Mind Games

Autism in The Era of Social Distance

‘Shelter in place’ reminds us that all disabilities are social

Photo by Paul Garaizar on Unsplash

I’m living in the scariest, most unstable time of my adult life, yet I feel calmer than I have in years. While many people around me are highly destabilized by the loneliness of social distancing and fear of the coronavirus, I find I’m doing pretty well. I’m cooking and exercising and getting a lot of writing done. My sleep is okay, and I’ve found solace in sticking to my usual routine.

I’m Autistic, and the shelter-in-place order has removed almost every stressful, confusing social stimulus from my life. The world is quiet, and I no longer have a crowded, irritating commute. My job (which I am privileged to still have) is entirely remote. I live with a partner who is very accommodating of my sensory needs, so I have both the comfort of company and the peace of being alone.

None of this means I’m overjoyed about the spread of a pandemic that is primed to kill hundreds of thousands of people, of course. But there’s a strange disconnect between the abstract horror and the refreshingly calm day-to-day reality I’m inhabiting.

I was curious about how other Autistic people are coping with sheltering in place, so I interviewed several of them. I found that many…