Matt Lowry, LPP and Dr. Angela Lauria discuss:
Which came first: the autistic or the neurotypical? Are Autism and ADHD the same thing? Do neurotypicals have a disorder of pruning?
How ‘X-Men’ addresses discrimination, social justice, and provides representation for marginalized groups.
The two canonically autistic X-Men and several autistic-coded ones too! Plus, some of the errors allistics make when they try to write autistic characters.
Spiky profiles, code-switching, and the price (and privilege) of masking.
Matt’s no-holds-barred honest opinion of ABA for autism.
Hans Asperger, his legacy, and real-life mandatory autism registrations in at least eight U.S. states.
And, are bleach enemas a “cure” for autism? (Hint: NO!)
Quotes from this episode:
“In X-men, Mystique, the shape changer, can turn into human looking people and they ask her, ‘You can be anyone you want. Why do you do this?’ And she said, ‘Well just because I can be anyone I want, doesn't mean I should have to. You should be able to be yourself you should be able to be free to be the real authentic you and not mask.’ And, she literally masks all the time for survival, and that is exhausting.”
“First stone tools—autistic people. First iron bridges—autistic people. Calculus—autistic people, like everything. We are not a new phenomenon.”
“So basically we hoard our synapses like we hoard our collectibles.”
“We are synapse hoarders. And this is why our brains process up to 42% more information at rest than neurotypical people.”
“If you like weird, dark ‘Glee,’ you're going to love this.”
Which X-Men superpower would you use to make the world safer for autistics? Which X-Men is your favorite? Tell us in the comments and use #AutisticCultureCatch to share your answer on your social media and connect with other listeners!
Show notes and resources:
Trailer for the new X-men series on Disney+: X-Men '97
Other episodes to check out if you liked this one:
Episode 24: The Trouble with Temple
Episode 28: Superheroes are Autistic
Episode 30: Doctor Who is Autistic
Episode 61: Wikipedia is Autistic
TACP’s Instagram
TACP on Apple podcasts and Spotify
Matt’s website: Matt Lowry, LPP
Matt’s Facebook: Autistic Connections Facebook Group
Find Angela at AngelaLauria.com and Difference Press
Angela’s socials: Twitter and TikTok
TACP’s TeePublic merch shop
X-Men are Autistic (Episode 67)