Open Letter to Secretary Kennedy

Dear Secretary Kennedy:

My name is Jason Levine and there are so many things I want to say. We nonspeakers are not really autistic in that we have symptoms that are completely different from the other kind of autism. The word autism comes from the word “auto” meaning self. The other kind of autism is defined by their lack of social awareness. We cannot be more different. 

We are hypersocial, to the point that I believe that we need a new diagnosis. I have jokingly called our disability “empathism.” I feel that it covers the main difference between us and them. At the moment we use dyspraxia, since it at least covers our profound motor deficits. Having a new diagnosis will separate us from the slightly odd guys who go to work and live independently. We may appear horribly disabled on the outside, but inside we think like neurotypicals.

We need help desperately. We have almost zero control over our own bodies. We cannot talk without a trained communication partner holding our keyboards or letterboards. And yet we are extraordinarily intelligent.

All of us want a cure more than words can say. Than you for being so outspoken.

Sincerely,
Jason Levine