Change the definition
Change the destination
Autism is not a mental health problem so why is it currently defined as a ‘mental disorder’ under the Mental Health Act?
This puts autistic people at greater risk of being sectioned instead of receiving the help and support they need. Sign our open letter to the Government and ask them to change the definition, change the destination.
Read the Open Letter to the Secretary of State and sign their Open Letter HERE
Thank you for this, I have signed the letter and hope many more do.
I agree Helen
Moving from a Deficit Medical Model to a Social Model for Humans on the Autism Spectrum – This is an interesting article written in 2020 – The spectrum of autism, including the variable attributes of nationality, age, gender identity, ability, intersectionality, and coexisting conditions, greatly determines one’s understanding of the complexity of living on the autism spectrum.
The medical deficit model, of looking at autism through a narrow scope of biologically flawed or abnormal, needs to shift. We need to break through the damaging paradigm of deficit and rise into the wide open space of diversity and inclusion. Autism is no longer only a disorder. Some would argue it’s not a disorder at all. https://everydayautistic.wordpress.com/2020/09/14/moving-from-a-deficit-medical-model-to-cultural-model-when-considering-neurodivergent-individuals-and-the-autism-spectrum/