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"Autism is a superpower"

Rainbowgirl

I see this type of message everywhere, people talking about the amazing talents that autistic people they've met have and calling it a superpower. They act like being autistic just comes with these amazing abilities.

I appreciate putting a positive light on autism rather than a negative one but it makes me feel like something is wrong with me. I don't have a superpower.

I'm slow, I'm bad at math, my memory is so bad that I fear I may have amnesia, I only ever did average at school and I've been learning the same language for 4 years yet I can't hold a real conversation. 

I'm not really intelligent or talented. The thing I'm best at is just being really interested in certain things (I consider it a good quality of mine) but it's nothing that would be considered a superpower.

Does anybody else feel this way? Is this type of thinking actually damaging to the image of autistic people?

Parents

  • Hi Rainbowgirl,

    I find "superpower" the wrong way to describe it. Those of us Autistic have certain qualities that nonautistic people don't have because of the difference between the way our brains function.

    Whether the functioning differences are good or not depends on the situation. As an example, those of us Autistic do what's called "bottom to top thinking" which makes us detail oriented. There's certain activities where bottom to top thinking is of great value like IT, but bottom to top thinking is not so good in social situations.

    I don't see autism as a superpower, I just see it as a condition that gives alternative qualities. Whether the neurological differences are good or bad depends on the situation.

Reply

  • Hi Rainbowgirl,

    I find "superpower" the wrong way to describe it. Those of us Autistic have certain qualities that nonautistic people don't have because of the difference between the way our brains function.

    Whether the functioning differences are good or not depends on the situation. As an example, those of us Autistic do what's called "bottom to top thinking" which makes us detail oriented. There's certain activities where bottom to top thinking is of great value like IT, but bottom to top thinking is not so good in social situations.

    I don't see autism as a superpower, I just see it as a condition that gives alternative qualities. Whether the neurological differences are good or bad depends on the situation.

Children