Ms Blessing Dada:

I thank the committee for having me. I especially thank Senator Flynn who invited me to speak at this meeting.

I am a first generation black-Irish woman, born to immigrant parents, and I am a disabled black woman living in Ireland. I have endured marginalisation from my earliest memory. I have had to fight to be heard every moment of every day. There has not been an experience where I have not been impacted by intersectionality.

Intersectionality is the acknowledgement that everyone has multifaceted lives and that we have our own unique experiences of privilege, discrimination and oppression, and we must consider absolutely everything and anything that can marginalise people via gender, race, class, sexual orientation, physical ability, etc. The term was coined by an educator and author named Kimberlé Crenshaw around 32 years ago. It describes that an individual can experience various identities simultaneously. It is necessary that we use this framework in every single social justice-related topic to make sure we are inclusive of everyone and the perspectives that are often left out due to the status quo.

I am asking people to see autistic people through a social model as being neurologically diverse. There is nothing to fix because there is nothing wrong with being autistic. There is nothing wrong with me and the community. Autism is not a disorder or a disease but a part of natural diversity.

Autism is just a neurological variation. We want to be defined by our strengths, in whatever way that looks like, and not by a medical pathology. We seek not to come from a point of opposites but to change the narrative and say that we are neurodiverse and we have a place in this world. Sometimes people from non-white races who demonstrate classic autism traits might be diagnosed with behavioural or mental health difficulties, which among other aspects of the healthcare system experience medical racism. Sometimes other cultures may not have an accurate understanding of autism, which can lead to families not picking up the signs that their child might need additional support. In addition, if English is not a parent's first language, that can make achieving a diagnosis a little more difficult. This is very common for children who are born in Ireland to immigrant parents and go through a process called parentification.

I see autism as a secondary characteristic because society sees me as Black before anything else. The stereotypes and discrimination black individuals already face are dangerous as it is but this is multiplied when they have additional needs that have been neglected. Misconceptions from cultural perceptions can lead to a lack of diagnosis and quality care, and especially without proper diagnosis, autistic black individuals may be negatively interpreted as being different, which may lead to unwelcoming environments and which is why anti-racism is a very important allyship in personal and professional life. When we grow up in a world where the metrics of success throughout society highlights our weaknesses rather than our strengths, it can cause a sense of inadequacy that can lead to anxiety, depression, and mental illnesses. Minorities, including the Traveller community, are underestimated, underdiagnosed and underrepresented. We need to talk about how research can be eurocentric and needs to take into account the experience of interdependent cultures, barriers to conversation and move towards a discussion of true inclusion and nuance.

To improve the experiences of non-speaking people, those living with poor mobility, black and brown people and the Traveller community, especially people who identify as women, we have to collectively raise our voices, tell our stories and understand the importance of advocating for our care. Overall, I would love an Ireland where people feel like they can go where they are celebrated and not where they are tolerated.