This article on policing and autism does not quote a single autistic person. It does quote “Vicki Harvey, the community outreach coordinator with Autism Nova Scotia.” And cops. https://t.co/eQVU7lGZ3I— David M. Perry (@Lollardfish) January 31, 2018
This is a story about policing and autism that quotes police and people who coordinate “outreach” for an autism-related NGO. Harvey is not identified as autistic. The total number people quoted in this piece on autism and policing who identify as autistic is … zero.
This is far too common and defies basic 101-level journalistic practice. Journalists do write “about” others, which makes the industry fraught when it comes to representation. That’s a big meta issue. But the very very very very basic first step is what when writing about someone, quote them directly, reach out to that community directly.