Dr Lizzie Kock
Chartered Psychologist
When I first began my career as a psychologist, autism was widely defined as a disability, characterised by a set of core diagnostic criteria. Historically, it was often associated with intellectual disability. For context, only around 2% of the global adult population meets the diagnostic criteria for an intellectual disability, characterised by significant impairments in intellectual and adaptive functioning, with onset during the developmental period. However, our understanding has evolved significantly over recent decades. We now recognise that while autism can co-occur with intellectual disability, it is in fact, more commonly diagnosed in individuals who do not have an intellectual disability.
More importantly, we have come to realise that autistic individuals often possess significant strengths. To appreciate this, we must take a step back — not just in diagnostic thinking, but back into the distant past. Humans have a cognitive ’systemising mechanism’ that allows us to understand the world through patterns — for example, the logic of ’if X happens under Y conditions, then Z follows.’
One of the leading researchers in the field, Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, argues that this systemising ability has been central to human innovation. In his book The Pattern Seekers, he suggests that this trait, found strongly in autistic individuals, played a key role in the evolution of invention — giving rise to tools, technology, and culture over the last 70,000 to 100,000 years. He proposes that the genes associated with autism — particularly those influencing systemising — have contributed significantly to human progress in fields such as science, engineering, and creativity. While it would not be appropriate to make assumptions about historical figures in the absence of autobiographical evidence, it is not entirely implausible to consider that some of the greatest innovators in history may have been autistic. After all, the unique traits required to conceptualise something as ground-breaking as electricity are rarely found in the general population.
I often swap the word autism for ‘Detail Orientated Mind’. The same cognitive differences that can lead to ground-breaking discoveries can also make certain aspects of life more challenging. For example the detail orientated mind may not summarise all non-verbal communication and as such may find understanding the fluid, often unwritten rules of social interaction can be effortful for many autistic individuals. This can lead to withdrawal or avoidance as a coping strategy and as such, cascade into further secondary mental health needs. So, we must ask ourselves: is it really too much to be more accepting of someone who communicates differently?
Contemporary inventors and creators who have publicly shared their autism diagnoses often speak of profound social isolation — and the life-changing impact of just one or two peers who are accepting of their different communication styles. These moments of acceptance have had a lasting positive impact on mental health and wellbeing.
Like Baron-Cohen, I hope that we can shift public perception by reframing autism not solely as a disability, but also as a form of difference that carries unique strengths. In doing so, we will be better positioned to recognise, support, and celebrate the diverse and valuable contributions that autistic individuals bring to our world.
As part of my other role, I am involved in supporting a large commercial bank in their Neurodiversity Strategy. Their Chief Technology, Data and Innovation Officer and member of the Management Board, articulated it so well: He does not wish to have a football team of only goalies or strikers, he wishes to have a team of individuals with their unique strengths, he does not need everyone to be equally strong in communication, but what he does need is innovative skill sets. But to harness this, the workforce must take a stance of acceptance, appreciation and kindness. This is a message I would also call upon the Eton community to embrace.
