Weaponizing Science

IFLS, I do, but let’s remember it does have its weaknesses

“Do your research” they say

As if they’ve actually read any of the actual research themselves, rather than simply regurgitating what they read on social media, or heard someone else say in a video post.

They wield this statement as though it were a definitive statement, proving you know not of which you speak. Except let’s not forget the field of science is wrought with systemic problems. Research is an imperfect process performed by imperfect humans.

While I do love evidence and data, and certainly find value in the scientific literature, we must not bow to almighty science, as though it cannot be questioned—unquestioning acceptance is the complete opposite of what the scientific method is about.

Research is descriptive, not prescriptive

Research informs, predicts, deciphers, observes, and reports.

It is descriptive, not prescriptive. By this I mean, scientific studies can only describe what has happened or is currently happening. It can make predictions about what is likely to happen based on that data, but it cannot prescribe what will certainly happen.

New knowledge is always challenging what we previously believed to be fact. Challenging our theories is the whole point of engaging in rigorous research.

The aim of the scientific method is to disprove theories and, in the process, provide evidence which supports one hypothesis over another. It is not intended to be used as a weapon wielded, demanding people demonstrate the validity of their own experience.

People’s individual experiences are not subject to scientific inquiry.

Scientific research is a process requiring quantity; huge numbers are needed for valid extrapolation or generalization of the data. People’s individual experiences are not subject to scientific inquiry. When someone tells us their experience, we should bloody well believe them.

Autistic and disabled people have been dismissed and invalidated our entire lives because of being Autistic and disabled. We’ve been presumed incompetent, incapable of introspection, and incapable of forming meaningful relationships with others.

For decades, researchers and clinicians have assumed that Autistics lack empathy, something which has since been broadly and convincingly disproven.

Now a certain ableist behaviourist, and other like-minded ableist behaviourists, are calling into question the intellectual capabilities of non-speakers.

A little background

Neuroclastic, a non-profit advocacy organization run for and by Autistic and disabled people, has a section on their website dedicated to articles, blogs, and other works by non-speaking Autistics.

A certain ableist behaviourist had the audacity to straight-up accuse Neuroclastic of faking these articles. He said other people wrote the articles, then Neuroclastic falsely claimed they were written by non-speaking Autistics.

In an effort to address the offensive rumours, and to combat some of the harmful and ignorant statements being made by this “behaviour analyst” (and his followers), Neuroclastic extended an invitation to Mr. White Man With Beard (who shall henceforth be referred to as WMWB) to join them on a livestream.

I’d never attended a livestream before, and I’m not sure I ever will again, but I am very glad I attended this one in particular. It was very hard to listen to WMWB refer to us (Autistics) as the “autism population” as though we’re a monolithic, non-human entity, rather than at least 150 million unique individuals worldwide.

The representatives from Neuroclastic were amazing. I am awed by their patience, poise, intelligence, and advocacy. The Autistic community also rallied around them, in support of and alongside, our non-speaking neurokin, many of whom shared their personal experiences and reactions in the comments during the livestream.

It was the unabashed ableism for me

WMWB seemed to have no awareness of his own ableism when he stated, with unjustified confidence, that non-speakers who hadn’t “demonstrated” a particular level of ability previous to using assisted communication (such as spelling to communicate) couldn’t possibly be typing themselves, nor expressing their own ideas.

He was sure that, if they’d not previously “shown” the ability to spell these words, and could quickly learn to form words into sentences, there had to be some form of manipulation by the facilitator.

The representatives from Neuroclastic tired to explain that a very significant number of Autistics also have apraxia, dyspraxia, and other motor challenges. They specifically cited recent research which found that as many as 87% of Autistics have co-occurring motor issues, which WMWB refused to believe, despite being given the data.

(It’s almost as though WMWB can only believe scientific evidence when it supports his previously held beliefs, but doubts and questions the validity of any research contrary to those beliefs).

WMWB could not accept that a person who had motor disabilities and could not physically type or write independently may have already possessed the intelligence and capability to spell, but lacked the motor coordination to do so without appropriate accommodations.

It’s inconceivable to him that people had complex thoughts existing inside their brains for a long time, but hadn’t yet been provided the tools to communicate them. That would be assuming incompetence until proven otherwise, rather than presuming competence.

WMWB’s “evidence” that spelling to communicate is fraudulent was witnessing people (based on videos he’s watched online, because he’s never practiced S2C, nor been trained to use it) going from “non-communicating” (yes, he used that term) to being able to spell. This is apparently conclusive evidence of facilitator manipulation.

If you’re alive, you’re communicating

First of all, non-communicating is not a thing. It’s not. All living things communicate using a lot more than words or pictures.

(Humans place an unreasonable level of importance on communicating verbally, but that’s an ableist belief of superiority based on speech being the method of communication preferred by the majority of the population.)

Humans can communicate through behaviour, sounds, movements, gestures, art, signed languages, facial expressions, body language, to name but a few. Non-speaking is not the same as non-communicating, and it sure as hell isn’t the same as non-thinking.

Just because someone hasn’t written a novel before doesn’t mean they don’t have words inside their brain. A person who has never spoken or written words could well have learned to read (thereby understanding the concept of spelling) long before they had access to reliable communication methods.

Mr. WMWB, who regularly practices ABA (which is abusive) had the audacity to call the rapid prompting method (RPM) an abusive practice because — in the opinion of ableist behaviourists — it is not “evidence based”.

Sigh.

He would rather use punishments and rewards to manipulate people’s behaviour than even consider the possibility that there are feelings, thoughts, and opinions existing inside a person’s head which he is not skilled enough to access.

Let’s examine the potential downfalls of these two opposing perspectives.

Ableist behaviourists continue subjecting people to abusive practices under the guise of “helping” them, despite countless Autistic adults having expressed the pain and trauma inflicted upon them by ABA “therapies”.

If, while using assisted communication, the facilitator inadvertently influences the message being created by the individual, there may be some messages which do not entirely consist of that person’s words.

Developers continue to improve their programs, making them even less prone to facilitator influence, creating better methods for authentic and accessible communication. More and more people who previously weren’t given the tools needed to communicate will have access to these ever-evolving systems.

Denying access to communication is abusive. Manipulating a human being with punishments and rewards is abusive. Treating Autistic and disabled people as though we are less-than is ableist and abusive.

Presuming competence and treating people with dignity and respect, on the other hand, is not abusive. We’re not perfect, the science isn’t perfect, but I sure as hell know which side of history I want to be on.

Q.E.D.

© Jillian Enright, Neurodiversity MB

Related Articles

When you join medium, as a member you’ll have access to unlimited reads for only $5 per month. If you use my referral link, I’ll earn a small commission, and you’ll earn my undying gratitude.

If you’d prefer give a one-time tip, you can support my writing on Ko-Fi — also, it’s free to follow me on Facebook!

References

Jaswal, V.K., Wayne, A., Golino, H. (2020). Eye-tracking reveals agency in assisted autistic communication. Scientific Reports 10, 7882 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-64553-9

Milton, D. (2012). On the ontological status of autism: the ‘double empathy problem’. Disability & Society, 27(6), 883–887. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2012.710008

Mitchell, P., Sheppard, E. and Cassidy, S. (2021), Autism and the double empathy problem: Implications for development and mental health. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 39(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjdp.12350

Zampella, C.J., Wang, L.A.L., Haley, M., Hutchinson, A.G., de Marchena, A. (2021). Motor Skill Differences in Autism Spectrum Disorder: a Clinically Focused Review. Current Psychiatry Reports 23, 64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-021-01280-6