#autistic autonomy

I heard a news story on the radio when my mom was listening to it that “people with autism” (first red flag right there) will now be able to “voluntarily” have their autism status on their ID in New Jersey. This is the worst idea I’ve heard in a really long time, and is going to be really really dangerous for autistic folks. It’s absolutely not going to be “voluntary”, and forcing already at-risk people to disclose their disability WILL result in more autistic people being abused and probably killed by authorities and people who don’t have our best interests at heart. Autistic people— especially high support needs autistics— are highly at risk for being targeted and harmed by police, we are less likely to be employed or payed adequately for our work, we are more likely to be abused and mistreated by medical professionals, given less autonomy in every aspect of our lives, the list goes on and on. Having a (metaphorical) big neon sign following us around telling everyone that we’re autistic is a terrible, dangerous, horrifying prospect, and I’m really scared for our community. Our society hates autistic people so much, and this is just another way to harm and subjugate our community, especially the most vulnerable people in the community. It’s absolutely not anybody’s business to know who does or doesn’t have a disability, we should not be forced to disclose our personal medical information to the world so they can use it against us.