When I was in college, I went to listen to Dr. Wesley Thomas give a lecture on gender. He is an ethnographer, a Navajo weaver, and has written on the concept of two-spirited people.

The lecture was about the concept of gender, and how before extended contact with Europeans, many Indian tribes had more than a male and female gender…there was another category as well. Now this other gender acted in ways that other people of their sex acted…not necessarily gay or trans-sexual. These people had specific, societal roles to play – many times they were the ones who watched and taught the children while the parents worked. When Christians came through, they quickly put an end to all of that…boys needed to be boys and girls should behave as girls. And the role these two-spirited people had played in society vanished *poof* just like that.

The lecture was a turning point in the way I look at alot of things. I should probably mention that Brianna was with me at the lecture. And alot of the connections that follow are from her.

First of all, we know that 2 out of the 3 criteria to be diagnosed with Autism are society-based. So, what if society used to have specialized roles for people with autism? Think about it…an industrialized society needs people to fit into categories, so they can all do their jobs to produce and consume. What if autistic people had specific roles before society categorized everything into nice little boxes? What if we are missing out on important contributions of people with autism because we are convinced it is a disease we need to cure? Because we think autistic behaviors need to be curbed and discouraged? What are we missing because we don’t have a place in our society that provides autistic people with a safe, nurturing area to unlock their specialized interests?

It would be interesting if someone could study this…if people with autism used to have a specific place in society. I think that can only happen if someone with autism is able to do the reconstruction, and explain it to the rest of us. Like Dr. Thomas did for me with his lecture on gender.