Today is World Autism Awareness Day and I decided to look up if there was any relation between Harry Potter and autism. What can reading a Harry Potter book teach us about autism? Have you ever wondered what it’s like to have autism? James Williams, an adult with autism, cleverly uses Harry Potter analogies in a speech he wrote for late-elementary and middle-school audiences to help them understand what life is like with autism.
James Williams speaks about autism regularly at conferences. The transcripts to all of the speeches James gives are available at his web site that’s where I found out how someone with autism could relate to the characters in Harry Potter books. In his cleverly-titled speech, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Autism”, James describes how Harry Potter sometimes has trouble approaching his friends. James can relate. He starts by explaining what is Autism:
"What is autism? It is not a sickness like chicken pox, measles, or a lifelong illness like diabetes. It is a mental disorder. It is a different way of processing information, which makes it difficult for me to understand you. And sometimes, it’s hard for you to understand me. Autism is invisible to the human eye. I do not look autistic. But I behave like an autistic person. Autism is unique in this way. Mental retardation is a mental disorder as well, yet mentally retarded people usually look mentally retarded. You might think that because someone with autism sees the world differently, and experiences things differently, that in order to really understand what an autistic person is dealing with, you have to have autism. In fact, even though I do see the world differently, and do experience the world differently, you don’t have to have autism in order to understand what autistic kids deal with."
He also relates to Hermione, who obsesses over wizardry, fixates on specifics and is often accused of being a know-it-all.
Most importantly, James says that Harry’s feelings of relief after being “diagnosed” as a wizard are similar to his own feelings of relief being diagnosed with autism. Before Hagrid told Harry that he was a wizard, Harry had no idea that wizards who are angry tend to use magic even if they do not want to.
“Kids with autism often make things happen that they can’t explain,” James says. “And if they don’t know they have autism, they don’t know why, no matter how hard they try, they are always getting in trouble.”
Harry did well when working with teachers who acknowledged and worked with his special talents and needs. James can relate. We finish is speech explain us that when you're with an autistic child you just need to know one simple rule: treat him the way you want to be treated.
"But even though you don’t have autism, and are not wizards, there are more and more people learning they have autism every single day. It is likely that you will meet someone with autism at some point in time in your life. You might already have a brother or sister with autism, or know someone who has autism at this school. When you are with an autistic child, don’t make fun of him. Respect him. Treat him the way you want to be treated."
You can read the full speech here.