My school recently decided to host an “Autism Awareness Week” (it got pretty messy after they found out it was sponsored by AutismSpeaks) but I started to wonder what is autism actually considered as? A disability? An impairment?

This article words it beautifully: “Viewing disabilities — and mental disorders — through a lens of impaired functioning is very flawed.”

Unlike diseases, autism is a mental disorder, which, to my understanding, means that something is impairing one’s ability to function properly in society. But what does that mean? Is functioning properly in society graded on a strict rubric? The spectrum of “doing well” in society is huge. But autism is not the only thing that hinders ability to do well in society, there are plenty of things that hinder our ability to “do well in society” and ultimatley to function.

So my point is just like we have different talents and different hobbies, etc. Having autism and other mental disorders impairs our ability to have society’s idea of a successful, productive life. In reality, society’s view on this is hard to sway, but you should be the one to judge the success of your own life.