What It Looks Like When Researchers Try to Get It Right
Reflections on “Autism, Disability, and Being Well in Place” (2025)
Summary
In Autism, Disability, and Being Well in Place: Towards a Relational and Intersectional Understanding of Autistic Wellbeing, van Beusekom, Rutherford, and Ergler explore how autistic wellbeing is shaped not just by internal traits, but by context — including social environments, geography, policy, and cultural values.
This isn’t a clinical paper. It’s a conceptual one, grounded in critical disability studies, geography and relational theory. The authors push back against individual-deficit models of autism and argue instead for a relational, intersectional and place-sensitive understanding of what it means for autistic people to be well.
Key points include:
- Language matters: They use identity-first language (“Autistic people”) and cite guidance from Autism NZ.
- Wellbeing is co-produced: It’s not just about internal traits but how environments respond to needs.
- Intersectionality is essential: Autistic people are not a monolith — factors like race, gender, class and sexuality affect how wellbeing is experienced.
- Space and place matter: Autistic wellbeing is shaped by where people are — schools, homes, cities, rural areas — and how those places include or exclude.
They cite autistic scholars, use affirming language, and carefully avoid collapsing all experience into a single narrative.
Reflection
What stands out about this article isn’t just its theoretical depth — it’s the tone. It’s thoughtful without being paternalistic. Critical without being defensive. Affirming without being overconfident.
The authors do something rare: they admit where they fall short. Near the start of the paper, they write:
“We acknowledge that this paper has been written by three non-autistic authors, and we are indebted to the Autistic scholars, advocates and community members whose ideas, writings and reflections have informed our thinking.”
They don’t excuse it or bury it. They place it clearly in view — and then point forward.
That’s what credibility looks like.
This isn’t “nothing about us without us” fully realized. But it’s also not empty lip service. It’s a paper written by non-autistic researchers who actually listened, and then tried to write with respect, not just about respect.
If more autism research looked like this — careful, reflective and willing to share power — we wouldn’t need to keep shouting about inclusion. It would already be happening.
Read the full paper here: Autism, Disability, and Being Well in Place