You see similar stuff with Down's syndrome, where it's perhaps even more skewed than with autism. The best few percent are presented as if that's representative

You see similar stuff with Down's syndrome, where it's perhaps even more skewed than with autism. The best few percent are presented as if that's representative for all of them, but there's huge variation and many really are seriously disabled in all sorts of ways – but those aren't on the telly. I think many disability advocates are afraid that focusing too much on the less positive aspects will lead to unfair stigmas and even discrimination. That's understandable to a degree, but obscuring reality rarely helps your own cause in the long run, so ultimately I fear it's self-defeating. I also feel it takes the piss out of the families having to deal with the not-so-cute Down's cases (i.e. >90% of them, and sets wrong unrealistic expectations. Or simply put, instead of saying "no, they're not retarded", a much better strategy would be to say "yes, some are retarded, but that doesn't make them any less human" (or whatever the socially accepted term for "retarded" is these days).