OPINION: Autistic traits should be embraced, not erased

Anthony Easton has two Master's degrees. He also has autism — which means his job search is a bit more complicated than many people's.

Easton initially thought he could find a job at a social service organization or an autism advocacy organization, but he says the priorities and values of those organizations are often at odds with the priorities of autistic people.

He argues it's time to stop trying to "retrain" autistic people through behavioural therapy programs and start building a world where people on the spectrum can be accepted as they are. 

"There are people both on and outside the spectrum who do not view autism as a problem to be solved but another way of thinking and communicating," Easton says. "But the problem remains: there is more funding in understanding autism as a disease than there is in widening how we understand diversity of thought and practice."

Click on the button to hear Anthony's radio essay. A version of his commentary originally appeared in The Globe and Mail.