Buse Çetiner

James Gauthier

@happyostrich613606 · Jan 12, 2026 9:06 am

CMV: Autism is inherently a disability and not just a difference

(I want to preface this post by saying that I'm not autistic myself, so my view of things might be different than an autistic person. That being said, I know autistic people aren't a monolith, just like neurotypicals.)
I've seen many people nowadays argue that autism is just a difference and that any disability is purely due to society. I don't think that this is true.
For one, this take ignores high needs autistic people and only considers low needs (high-functioning) autistic people. These people would still be disabled regardless of society. I notice that it's mostly low needs or neurotypical people saying this and never the caregivers of autistic people.
Also, some parts of autism, like sensory sensitivity or meltdowns, aren't due to differences in social communication or societal norms. These things are disabling within themselves.
Lastly, when taken to it's conclusion, the same could be said about literally any disability or condition. Things are considered a disorder because most people don't have it. Even schizophrenia would be considered normal by society if most people were schizophrenic. I don't see how autism is special in this regard.
Edit: My final point that I forgot

Pratyush Dhamdhame

@lazyswan123503 · Jan 12, 2026 2:09 am

I was placed in a foster family and ended up being used as farm labor

Just to be clear, english is not my first language. I used translation assistance to write this text so I could express myself accurately. The events described are true and written as factually as possible.
I was placed in a foster family following serious family difficulties. This foster family ran a farm with several chicken coops.
When I arrived, my phone was broken. The family suggested that I collect eggs from their chicken coops in exchange for some money so that I could buy a new phone. The farm had three coops: two with around 2,000 hens each and a smaller one with about 1,000 hens, for a total of roughly 4,000 eggs per day. The eggs were brought by conveyor belts into a room where they had to be cleaned, sorted, placed into boxes, and stamped. There were also eggs left inside the coops that had to be collected manually.
I worked every morning from 7:00 a.m. to around 11:30 a.m., Monday to Friday. At the beginning, a farm employee was present and did most of the work. I was slower and learning. I did this for two weeks and was paid 200 Swiss francs, which allowed me to buy a new phone.
After that, the family asked me to continue collecting eggs. I agreed, assuming I would c

Kassem Farhat

@kassem · Jan 11, 2026 4:39 pm

LOTS AND LOTS of snow here. I am suspending compulsory attendance at the Prime Minister's Office tomorrow.

~ Kassem Farhat
- Elected President of Global Virtual Trust -