AM Baggs

AM Baggs (1981-2020) was an autistic writer, activist and artist. They used a communication device to speak, and their writing was predominantly concerned with personal reflections on their multiple disabilities and analysis of their experiences in institutional care settings. They insisted that neurodiversity and autistic self-advocacy movements include all autistic people, not just those who could talk. Their writing and videos, such as In My Language (2009), placed them at the forefront of the neurodiversity movement in promoting self-advocacy for people with developmental disabilities, asserting that all people deserve to exercise their own agency and to receive necessary care and support. Baggs presented at conferences on developmental disabilities and worked with Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists researching autism.