ABSTRACT
My paper addresses the central question, “Are We All Disabled?,” within a two-tiered study which considers the thinking and lived experiences of neurodiverse individuals who identify on the Autism Spectrum (ASD). Because ASD is typically associated with the inability to conceptualize the minds of other individuals, the study examines how these neurodiverse individuals conceptualize audience when writing, using a methodology which combines qualitative humanistic research and quantitative scientific technology. The study shows that writing helps individuals to think, reflect, and consider the views of others, in personal and public interactions, and within a shared communication space. This space exists and is manifested in the mental patterns which have been traced in our brains and in the audience directed utterances to which these traces give rise. Within this space, all people can reflect on themselves and others, identifying points of confusion and consensus, and issues about which to further communicate.
