Insights from World Leading Autism Researcher, Andrew Whitehouse

Andrew Whitehouse: I think we struggle to have balanced conversations in autism.
One of the greatest myths that I see out there is the presentation of autism as a caricature. On one side, I often see within the media autism as a tragedy. And then on the other side, I see autism portrayed as a superpower. And the reality is it can be both and it can be neither. And by presenting autism as a caricature, we actually miss and hide so much of the unbelievably inspiring human stories that live underneath that.

So if I was to want to bust one myth, it would be to stop having autism as a sound bite, but rather scratch beneath the surface, because what you’ll find is so much better.

Q: The media holds a lot of responsibility in terms of shaping public opinion.  Where can they get it wrong and what can they do better?

Andrew Whitehouse: I think where the media may get it wrong is by presenting autism as an ‘other’. That there are children and then there are autistic children. And that creates an unhelpful narrative that pits people against each other.

The reality is that autistic children are all of our children. Children come in all different shapes and sizes and neurotypes. By ensuring that we talk about autism in the context of just another element of who kids can be, then all of a sudden, we stop ‘othering’ and we start gathering together around a common aim.

Q: Words matter. Used in the wrong way and you might risk offending someone or saying something that it not politically correct. What would you say to someone that might be wary of their language around autism?

Andrew Whitehouse: I think start with good intentions. When people come with good intentions, we have to honour that. The word police can be really unhelpful in actually scratching beneath the surface and concentrating on what really matters, which is how we support that individual to be whoever they want to be.

Go in with good intentions that people can be called whatever they want to call, but also on the other side, understand that most people are coming with good intentions.

Q: What simple changes can workplaces, schools or communities make to be more autism inclusive?

Andrew Whitehouse: I think start by being curious. All changes in civil rights, in advancement of humanity, start by being curious about other people. Start in the context of our systems like schools and workplaces and housing.

Be curious about how we can make life better – better for other people, not just tick a box or just to meet a quota. Start by being curious about their experience, and how we can shape what we do to improve their experience. I think that is the simple change we can make – and all of the complex changes then come from that.

Q: What is one message you wish everyone understood about autistic people?

Andrew Whitehouse: People may come with labels, they may come with assessment reports, but ultimately behind all of that, they’re an individual who’s had a journey to that point and will have a journey going forward.

I think by understanding the humanity that sits behind these labels is just utterly critical to us actually getting to the heart of how we can make the world better for autistic people.

Myths and Facts

Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions surrounding autism, and we touched on a common myth earlier in the interview. The work and advocacy of people like Andrew help to not only promote positive awareness around autism but to distinguish between myth and fact.

We delved deeper into some common myths…

MYTH 1: Everyone with autism has an extraordinary savant ability.

Andrew Whitehouse: Savant abilities mean there is a skill that an individual has that far exceeds what you would expect from their cognitive ability. Often, these are the things that people know about mathematical ability or calendar skills, and they are extraordinary. And it’s absolutely true that some autistic kids do show this, and many other kids show this as well. But the reality is, only a very, very small proportion of kids will show any kind of savant skills. And again, what this does by concentrating on that is actually mask over the unbelievable human stories that sit below that, both for that child and the family and those who love them.

MYTH 2: People with autism cannot have another diagnosis.

Andrew Whitehouse: That’s simply not true. In fact, most autistic kids do have another diagnosis. 80% of autistic children will also make criteria for some other kind of neurodevelopmental or mental health condition. So, the idea that there is a pure “autism versus something else” is just not true. The co-occurrence of other conditions with autism is the rule, not the exception.

MYTH 3: All people with autism have an intellectual disability.

Andrew Whitehouse: Not true also. It is certainly true that 30 years ago, the majority of people receiving an autism diagnosis did have an intellectual disability. But as we have changed our diagnostic criteria, that has also changed. So now it’s about 30-40% of autistic individuals that have an intellectual disability – and the majority of individuals with an autism diagnosis actually have intellectual abilities within typical limits and well above.

MYTH 4: Vaccines cause autism.

Andrew Whitehouse: Vaccines don’t cause autism. There’s been literally hundreds of studies that have examined whether there is an increase in the likelihood of a child developing autism after receiving the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. And the overwhelming consensus is that there is zero evidence that this vaccine causes autism.

We thank Andrew for his time in helping us explore the complexities, and simple truths around autism.

Andrew is the Deputy Director of The Kids Research Institute Australia; the Angela Wright Bennett Professor of Autism Research; the Director of CliniKids at The Kids; and the Research Strategy Director of the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC).