Boris Johnson says he can be ‘spectrum-y’. As an autistic man, I’m disgusted

The best of Voices delivered to your inbox every week - from controversial columns to expert analysis Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Damian Milton, a British researcher who is autistic himself, has said that when two people with different experiences — as well as neurotypes — interact, they will struggle to empathize with each other, which is known known as the “double empathy problem.” That explains why some people assume autistic people don’t feel empathy. As the late autistic blogger M Kelter told me back in 2017, “Pinning violations like this on the spectrum just serves to stigmatize autistics and normalize sexual abuse.” In 2021, when Elon Musk hosted Saturday Night Live, he said, “I'm actually making history tonight as the first person with Asperger's to host SNL”. Did you think I was also going to be a chill, normal dude?” In Musk’s case, he was arguing that his outlandish and offensive tweets — that have only become more repulsive in the years since his rightward turn and full embrace of Trump — can be chalked up to him being on the autism spectrum. It’s also particularly disgusting because of the fact that autistic people who are not in the upper echelons of society face higher unemployment rates.