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What its like to be autistic in other countries

Billy87

As someone who has always wanted to travel the world but not been able to due to my struggles with any change to my routine, I am facinated with what it must be like to be autistic in other countires and whether there are any societies that it might be easier to live in than our own. Ive always felt that although the UK has more support and understanding than many countries, British culture and way of life is so difficult to understand and live in as an autistic person. Even though Ive lived in it most of my life, most of it makes no sense to me

So I read that in Holland autistic people can get extra support like taking someone for free with them to things like zoos and attractions for support and that if we have an autism card we can skip queues if we feel sensory overload and stuff like that

Since I was a little kid I have been facinated with German culture, everything about it, like food, music, football, films, way of life. It just makes so much sense to me. Lately I have got really into Swiss culture too. German culture is one of my special interests and I think Switzerland is too. I read a wonderful quote today "If autistic people ran a country it would look very much like Germany or Switzerland". Maybe thats why.


Does anyone have any experiences of being autistic in other countries? Im really interested 

  • in reply to Mariusz

    Thats not good, I didnt know any of that. Its a shame people cant be more tolerant. I guess maybe that explains why I get on so well with Polish people here 

  • in reply to Billy87

    It means we don't fit there, majority is regular clueless copycats run by priests into frenzy, LGBTQIA2S+ people have really difficult lives there in hiding, to be found often means getting beaten, or beaten into unconsciousness.

    I'm polish by birth and grew up there, and I say it out loud if someone asks,  because it has been hushed down, very much like the truth about autistic lives

  • in reply to Mariusz

    It surprises me to hear that, although to be fair your not the first Polish person I have heard say that (Apologies if your not Polish, I got the impression from your message you are) 

    Most Polish people I have met in England have been more friendly and welcoming than English people and I get on with them well so it does surprise me

  • Don't move to Poland, because of ethnic cleaning done by german and russian during WW2 they turn on anybody even slighly different and church fuels it, most racist country in europe, they would laugh behind your back sure you don't understand it

  • in reply to Dawn

    The language difficulty did seem to nullify any awkwardness on my part, too busy wracking my brains for irregular verbs to feel inhibited. However, I think the French are generally more 'earthy' and sexually honest than the Brits. She didn't fit my stereotypical idea of a Frenchwoman, being a tall, blonde, blue-eyed Norman girl.

  • in reply to Martin

    The French do like a British accent.  I was always told I was adorable, like Jane Birkin, who, of course, all French men are a bit dippy about.  And yeah, I did have a long passionate relationship with a French guy!

    This is clearly the answer to all autistic social ineptitude:  live abroad, lol

  • in reply to Dawn
    Dawn said:
    I also think social gaffes are easier forgiven abroad. People are just delighted you are making an effort in their language and any faux pas put down to you not being a native speaker and seen as charming, rather than being socially awkward or strange.

    I rather think that my, apparently, hilarious French - fairly good pronunciation, dodgy vocabulary and poor grammar - was responsible for my first successful amorous relationship, that and my animal magnetismInnocent. 

  • in reply to Dawn
    Dawn said:
    People are just delighted you are making an effort in their language and any faux pas put down to you not being a native speaker

    They might even love you for your efforts Smiley

    btw Have you watched Allo, Allo? Was his name René?  

    I liked it in Italy too, 3 times on holiday, they just party all evening and night, sleep through half the day,, very much like me ::P well, maybe a lot more noisy

  • Well, I've travelled and lived abroad; not that I knew I was autistic at the time, so no different. Mind you when I travel, I plan to the nth and am anxious until I get where I am going and have never been to a country where I did not speak enough of the language to at least get by.

    Otherwise, Attwood does point out culture can make a difference. He reckons autistic people do well in places like Japan, where eyes averted in deference and bowing rather than physical contact like handshakes are the norm anyway, and poorly in Italy where lots of physical contact and excitement in speech is the norm. That said I'm part Italian (though from the north, which has a more central European attitude) and I love Italy. 

    I also think social gaffes are easier forgiven abroad. People are just delighted you are making an effort in their language and any faux pas put down to you not being a native speaker and seen as charming, rather than being socially awkward or strange.

    I was in Belgium recently. One waiter said he was honoured and flattered that I spoke to him in French. He couldn't do enough for me. He must have been fed up to the back teeth with Brits expecting the world to speak English.

  • I lived for 3 years in Bratislava, and for 14 years in Brighton, and I say it's easier to look normal,

    every autistic youtube channel maker says so as well, 

    just avoid people of the same nationality, they would see through it,

    the way we speak, can be taken for foreign accent,

    acting weird or preference to loneliness as being shy because of inadequate language fluency

    and so on

    living abroad falls into 4th category of types of masking called accommodation strategies, those are recommended for us, because they go on passive, and do not make us anxious

    and learning languages is easy, you just need to know few tricks:

    learn grammar as soon as possible

    perform everyday dialogs in your head 

    read whatever you can to expand vocabulary

    try to start to think in that language

    if you do not know the word, check it right away, on your phone for example

    use that language dictionary, do not translate back to english

    tell people around to correct your incorrect pronunciation whenever they notice something

    so now I live here, I use english to english e.g cambridge dictionary

    Holland and NZ are the most autistic friendly as far as I know