"We are all some where on the autistic spectrum" (does anyone else hate this comment)

Just reply: 'Just as we are all a little bit pregnant.'

"We are all some where on the autistic spectrum" has been a standard reply from GPs when I have tried to get a diagnosis. All I wanted was to be tested since my daughter was suspected to have ASD and my partner kept pointing out that I'm just like her. After reading up on ASD it seemed to be an answer to all the difficulties I have had growing up. I thought I had depression and anxiety problems, as I have been told over the years, but reading up on them didn't really seem to relate very well to me. I eventually got a diagnosis after I broke down in front of the GP after I was arrested for something I couldn't understand. I was since diagnosed as having ASD and I am awaiting a full report and follow up consultations with the psychiatrist. I am nearly 54 and only now diagnosed. It has been a lot more difficult to cope as I get older, and I have virtually turned into a recluse in recent years. I have also been diagnosed with PTSD and AvPD, also getting worse as the years pass by. Anyway, getting back to "We are all some where on the autistic spectrum", I really dislike that statement because of the way it is used to shrug off someone who may have a serious problem. A bit like telling some one with a serious limp that we all have one leg longer than the other. While it may be true it really isn't relevant to the person struggling to walk.

I agree. It's like when people say "I'm a bit ocd with that" I agree we probably all have traits and behaviours simular to but we are not all on the autism spectrum. The diagnostic criteria is not u don't like noisy fireworks therefore u could be  a little bit autistic. Its far more complex than that. It is belittling. I have had severe anxiety attacks in the past and you get people come of a theme park ride saying on my god I'm having a panic attack! ....Urm... no you are not. I feel depressed is used quite often also. No you just feel sad cos your cars broke!! Rant over lol..... xx

I have a friend (adult female with Aspergers in her 50s) and SHE is the one who has said this to me (NT)! And it makes me really uncomfortable because I personally do not believe it to be true and I don't think it's helpful for NT people to hear that from an Aspie.   Just a weird little inversion of the issue!

If someone said it to me, I'd say that humans and banana plants share 60% of their DNA, then ask them where they fall on the banana spectrum. It's a silly statement, that deserves a silly answer.

I heard it for the first time years ago and I even thought that it might be true (maybe not for “all” but for “some”) thinking about myself and my family, that we’re somewhere on the spectrum, borderline autistic, not fully autistic, just a little bit. But then it turned out that we’re actually on the autistic side of this “border”.

But in response to that question - I like “how does your autism affect you?” question 

A CBT therapist said that to me last year - really annoyed me - you would think they would know better

I was trying to explain to a friend the other day why the expression "We are all somewhere on the autistic spectrum" was actually quite offensive because more often than not it seems to be used as a put down, rather than a benign expression of solidarity. Fundamentally I said, it implies that people on the spectrum who are having problems don't deserve any special treatment & somehow just need to try a bit harder.

The analogy I used with my friend was that it was like saying everyone was a little bit pregnant just because one morning you woke up feeling a bit sick.

Sadly he wasn't convinced though & still seemed to think it was both true & fairly harmless.

Maybe I should have tried "You can't judge a book by its cover" instead.

The traits people use to describe Autism are all just externally visible behavioural patterns & the actual differences in 'Brain Wiring' are of course entirely subjective & impossible for anyone else to ever see. So just as I will never know what it is like inside a Neurotypical's brain, so they can never know what it is like inside mine.

I do strongly believe that there are fundamental differences in brain function between NTs & people on the spectrum though, I'm just not sure whether it is as simple as having only two fixed standards for brain design, e.g. VHS vs Betamax.

Potentially Neurotypical is just the most common operating system, whereas the spectrum is comprised of a multitude of different alternatives based on an entirely different design premise,  e.g. 'Windows 98 to Windows 10' vs 'Linux in all its variations'.

love that!

This type of comment undermines and devalues.

Its like if you came out to someone and they said "oh well we are all a little bit gay really".  However i dont think most people would say this.

But really, whats different? I think there needs to be more awareness.

Aspie86 said:

oh right, how does your autism effect you?

Like it! I’ll remember that one :) 

when people say "well we are all a little bit autistic" I feel like responding "can you actually listen to yourself, you wouldn't say to a person who is blind well we are all a little bit blind aren't we" !!!!??????It's just down right offensive and belittling!!!

Whenever someone says that I will ask “oh right, how does your autism effect you?”  My GP said once “well, we’re all on the spectrum really, aren’t we?”  I was like “...really? Are we? Really..?!?!”  

I have an attention-seeking sister-in-law - she spends all day on google self-diagnosing herself with whatever is in the news.

She claims to have Aspergers now. I find it very annoying and insulting.

I think sadly, this statement probably stems from NTs having limited or no awareness as to what the autistic spectrum is. They probably think that they’re reassuring us that we’re not that different after all. Sunflower mentioned that NTs May think that the autistic spectrum is a linear model. I’d suggest they think that the spectrum starts at not at all autistic ie completely neurotypical and ends at the most severe cases of profound autism. They don’t understand that the autistic spectrum applies only to those who suffer from an autism spectrum disorder. 

Changing topic ever so slightly I do feel that the updated diagnostic criteria in the new ICD-11 mean that anyone with ASD is just going to be ‘on the spectrum somewhere’ as there no longer appears to be distinct categories and everyone is put together in the same category. What do you think? I’ve attached a link that explains the new criteria 

www.spectrumnews.org/.../

It's one of the reasons I just say I am autistic instead of saying I have ASC.

I totally agree, this statement really undermines the struggles faced by those with autism. 

But in response to your statement that you are either nt or nd that is not necessarily true. I have completed the rdos test and I am both apparently. But that said I consider myself nt just with social issues and anxiety, 

But you are right not everyone is on the spectrum and I think people need to stop saying that 

Totally agree with you about how annoying this is! There's a good article on the subject here: http://autisticnotweird.com/stop-saying/ Not sure where "we are all somewhere on the autistic spectrum" came from, but it reflects a misunderstanding of what the autism spectrum is. Some people think it is a linear model extending from 'mild' to 'severe' autism, whereas it is much more like this illustration suggests: