Should I disclose my autism on social media?

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I've been thinking about this for a long time, and I want to ask for your opinions to help me make a decision.

I use social media is to promote my art. I work as an illustrator, Facebook and instagram is where I get my clients from, and while I don't have a huge following, it's brings food to the table.

My reason for considering "coming out" is because I think that it's important to spread awareness. People being open about it online is the only reason I found out about my autism in the first place, and it has helped me to accept it as part of me, and something good even. I think that the more of us that can be open about it and spreading information, the more people who are unaware of their autism will find out, and it will help in erasing all the prejudice.

But that's a big reason for not coming out. All the prejudice. I'm afraid that if I tell about it, I might lose clients, or be sorted out from job opportunities because of it. That no matter how competent I am and how much effort I put into every project, the autism label will outshine it all.
I would suspect that a few people would get more understanding of my social errors, and there is a small possibility that I get subjected to hatred from anti-vaxxers (neither really matters). Though I have no idea how many potential clients would back off at the sight of the word "autistic".

I really want to help spread awareness, just by talking about it, and through comics and paintings, and I want to start making wordless books, and books with sign language, for special needs-kids.

I know that I shouldn't want to work with people anyway if they think my disorder is more important than my work. And I want to be the person who dares risk losing a job for a cause that's important to me. But it's still scary, because my economy depends on it, and I don't know how it would be affected.

What do you think?

I think it will add an interesting twist to your art and overall presentation.

Why not go for it?

Hello Embla,

No, I would think twice about disclosing your autism. I think many people don't like people with autism in general, and therefore will not take your art serieusly or are less willing to pay for it.

I don’t sense that people dislike autism. It’s more like they’re befuddled by it.

People who appreciate are usually more accepting of “different sorts” of people.

When I first started learning about autism.... beyond the stereotypes, one of the first things I came across was Elisabeth Wiklander's TEDx talk from Gothenburg (my home-town) on neurodiversity and I was completely blown away. I will be forever grateful to her for opening my eyes to a whole different side of autism than the one I was previously familiar with. I was so incredibly impressed by her - the way she has - as an adult - embraced her diagnosis and how it has helped her understand and map out her life and patches that were previously difficult for her to understand. She shared her diagnosis on social media and talks of the amazing response she got. If you haven't seen it, check out the video it is on you tube.

My only worry would be once you do it (share it!) there is no going back. 'Anonymity' can be a blessing at times.

I'm an artist and have thought about doing the same. What puts me off is I have had some bad reactions to it. One was possible work from a gallery, I disclosed I had some issues asd etc which they said they understood and take into consideration, then when the issues came up, after putting dozens upon dozens of hours into something they did the complete opposite of understanding. It left me really upset\distraught. Its happened twice with art. However I have had one positive outcome as I believe someone I'm currently in contact with and possibly working with through art is nuerodiverse and has family members of the same. So far its been a revelation and very understanding.

Echoing some of the previous posts, I would say only disclose if you're completely comfortable with it as you can't undo it. Personally, I only do it on a need to know basis, but I understand the benefits of wanting to raise awareness etc.

It may have a positive impact on your relationships between clients; you may even gain more exposure. You just don't know.

Take some time, if it feels right then go for it.

By the way, the sign language book sounds like a wonderful thing to do!

My two cents: I wouldn't (and haven't), and being unemployed (like 80% of us) I don't even have a financial stake in it.
There is no way I would jeopardize my income to make that stance, and you can't just take it back once it's out.
I'd think it real carefully through if I were you.

Also, there is no haste. If you wait a year or 10, it's not gonna be too late.

Yeah, that sounds very idealistic but it won't bring food to the table. Since we live in a society where you get nowhere without money, I'd take the money. Of course I hate taking risks of any kind, so there's that...

I know that no marginalized group make progress without someone coming out of the closet so to speak, but I would not be willing to make that sacrifice and get that focus on me.

Thank you! This was very insightful. You would think that the artist community would be more open to diversity, even chasing it, but this tells me that it's only to the point that it makes them look good.
I would like to think that the children's book community is more including than fine art galleries, but it's hard to tell.
I did get an input from another autistic artist on an art-forum, and he seemed very positive about it. I think he's in book illustration as well, and he has mostly had positive experiences like yours. Maybe the genre makes the big difference?



That is a good point. There is a chance that some people might want to work with me because of my autism, especially when it comes to making books for special needs-kids, but it's a pretty narrow genre.
I would still be happier if people chose to work with me because of what's in my portfolio, but I realize that putting the label out there will likely have an impact on that in one way or another.



Yes! I've seen it! I don't think I got the full message though, because of the swedish accent. No offense meant, I'm from Stockholm myself. I just think our accent is terribly annoying xD
I think I'm in a very good position regarding that a lot of my work comes from Scandinavia, a.k.a. the PC heaven on earth (well, at least until SD got invited to mess things up). So I do believe that the response from that specific area would be very positive.
I'm worrying about my American clients though. I have no idea how open or biased the might be. I know they're all just normal people as well, but it's hard to tell what the culture is really like since I only get to see the extreme parts in the media.


And to everyone (sorry for not replying to all of you) thank you all very much for your input! You're absolutely right, it's something I wouldn't be able to take back if I put it out there. The more I think about that, the bigger and scarier it seems.
It is very interesting to read your replies, because I put up this question in an artist-forum as well, and the response there was unanimously super-positive "You should do it! It's only your portfolio that matters! More people should be open about it online! Power to you!". This even came from well established illustrators and art directors, and that was all very uplifting of course, but at the same time it feels a little bit like a white guy telling a black guy that "racism isn't so bad". If you haven't seen discrimination, you can't really tell someone else not to worry about it. (NOT saying my problems are equal to enduring racism, not even close!)

I will spend more time to think about this before coming to a decision... I figure that if I really want to do it, I could start very slowly, like just putting up "aspie" in my description or something. Then only people from the autism-community (and the ones who bother to google) would know what it means. If that goes well, a bigger announcement may be appropriate once the wordless book is further along in the process....?

This is really tricky...

People tend to fear and shun what they don't understand.

And very few understand Autism.

It will hurt your income and people will treat you differently.

I disclose nothing on social media, but I can't calculate your specific risk/benefit.

Social media is a quagmire. Use it, to promote yourself, but don't allow it to mess up your life.

In a word, "No" to disclosing your autism on social media. That's just my opinion.

I have done, and my Asperger's is something I blog about. I have had no negative feedback.

If you make having autism an excuse for every thing you do then expect to have unsympathetic replies.

If you say something stupid online do not excuse it.

What is your current income stream? Are their current sources or clients that could be affected by the revelation.
Aspies aren't the only ones who don't like change. Some customers don't like change either.

As for possible future clients who would have issues with your Autism, do you really want to work with people like that?