Jeremy Stangroom

I think it's pretty close to a general rule among American autistic advocates who have claimed the label for themselves without diagnosis, assessment, etc

That has certainly not been my experience.

Many of the people who claim the label for themselves without a formal diagnosis come to the realisation they're autistic themselves after a family member receives one.

Others come to see themselves as autistic because they know autistic people from other contexts, and realise how much they have in common. Sometimes those autistic people are very decidedly disabled; sometimes less so. Either way, most understand highly disabled autistics exist.

Yes, it can be a problem when people are very vocal about autism, but have little understanding of the experiences of those with high support needs & their carers, especially if they make undue generalisations. Bad reason to dismiss #ActuallyAutistic activists in general though.

Do you really think there is no danger in advocacy that almost inevitably skews towards the interests of a particular subgroup of those people affected?

Oh, absolutely. It's not that it's an illegitimate concern, and the inclusion of autistic people with higher support needs is (and must remain) a constant struggle for the autistic community. Representing those who can't currently advocate for themselves is difficult for anyone!