Cool It With the ‘Autism Awareness’ T-Shirts

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If you so much as mention autism on social media, your feeds will suddenly be inundated with suggested content and ads somehow related to the neurodevelopmental disorder. Twitter will recommend accounts run by allistic (non-autistic) experts and the parents of autistic children. Pinterest will shower you with “inspirational” posters extolling the bravery, strength, and all-around mama-bear-ness of these Autism Warrior Parents. Facebook ads will become convinced that you’re in the market for a miracle cure… and approximately 6,000 autism-themed T-shirts to go along with it.

Most of the designs are ugly and unappealing to me. Many of them are downright baffling. Autistic people often have issues with sensory sensitivity, so why are the logos and slogans that claim to care and fight for us bright and busy enough to induce sensory overload? Most of all, though, I think I’m just confused by the whole autism awareness fashion phenomenon. Who does apparel like this help? Who wants to wear it? What purpose does it serve? They’re certainly not doing anything for me as an actually autistic person, or most of the other people on the spectrum that I’ve talked to.

Outside of a “f**k You, Andrew Wakefield” V-neck (Wakefield being the former doctor whose thoroughly discredited study linking vaccines to autism continues to be a scourge on public health and the autism community) that I picked up from autistic activist Eb’s Model Deviance Designs shop earlier this year, though, I’ve never felt much of an impulse to add autism messages to my closet full of sartorial conversation starters.

Browsing Etsy a few weeks ago, I stumbled upon a cute pin that spelled out “autistic” in a simple font with a hint of glitter, and I started to wonder if my issue with autism awareness fashion might not have been the concept itself. I just needed to find the right piece and the right designer.

After ordering one of the pins I contacted the seller, an autistic artist named Beth Wilson, to ask what had inspired her to make them. “I was just having a browse online to see if there was any autism merch that I liked, and I couldn’t really find much,” she told me via e-mail (again, because talking on phones really is the worst). “I decided to make something for autistic people as an autistic person, to celebrate who we are.”

Like me, Wilson was dismayed by many of the products that she’d seen on the market. “I really hate it,” she said. “I did some research a few weeks ago and was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that was created by allistic people, mostly for parents of autistic children. Aesthetically I dislike the jumbled words and the colors, but I also dislike the messages. It’s all centered around the parents and not the autistic person. A lot include the puzzle piece, which is pretty unpopular among actually autistic people. Lots of the messages are about how it’s tough being an ‘autism parent,’ and that makes me feel really uncomfortable. I don’t want to see messages that portray autistic children as a burden/difficult, etc.”

Like me, Wilson was dismayed by many of the products that she’d seen on the market. “I really hate it,” she said. “I did some research a few weeks ago and was overwhelmed by the amount of stuff that was created by allistic people, mostly for parents of autistic children. Aesthetically I dislike the jumbled words and the colors, but I also dislike the messages. It’s all centered around the parents and not the autistic person. A lot include the puzzle piece, which is pretty unpopular among actually autistic people. Lots of the messages are about how it’s tough being an ‘autism parent,’ and that makes me feel really uncomfortable. I don’t want to see messages that portray autistic children as a burden/difficult, etc.”

Wilson set out to make her work the antithesis of those offerings in terms of both aesthetics and message. “I wanted to keep it simple, easily readable, and not overwhelming. I do really dislike the stuff you’re talking about, which seems to use a lot of typefaces and colors all squashed together so it’s hard to process. I used glitter because I really enjoy looking at sparkles in the light. Glitter is used in sensory things like sparkle jars (jars of water with color and glitter in it), and I think a lot of autistic people enjoy sparkly things.”

When I asked her what she thought the differences between merch made that’s made by us as opposed to about us, Wilson mentioned some of the more obvious differences. “Allistic people are making stuff for themselves and it really shows. Autistic stuff celebrates autism and is sensorially pleasing.”

But she also pointed out that the differences run much deeper than the designs themselves. While the shirts I’ve seen advertised on Facebook often make money for allistic people, and charity T-shirts raise funds for organizations that are often run by allistic people, purchasing merch from autistic artists directly contributes to the wellbeing of autistic people.

“A lot of autistic people struggle to work in conventional jobs, myself included,” she stated. (This is also true for me. Writing is my dream job, but it’s also my last resort.) “So when you purchase something from an autistic person, you are supporting them and helping them earn a living.”

I'd go for a "F*ck you Andrew Wakefield" tee, just because its an instant conversation starter: who is Andrew Wakefield and why do you hate him?