Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity

In Unmasking Autism, Price aims to dismantle the entrenched stereotypes and misconceptions about Autism. He first addresses the stereotypical portrayal of Autism as predominantly affecting young, white, male individuals. This narrow depiction, he argues, fails to capture the vast diversity within the Autism spectrum, overlooking how Autism manifests across different races, genders, and socioeconomic backgrounds. Price emphasizes that Autism is a complex neurotype, characterized by a range of experiences that cannot be encapsulated by such limited stereotypes. He argues that these stereotypes contribute to the under-diagnosis and misunderstanding of Autism in individuals who do not fit this restricted mold, thereby marginalizing a significant portion of the Autistic community.

One of the many misconceptions that Price tackles is the notion of “female Autism.” Many clinicians, he explains, believe that Autism manifests differently in girls and women. However, Price contends:

[T]he term ‘female Autism’ is misleading; it presents the root of masking as being a person’s assigned sex at birth, or their identity, when really it’s social expectations that lead to a person’s disability getting ignored. Masking is a social experience, not a biological one. ‘Female Autism’ isn’t actually a subtype of the disorder; it’s a way that people cope with their