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Argument, Autistic Pride Day Symposium 2024
Naomi Malone said allies could meet autistic people halfway across the bridge
In short
Asked in Melbourne in 2024 whether practitioners need lived experience of autism, Dr Naomi Malone said it was valuable but not essential, and offered an image of allies on a bridge. Kyriakos Gold replied that autistic people had walked it all.
Read it instead, 4 minutesThe transcript
The story
Whether a practitioner needs lived experience of autism to do the work well came up within minutes of the opening panel on the Melbourne day of the 2024 Autistic Pride Day Symposium, on 8 June 2024. A speaker mentioned intense discussions on TikTok with practitioners who may be neurotypical about the importance of lived experience. The question then went to Dr Naomi Malone directly, whether it was that important.
Malone’s answer left room for non autistic practitioners. Lived experience was really valuable, Malone said, but not essential, provided a practitioner was really willing to know, understand and connect. There were, Malone said, some magnificent neurotypical allies who were fully on board. It was helpful to have lived experience, and important that autistic voices were heard and always part of the conversation.
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Sources the story draws on
- Autistic peer-to-peer information transfer is highly effective (opens in a new tab), Autism (Catherine J. Crompton, Danielle Ropar, Claire V. M. Evans-Williams, Emma G. Flynn and Sue Fletcher-Watson); Queen's University Belfast research portal record
- What you need to know about the government's first National Autism Strategy (opens in a new tab), Australian Psychological Society (Insights)
- Release of the National Autism Strategy 2025-31 (opens in a new tab), Department of Social Services (Australian Government)
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