Having observed many of them perform at a VERY high level in my technical classes, I’ve wondered whether it is rightly considered a disability at all?
Well, that depends on how you define disability:
- It’s a significant difference from the norm (not neurotypical)
- It’s not transitory (i.e. not like the neurological effects of eating certain mushrooms)
- It can potentially impede or cause difficulty with day-to-day activities, without some sort of accommodation (classrooms are possibly the easiest place for them, but lunchrooms could be baffling)
Now, if you think there’s more to the definition of disability, then maybe it doesn’t fit. But the fact that someone can “pass” doesn’t make them not disabled. In fact, it can make things a lot more complicated because they still may need the accommodation, but nobody recognizes/respects that fact.
This has been a huge concern for us as our daughter has progressed through (and changed) school(s). First to get an official diagnosis, then to get services, and finally to retain services. There is sometimes the attitude that “oh, she’s doing great, she doesn’t need services anymore” when the services are a large part of the reason she’s doing so well.