In my article Illusion Of Mental Health, I argue that autism itself is not a disability and that society has mandated systems which are incompatible with the autist's social ability which had previously not been an issue to autistic people. I have come up with a simple story that explains what being autistic is like, using this story to explain how the "disabling" aspect of autism is manufactured by society as opposed to being an ailment that fundamentally impedes on one's ability to exist functionally within their environment. I call the story the Society of People, Stairs, and Apples.
Society of People, Stairs, and Apples
There is a world which consists of people, stairs, and apples. People need the apples to live but the apples are at the top of stairs. So the people climb the stairs to retrieve the apples and thus are able to survive. You are one of these people. However, a minority of people are incapable of climbing the stairs. Some physically cannot; maybe their legs are too short or perhaps they have no legs. They cannot retrieve the apples. Perhaps if there were no stairs in this world, they could retrieve the apples but as the world currently exists, they cannot retrieve the apples. Some people have perfectly fine legs capable of climbing the stairs; however, their minds do not let them comprehend the act of climbing the stairs. They cannot retrieve the apples. The people have devised a system that gives a portion of the apples to those who cannot retrieve them so they may survive.
Some people work together to climb the stairs faster. You do not work well in a team so choose to retrieve the apples alone. However, despite working alone, you can devise strategies which allow you to climb the stairs faster than most others. You go to the stairs, ready to climb them and retrieve the apples. However, now there is a guard at the stairs. The guard says in order for you to be allowed to climb the stairs, you must make him laugh. You try to make the guard laugh. The guard does not laugh. You cannot climb the stairs to retrieve the apples.
You are bewildered. You have legs capable of climbing the stairs. You have a sharp mind which has devised ways to climb the stairs faster than others. But you are simply unable to make the guard laugh. You wonder what making the guard laugh has anything to do with climbing the stairs to retrieve the apples. Maybe if the guard was there to make sure you were capable of climbing the stairs, it would make sense as to his being there but the guard did not test your ability to climb the stairs, only whether you could make him laugh.
You look at other people go to the stairs and confront the guard. The people make the guard laugh. They are allowed to climb the stairs to retrieve the apples. The people do not question why the guard makes them make him laugh. The people are capable of making the guard laugh so they simply do so. You still cannot make the guard laugh. You cannot retrieve the apples.
Since you cannot retrieve the apples, you ask the people to give you some apples like they do with those who cannot climb the stairs. They tell you they will not give you any apples because you have legs capable of climbing the stairs and your mind is sharp enough to comprehend climbing the stairs. You try to tell them there is a guard who will not allow you to climb the stairs because you cannot make him laugh. They tell you to simply be funny like everyone else. You explain you have tried to be funny like everyone else but you simply cannot be funny enough to make the guard laugh. You tell them it makes no sense that you must make the guard laugh to be allowed to climb the stairs. They tell you there is no problem with the guard's being there. They tell you to stop being lazy and just make the guard laugh. You cannot make the guard laugh.
Eventually you notice there are others who cannot make the guard laugh. They cannot retrieve the apples. Like you, they ask for apples to be given to them since they cannot make the guard laugh. The people notice there seems to be a lot of people who cannot make the guard laugh and label them as those who are unable to climb the stairs. The people who cannot make the guard laugh start to consider themselves incapable of climbing the stairs because they cannot make the guard laugh.
You say there should not even be a guard at the stairs. You say you are not unable to climb the stairs as your ability to make the guard laugh has no bearing on your ability to climb the stairs. However, both the people who can make the guard laugh and the people who cannot have now accepted that you must make the guard laugh to be allowed to climb the stairs. Those who cannot make the guard laugh are now considered a hindrance on the society because they have become reliant on being given apples by others. You still cannot make the guard laugh. You cannot retrieve the apples.
Written 2026-6-10 Published 2026-7-1