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Do You Think Everyone Is Autistic?

Daniel

I often find myself come across people claiming "I'm a bit autistic" saying everyone is a bit autistic.

I point out to them so many things they refer to as "autism traits" are not autism traits at all but is just general human behaviours by all people, but when an autistic person does it it gets described negatively.  

Stimming as an example, I see nearly everyone stim, so many people tapping their foot on the floor, some picking their nails, some just twirling hair etc. because they do something an autistic person does they assume they're a bit autistic. 

When I tell them doing something labelled "autism trait" doesn't make them a bit autistic, that people are either autistic or not, I back it up asking "I sometimes say a metaphor, does that mean I'm a bit neurotypical?" I point out to them autism is a neurodevelopmental condition. 

I say "people with bipolar have mood swings, I hear most people have mood swings, so does everyone have a bit of bipolar disorder?" 

They still go claiming everyone's a bit autistic. Do you agree with the people who say everyone's a bit autistic?

Parents

  • If autism is a spectrum, human traits and behaviours are an even larger spectrum, containing all traits, both neurodivergent and neurotypical .There is a growing trend towards thinking of the autistic brain as being just part of the continuum of human brain architecture and function, which I would certainly agree with. It follows, that there is a cut off, definitely variable and often clinically ambiguous, that separates those diagnosed as autistic and those not. If this is the case, then the people just on the neurotypical side of this cut off, by the application of logic, must have some autistic traits. They are just not sufficient in number or severity to garner a diagnosis. Whether such people are regarded as 'a little autistic' or not, is just semantics.

    Having said that, people who are obviously neurotypical claiming to be 'a little autistic' is annoying.

  • in reply to Martin

    What Martin said is as I understand it from studying some related topics.

    Anyone can have any set of characteristics, pretty much.

    The autism diagnostic process that us humans have created has to have that cut off which makes it binary, but the reason assessments need to be carefully done is due to wide human variety. This helped me to understand why someone could have an autism diagnosis at some earlier point in their life, then become 'sub-clinical' later or vice versa. Our brains also have neuroplasticity, so it's possible to change to some degree, too, which makes this idea of a binary system less applicable.

    Someone on this forum joked that if autism is defined in diagnostic manuals then neurotypicalism should be, too. I actually agree - not as a jibe or defensive retort - but because not everyone is functioning all that well. NT does not mean they find life easy or don't have difficulties. I love how autistic people have the ability to cut through the cr** and speak truths, such as about how silly it is to have strict 9-5, Monday to Friday working routines for everyone as if it's going to work for everyone... Everyone seems to be exhausted and stressed, though. I'm glad the pandemic has helped lift the veil on this somewhat, open some serious convos about flexible working for all, for e.g.

  • in reply to Mantra
    Mantra said:
    NT does not mean they find life easy or don't have difficulties.

    Agreed.

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