Everyone's a little bit autistic...

At the moment this expression really annoys me, together with "we're all on the spectrum". I don't know if everyone is or I just happen to know a lot of people that are.  I can't suddenly tell if someone is autistic due to my own diagnosis.   I'm fairly newly diagnosed and didn't say anything until I was, because I wasn't sure if people would believe me. 

This expression really bugs me as I feel like it's people not listening to or belittling my lived experience.  I want to challenge it but I don't know how other just cutting people off giving me negative energy, any ideas?

Parents
  • I had the same response from someone recently, I had got to know the person quite well, I don’t normally share anything about me with the muggles. I got the exact response you mentioned, I really wanted to actually slap him, obviously I wouldn’t. The final remark was the,” you don’t look autistic.” There seems to be this view at the moment, autism is trendy and some sort of excuse for different behaviour. I would love them to live inside my head for just one day, it isn’t trendy, some days it’s a living hell.

Reply
  • I had the same response from someone recently, I had got to know the person quite well, I don’t normally share anything about me with the muggles. I got the exact response you mentioned, I really wanted to actually slap him, obviously I wouldn’t. The final remark was the,” you don’t look autistic.” There seems to be this view at the moment, autism is trendy and some sort of excuse for different behaviour. I would love them to live inside my head for just one day, it isn’t trendy, some days it’s a living hell.

Children
  • I find "my head gets a bit busy at times too" to be particularly frustrating. When everything you hear is turned into video images, the constant conversations with yourself, and automatically running multiple scenarios at the same time. Add in a song, analysing what youre saying to others and what tbeyre saying to you, whilst going over previous conversations to fact check. And of course thinking about what you need to be doing as well as what you are doing. My head feels more than a little busy. I wish there was a way to just make it stop.

  • Ah, if only I could show people what it's like to live inside my head Joy

    I would settle for being able to articulate it though. Every time I try, it falls flat and I feel completely deflated. I just can't stop myself from trying, I really would like to be understood *sigh*