Twenty-two year old Kayla Smith is an African American Autistic Activist that has been speaking up for the rights of disabled people for a few years. She has popular following on Twitter, and she is fighting for equal rights and more accurate representation for all people, especially autistics.
She was recently interviewed by In the Know, and featured on Yahoo! News marking the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. She explained her journey thus far as a black autistic woman, which fits her into three categories that can use advocacy. She discussed her research into autism and how it has been diagnosed throughout the years. Smith saw problems with it, specifically how much longer it can take for people of color to receive a diagnosis of autism. It is her desire to see more representation of the wide variety of autistic people in the media. She notes that white males are shown more often than females or people of color. There is also a wide variety of abilities and behaviors that are not shown on television shows, movies, or the internet.
A few years ago, when she first began to speak up, she engaged with #ActuallyAutistic. Smith doesn’t like the view that autism is something that needs to be “cured” or “fixed” and she wanted to help make a difference out there. Kayla Smith coined the hashtag #AutisticBlackPride which has truly gathered a following on Twitter @BeingKaylaSmith. Smith joined Twitter about five years ago, and didn’t know that she would become such a powerful voice for equal rights. She now has over 12,000 followers on the site. She describes herself as a “Young Black Autistic Disability Rights Advocate,” and has updated her name to read Kayla Smith for #BlackLivesMatter in light of the recent movement. She wants everyone to have equal rights, particularly those with disabilities. She wants people to listen and hear what others really have to say without getting offended.
In her interview with In The Know, she expressed how difficult it can be to have the responsibility to speak up on the issues in such a public way. Sharing her opinion has not always been met with acceptance, agreement or even courtesy. Sometimes she feels a little too much pressure from that, but she doesn’t allow it to stop her. She previously shared in an older interview with Medium that she had been bullied for her differences in school. There was even a time when she thought about suicide. Thankfully today, she has found love and acceptance in her family, and she is strong enough to speak up for others as well as herself. When she is not posting about the issues, she shares her everyday life with her followers. She works, goes to college, plays video games, and other things the average person does. It is important to her to share that not everyone labeled autistic is what has been shown in the general media. She wants everyone to have equal rights, particularly those with disabilities. She wants people to listen and hear what others really have to say without getting offended. Smith is an inspiration hoping to continue to inspire change.
Chesley Maldonado is a private tutor and freelance writer. She has been writing professionally for over ten years, and has been in education for nine years. As the homeschool mom of an autistic child, she brings a unique perspective to education and writing.