The term shiny autistic denotes an individual who is held up and used as an example of the "ideal autistic"; often these individuals are viewed as "high functioning" and became famous for sharing their experiences as autists. Neurotypical society generalizes the lives of shiny autistics to build standards they uphold all autistics to.

University of Wisconsin - Madison

- Definition of the "Shiny Autistic"
- The "Shiny Autistic", Race, and Autism as Rhetoric

The"Shiny Autistic" and Autism as Rhetoric

Heilker, P. (2012). Autism, rhetoric, and Whiteness. Disability Studies Quarterly, 32(4). https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v32i4.1756 

Autism, Rhetoric, and Whiteness

The "Shiny Autistic"

Most examples of shiny autistics from Temple Grandin to Daniel Tammet, John Elder Robinson, and Dawn Prince-Hughes are all white autistics.

Since shiny autistics are used by neurotypical society to set the standards individuals expect autistic individuals to live up to, it is highly problematic that most "shiny autistic" individuals are white, since this means these standards do not account for possible racial discrimination and oppression that is faced by BIPOC autistics and how the dual experience of ableism and racism can affect how society views ones achievements when they are measured against "shiny autistic" standards.

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