Autistic Role Models in the African American Community

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I see a lot of role models in the autism community, such as Temple Grandin, John Elder Robison, and Donna Williams. But why we don't see as many autistic role models of color, especially in the African-American community? Are there such role models in the community that people don't talk about as much? Or are underrepresented communities still see autism as a curse? I don't know, but it scares me a bit as both an autistic person and person of color.

I sure hope so. I think I saw someone on youtube a while ago -- family man, and talking about being a parent and a husband and what not, but other than that, I don't know, I can't remember his name either.

Perhaps you could become the role model you want in the African-American community.

hes not American, he's British, but have you looked about Stephen Wiltshire? hes a cool dude.

i think a part of the problem is that black children in the US are likely to be diagnosed older than white children in the US (probably the UK too but i havent seen any studies for that). this means that they're less likely to be able to benefit from early interventions which can slow their development of certain skills.

theres a lot of speculation as to why theyre diagnosed later whether its cultural, or if because black kids are more likely to be seen as having behavioural issues, their problems are more likely to be dismissed as 'just' behavioural. its certainly a problem yeah. i think its important to remember that the 'famous autistics' dont really represent the actual demographics of people diagnosed as on the spectrum. https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/auti ... ogy#/story maybe you want to keep an eye on this one. maybe if you look around http://www.autistichoya.com/ you may find someone mentioned.

i hope you find someone you can see as a role model, and that if you cant you can become one for people like yourself eventually.

^ I would say it's a blend of these issues. I'm a sociologist and I study autism. All people are supposed to be one or more certain "stereotypes" of people. This is a natural human shortcut. We have to have stereotypes. For example, I am a woman, a white, a student, a disabled person. I am expected to "perform" the roles of these stereotypes. If I do or say things that do not fit in with expectations for these roles or stereotypes, people tend to either ignore what I'm doing/saying or give me a new role, that of a dangerous or crazy person.

There isn't a clear stereotype for a non-white, non-male autistic person. So often a person of color, and/or a female or atypically gendered person who has autistic traits will be misread by other people. I find the best way to deal with these circumstances is to be very clear. Tell people you know, "I am on the autism spectrum. It may seem unusual for a person of color to be autistic, but that's who I am. If you have questions, I'm happy to answer them."

Then, like others have said, you can become the reference.