Published on 12, July, 2020
Why do people say this? We aren't otherwise there would be no need for a diagnosis.
The spectrum isn't linear. It's not most autistic to least autistic.
FFS this kind of thing annoys me so much
Can you try freelancing as something? I do that, it's great.
They are obviously at the low functioning end of the open-mindedness spectrum
Hi, I think it was a preprint report. It might have been through Research Gate, I read it a week or so ago, but cannot find it again. However, there are some similar published papers out there.
Interesting comment. I suspect that your par 2 is based on some recent peer reviewed published work? If so could you post a link? Many thanks!
Seriously could not agree more with this statement! Absolutely hate when people say stuff like oh I have an anxiety disorder because I got anxious ♂️ No just no! I have an anxiety disorder and I haven't been able to go out my house for over 2 years! I don't know this world confuses me
Sorry didn't mean to hijack your post and moan
You could also claim that everyone feels a bit depressed sometimes, doesn't mean everyone has depression.
You could say that about anything in life really, doesn't mean everyone has a diagnose-able condition.
The statement hugely invalidates autistic people's struggles
Completely agree! This also irritates me hugely!
As a scientist I would assert that all spectra are linear, I'm especially aware of this as I worked in mass spectrometry. What is shown visually as an 'autistic spectrum' is in fact an 'autistic colour wheel'. This is a valid way of looking at autism, but it is not a spectrum. I think that if psychologists were more accurate in their use of 'physical science' terms they would have called autism something like 'Autism Continuum Condition'.
Interestingly, recent research is pointing to two genetic inputs into autism. Firstly, numerous small genetic variants close to specific genes that have been associated with autism. These small variations are very common in the population at large. Secondly, smaller numbers of larger genetic change variants close to genes associated with autism. These larger variations are much, much rarer in the general population.
For the type of autism primarily caused by the common genetic variants, the entire population has these variants and it is only a higher than average concentration of them that causes clinical autism. In this case then it could be reasonably claimed that 'everyone is on the spectrum'.
I’m so sorry to hear you’ve had such a hard time. A huge portion of autistic people are either under employed or unemployed.
Workplaces need to change. It’s been proven that the reasonable adjustments we ask for help everyone!
People use the, "We are all on the spectrum" (or WAAOTS) statement ~ with the spectrum in question going from no traits to fifty traits in the case of the Autistic [Spectrum] Quotient 50 (AQ) test-result score-ratios as follows:
0~11 low result – indicating no tendency at all towards [being] autistic.
11~21 is the average result that people get (many women average around 15 and men around 17)
22~25 shows autistic tendencies slightly above the population average
26~31 gives a borderline indication of an autism spectrum disorder. It is also possible to have aspergers or mild autism within this range.
32~50 indicates a strong likelihood of Asperger syndrome or autism.
https://aspergerstest.net/interpreting-aq-test-results/
So as such everyone is on the autism spectrum; but not the autism diagnostic spectrum ~ as only some people have an Autism Spectrum Disorder, or increasingly more an Autism Spectrum Condition these days ~ as may include or exclude having either or both physiological and psychological co-morbidities.
As someone who is autistic in terms of having Asperger Syndrome and as having done a fair amount of advocacy work over the years ~ I have personally found the 'WAAOTS' statement to be very useful indeed, as proportionally contrasting examples of which have really helped to make autistic sensibilities and care requirements more relevant to other people who are not autistic.
When for instance it comes to autistic inhibitions ~ asking neurologically typical or atypical people if they have ever been panicked enough to become indecisive or pressurised enough to have made decisive errors; which includes everyone to some extent ~ this can help them with further explanations to appreciate that we (as autistic people) have greater difficulties with 'give-and-take' reciprocations in typical social interaction, imagination and communication situations ~ with some or a great many of our inhibitions being a result of developmentally and educationally inappropriate facilitations, identifications and affirmations from others historically.
Fearing negative repercussions socially or finding social interactions challenging is for instance only as such a partial consideration or temporary concern for most non-autistic people ~ with social breakthroughs and group integrations being more often than not greatly anticipated and very much enjoyed; yet for those of us who are autistic or otherwise neurologically divergent ~ social events can be totally nerve-racking or in part or whole confusing, frustrating or even exhaustively debilitating ~ particularly if reasonable adjustments have rarely or never been made, offered or provided to help us gauge, manage or circumvent requisite pressures or excessive strains in previous or present living and working situations.
When it comes though to non-autistic people using the 'WAAOTS' statement to rhetorically sideline the difficulties we on the autism diagnostic spectrum face ~ I just add with an enthusiastic reverse-psychology twist something like, "Normally to a small degree ~ yes; that is the case!" and then confide that some autistic people find 'WAAOTS' statements as being somewhat demeaning or even quite offensive ~ even when they are in no way whatsoever meant to be; what with all of us (autistic or otherwise) being human evolutions of consciously vitalised experience and awareness ~ which in each and every case involves physiological and psychological multilinear extents and curvilinear degrees of nature's developmental infinitudes, as can in scale be much more appreciated and as such much better in quality facilitated.
hmmm
this is very much like my last 2 years in a previous job I started 6 years ago, with new manager in charge
https://mindfulsurvivor.co.uk/2020/10/03/the-workplace-that-almost-completely-ruined-my-life/#comment-15933
and I had a mental breakdown 6 months before I quit, because nothing changed despite it
next place I lasted 2 months was even worse, I was lured there, they used the fact I needed new job
and I quit
7 weeks with no job now,
I find this so annoying and ignorant I wrote a blog about it. I aim to try and educate the neurotypical world. If you like it, do share: mindfulsurvivor.co.uk/.../
The spectrum has a start and a finish. it’s common sense to know that we’re all different, even when inhabiting the same place. I’m aware other people might not understand this concept, buts then it’s down to me to educate them. One size doesn’t fit all.
well it's better than cleaning
I answered few trainee/entry level for an accountant and in IT as well, but no response there
funny one, on my application to waitrose they anwered that I don't qualify, seriously?
That's the one you want, isn't it?
and thank you for concern :D
I answered about a hundred job offers online, received 3 sorry but no, and 2 invitations for an interview, I've been to first one at Tesco and silence ever since, 2nd one at Lidl on Thursday
No, Mariusz, that sounds more like an outright lie; an employer paying lip service to avoid legal challenges to their recruitment and retention procedures. How are the interviews going?
like we support autism but there is an interview which in fact is just popularity contest meaning we do not stand a chance
Hi Maixx. It's a common rhetorical device called 'understatement'. It's the opposite of hyperbole, which would be along the lines of, 'You're the only person in the entire world who is autistic." Understatement, in this case, is employed to diminish the other person's legitimate struggles by implying that everyone else has the same struggles but their lives are not impacted. In other words, understatement describes or implies that something is smaller and less significant than it actually is. It has a new variant in modern culture which people refer to as Whataboutery.