ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author examines what constitutes feeling of belonging, how we acquire it and how badly our lives can suffer if we do not have it. The ability to relate and develop a sense of belonging requires that we are able to differentiate ourselves. Even if a person with autism manages to secure a feeling of belonging in one place, it is likely to be ridden roughshod over by systems that simply do not notice its existence. Autism highlights the link between sensory inputs and memories and the development of a sense of belonging. Through our sensory system, our physical selves are intimately linked to our sense of belonging. In her book Belonging, bell hooks describes her childhood in a black community in the Appalachian Hills of Kentucky, an area which in some respects protected her family from the racist attitudes and behaviour of white supremacy.
