4 Stupid Myths About Autistic People

Don't tell me to "just relax" though.

I’m autistic.

You can imagine that I have to deal with all kinds of prejudices and other opinions from people who don’t know what they are talking about.

There have been quite a few films and documentaries made over the past 30 years starring autistic people. This is often portrayed as a person who cannot function normally.

For a while now we have known that there is a spectrum in terms of autism.

“I am different, not less” said Dr. Temple Grandin — Professor of Animal Husbandry, Colorado State University.

Yet there are still many misconceptions about people with autism:

• Not being able to communicate.

• Not able to feel empathy.

• Immune to non-verbal signals

• Many more

Here are 4 stupid myths about autism that need to be debunked.

1. We are constantly overstimulated

Of course, the idea that autistic people are constantly over-stimulated and can’t control their thoughts is gigantic nonsense.

Of course, there are times when we get overstimulated by some situations, and even that doesn’t apply to everyone — because as made clear in the introduction, it’s a spectrum in which everyone has his or her own “building blocks”.

Things that can overstimulate us are:

• Bright lights.

• Loud sounds.

• Complicated questions.

• Stress.

• Crowded places.

• Heat (for me personally).

But these things fade away and then it will be fine. Just a couple of minutes of meditation work perfectly for me.

2. Autism is a disease

This one needs to be debunked really quickly.

Often I hear referring to autism as a disease. It’s not. If it were, it could have been cured and that’s impossible. Therefore I don’t refer to people with autism but autistic people because it defines who you are.

We’re differently wired. It’s possible to see differences in brain scans

I mention this very often when I speak about autism. You’re bound to your autism and can’t be disconnected from it. It’s intertwined with yourself and those who wish that their kids wouldn’t have been autistic are actually not accepting their children for who they are.

That’s shocking.

There are actually people who grieve about their children being diagnosed as autistic.

3. Autistic people are not able to feel empathy

I know tons of people that appear to don’t have any empathy.

It’s not just an autistic trait and often not even true. Obviously, there are autistic people who have issues with their social skills including emotions and feeling empathy.

But it’s not like every autistic is heartless. There are a couple of scenarios possible within autism:

• Autistic people struggle with their emotions and don’t know how to express them.

• Some of them feel fewer emotions and therefore are less emphatic.

• In some situations, autistic people feel much more emotions than neurotypical people.

In that last scenario, we might even consider calling this overstimulation.

4. People on the autistic spectrum are stupid

Documentaries very often paint the picture that autistic people cannot learn, are stupid or are simply less gifted. This need not always be the case; this is the exception rather than the rule.

Many autistic people are incredibly intelligent.

“What would happen if the autism gene was eliminated from the gene pool? You would have a bunch of people standing around in a cave, chatting and socializing and not getting anything done.” — Dr. Temple Grandin

I really enjoy reading this quote because I feel like it’s so true. Autistic people might not be the biggest talkers in town but want to get some work done. I’m often wondering why people can chat for so long and don’t do anything.

Final takeaways

Did you learn something?

Even this article does not have to be 100% true. I may be autistic but there are so many different types of people and autistics that I can’t speak for them either.

I’m just making an attempt to clear up some myths.

What can you do?

You might know somebody who’s autistic and you want to be there for him or her. What can you do?

• Don’t treat him/her differently.

• Accept the space he/she needs, it’s not about you.

• Silence doesn’t mean something is wrong, so don’t ask.