First, I argue that, in its past and present clinical formations, autism is contextually situated within societal responses to and of gay panic. We can locate queerness in nineteenth-century fears about the feeble-minded and sexual deviance; we can locate queerness in the mainstreaming of ABA, which is used to eliminate “feminine sex-typed

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But I’ve always been glad that I grew up the way I did. The Repentagon trained me to feel at ease in odd, insular, extreme environments, a skill I wouldn’t give up for anything, and Christianity formed my deepest instincts. It gave me a leftist worldview: a desire to follow leaders who feel themselves inseparable from the hungry, the imprisoned,

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Adherence to Rigid Rules and Belief Systems • Makes a confusing reality feel more understandable and concrete • Translates vague social norms into specific expectations • Creates an in-group to which the Autistic person can belong • Provides daily structure and soothing rituals • Soothes self-doubt and fears about being a “bad person” • Promises

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