30 years ago, my mom explained to me that my cousin was "retarded" and made all sorts of excuses for how she was mistreated and infantilized by her family. Tod

30 years ago, my mom explained to me that my cousin was "retarded" and made all sorts of excuses for how she was mistreated and infantilized by her family. Today, she's on the high functioning end of autism. Which my mom doesn't "believe in." My cousin has a greater degree of self-confidence than she did in the past, enabled in some part by a more specific diagnosis and a more accepting culture surrounding mental health variation.