at the Fast Entertainer
“Some people might prefer chatting and not necessarily talking. And also be aware that some topics may be delicate.”
Joanne Theisen and others from Luxembourg
As an autistic journalist if I’m ever interviewed, I want people to understand that I try not to offer a hot take but a personalised thoughtful approach. It takes time to process so what emerges is valuable and doesn’t waste my time or the [interviewer’s].
Dhruti Shah, storyteller and journalist
Larre Bildeston wrote in their 2024 Medium blog about a report in a mainstream publication in Aotearoa New Zealand:
“a 14-year-old stole a puppy from his Canterbury neighbours before throwing it off a balcony and hitting it over the head, causing it to die.”
Right underneath, as the second most important thing to know about this child:
“The teenager, who has autism and ADHD, was subsequently charged and admitted the charges in the Youth Court. He has since been discharged.”
… by the way it is framed, readers who know just as little about Autism as the journalist will parse mention of his neurotype as “the boy killed the puppy because of Autism and AD/HD”.
A prevalent misconception about Autism: That Autistics lack empathy.
Another take comes from the Hindi-language movie Laar (Hindi for saliva). Laar has an autistic protagonist and his mother at the centre of the story.
Aditi Gangrade, the co-founder and chief creative officer of Much Much Media and Much Much Spectrum,“ reviewed the film on her platform:
“It (the movie) not only infantalises, but also dehumanises its autistic protagonist,” Aditi says in her review. The movie assumes “autistic individuals to be inherently violent or abusive. It’s as if the filmmaker searched for the most ableist take on autism and decided to make a checklist out of it,” she added.
Read the full story in an earlier issue of Reframing Disability.
”Before interviewing an Autistic person, remember: autism isn’t a once-a-year awareness topic. April may be Autism Awareness Month, but we are Autistic every day of the year. Please speak to us with respect, not curiosity alone, and tell our stories as lived realities—not seasonal content.”
Sudhanshu Grover, Founder of Powered By Autistics
“It makes me happy when the media discusses the topic of autism. It’s so important for me that people actually talk about it.”
Joanne Theisen and others from Luxembourg
Do not say “you don’t look autistic.” It’s not a compliment. It’s actually an insult. Every autistic [person is] different and we have learnt how to mask.
Swara Swami, music therapist
”Don’t treat me as if I would break, I’m not porcelain, and you don’t need to be extra careful around me.”
“I would appreciate it if journalists do some research in advance so they have some background knowledge of the topic.”
Joanne Theisen and others from Luxembourg
”Autism is complex, and autistic people are not all the same. I would encourage journalists to sit with that complexity, even when it feels uncomfortable, and to question your own assumptions.
When you interview autistic people, please do not make our stories only about struggle or inspiration. Ask us about our thoughts, our work, our relationships, our needs, and how we see the world.
Our story is not only about autism. It is also about how schools, workplaces, families, healthcare, and society treat us.”
Beatrice Leong, documentary filmmaker and gender-disability activist
“Journalists should be open for critical discussions, and not just try to smooth things out.”
“Let’s not forget the impact stories can have on parents and siblings because sometimes in all the discussions they are forgotten.”
Joanne Theisen, and others from Luxembourg
”Include autistic people in interviews because news is incredibly important and the spectrum is wide. Mention that the story is about one autistic person and not the entire community, [because we are all different from one another.]”
Joanne Theisen, and others from Luxembourg
Journalists have an ethical responsibility to examine their assumptions before they ever ask a question. That means not carrying hidden beliefs about who is “too disabled” to speak for themselves, or whose words need to be filtered through that biased lens, or re-interpreted for others. This is also about power. Journalists— and others in professional roles—help decide whose voices/methods are treated as credible and what gets recorded as “truth.”
Hari Srinivasan, neuroscientist
Neurodiversity and autism are not interchangeable: Often, when someone says “neurodivergent”, people hear it as synonymous with “autistic”. But neurodiversity encompasses many different ways of being, from autism to ADHD, dementia to acquired brain injury to schizophrenia, and more.
Another misconception is about autism being an intellectual disability, which it is not. Some autistic people may have an intellectual disability and vice-versa. Using the term “intellectual disability” for autism is incorrect. In India, autism is recognised as a developmental disability under the Rights for Persons with Disabilities Act.
”It would be helpful if journalists use different platforms. Not just like the written media but also like online and the radio and social media so that many different people are being reached.”
Joanne Theisen and others in Luxembourg
[This piece does not offer exhaustive advise. It only puts together quotes from autistic people who contributed. Reframing Disability looks forward to your views in the comments.]
How neurodivergent households design ‘a home that knows your brain’
From dark, sound-proofed rooms to clever storage solutions, families with autism and ADHD are finding inspired ways to adjust their environments.
Extraordinary Attorney Woo, a TV series about a young lawyer with Asperger’s Syndrome “is a good representation of many layered themes around autism – work, romance, independence, autonomy and more,” says Aditi Sowmyanarayan.
The Geek Girl, Aditi says, “represents that sometimes autism is not visible on the surface at all.”
Why you’re smarter than you think
From the time we are schoolchildren, we are ranked and sorted based on how smart we are. But what if our assumptions about intelligence limit our potential? In this Hidden Brain podcast, Scott Barry Kaufman proposes a more expansive notion of what it means to be “smart”.
Reframing Disability’s previous issues featured: Communication, agency, and messiness: what systems keep missing about autism with Hari Srinivasan; the story of One cm, a Luxembourg podcast that demonstrated practical disability inclusion, and the launch of the Global Directory of News Media Professionals. Did you get a chance to read or listen to them?
Thanks for reading or listening to this edition (on the Substack app). Do write in with your thoughts; your words keep me motivated to run this platform.
I’m available on LinkedIn and Instagram as well, and Reframing Disability has an Instagram account too. Engage wherever you are active!
Warmly,
Priti
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