Understanding Intersectionality as an Autistic Adult

Publish Date: March 30, 2026

Ryan Walsh

About the Author

Ryan Walsh, BASoc, is a neurodiversity training specialist at AANE. He is a musician who is highly involved with music and podcast production and enjoys playing video games and spending time with his friends. As a member of AANE’s Speakers Bureau, Ryan enjoys and appreciates the opportunity to speak on his lived experience as someone on the autism spectrum on topics related to self-advocacy, mental health, education, employment, and building meaningful connections.

As one may expect, understanding how people experience the world requires more than looking at any single aspect of someone’s identity. This is the role of intersectionality: a framework for examining how different aspects of a person’s identity shape their lived experience, perspective, and access to opportunities. As Autistic adults, there are many ways that intersectionality can be a useful concept for us in examining our social relationships, interactions with others, and challenges we might face as we move through life. Despite the increasing visibility of intersectionality as a concept, we may not have thought extensively about how it applies to us as neurodivergent people. What I like to say about intersectionality is that there is no human that ever lived, or will live, that does not have an intersectional profile. What matters is how that profile affects our daily lives in the form of access to resources, meaningful relationships, and other opportunities.

Any conversation about intersectionality would be remiss without first understanding the origins of intersectionality as it is discussed today. In 1989, Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality” as a lens for understanding how multiple forms of oppression overlap to create unique experiences of marginalization, particularly in the lives of black women in the United States. The idea came about as a result of dual discrimination that black women were facing in the United States legal system, which prevented them from getting justice for crimes that were committed against them. The term was developed in legal spheres in order to promote recognition of overlapping experiences of oppression in public systems. As a result, the term quickly expanded into broader social contexts to include many other similar situations where overlapping identities resulted in unique experiences, with an emphasis on marginalization. 

For Autistic adults, marginalizing experiences are unfortunately all too common, and are what often brings people to look for resources in the first place. These can include lack of access to employment and healthcare, as well as social isolation and Autistic masking resulting from neurotypical social expectations and communication norms. These aren’t isolated issues, but instead are reflective of ableist systems that assume neurotypical functioning. When compounded with other forms of marginalization that many of us experience on the basis of class, race, and gender, these problems can often feel insurmountable, especially when they are baked into the systems that act as pillars of public life. 

This is why intersectionality is an important tool for Autistic adults, caregivers, and professionals to understand. Not only does it give perspective on the numerous challenges that Autistic people face, but it also allows us to approach ourselves and loved ones in a more complete and accurate way. Many challenges we face as Autistic adults do not come only with our autism, but also with our numerous intersecting identities that show the complete picture of who we are. 

Without recognizing the roles that these identities play in combination with our autism, we are being reductive of the experiences of ourselves and others. In order to move beyond a single autism narrative, we have to look at how these identities come into play. For example, we have known for a long time that gender expectations have been a barrier for identification of autism in women, causing many Autistic women to move through life without support. We also know that race often influences how behaviors are perceived and how they are disciplined, creating unique traumas at the intersection of race and autism. It is also evident that class can affect healthcare acquisition outcomes, which can lead to later diagnosis, insufficient support, and increased recovery times for those of us in Autistic burnout. Even when people of all backgrounds are represented properly, the systems still assume a default experience, which erases the diversity of Autistic people. By forcing everyone to fit a certain mold, the systems also stamp out what makes us unique and talented. 

At AANE, we often discuss our approach to working with clients, called “the neurological lens,” which says that we should view and understand behavior and communication as a function of an individual’s specific neurological profile. In my view, understanding the intersectional profiles of ourselves and the people we work with is an integral part of the neurological lens, and aids the work that we do with our clients every day. I also can’t help but feel that these tools make it easier for me to understand myself, my social relationships, and the ways that I can better navigate the world.