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Everyone's a little bit autistic...

Joe

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 think it's more accurate to say everyone has traits of autism to one extent or another, whether they actually are autistic or not depends on how frequent and pervasive those traits are, it's fair to say even if someone has traits unless those traits actively alter how they have to interact/navigate/cope with the allistic world in some unsuperficial way then they aren't autistic. The spectrum is the autistic spectrum not the autistic and allistic spectrum. I don't think I can be "a little bit autistic" anymore than I can be a little bit not straight, I just am not straight ergo I'm queer, I'm not allistic ergo I'm autistic. And thus it follows.

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  • I think it's more accurate to say everyone has traits of autism to one extent or another, whether they actually are autistic or not depends on how frequent and pervasive those traits are, it's fair to say even if someone has traits unless those traits actively alter how they have to interact/navigate/cope with the allistic world in some unsuperficial way then they aren't autistic. The spectrum is the autistic spectrum not the autistic and allistic spectrum. I don't think I can be "a little bit autistic" anymore than I can be a little bit not straight, I just am not straight ergo I'm queer, I'm not allistic ergo I'm autistic. And thus it follows.

Children
  • in reply to 🐝 Bees 🐝 (they/them) Autism resources in bio #stoptheshock #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs

    My friend could be seen as "a bit autistic" and she recently told me about issues in her childhood which are linked to trauma. This could be a reason. Among other things, she's very direct, has a strong sense of right and wrong. This has caused her problems in the past, she also has very high levels of anxiety. However, I can see she gets the nuance of conversation and is able to partake in the back and forth flow with others. Unless she masks very well but it's these nuances I notice that she is able to pick up on that I don't.  While it might appear she could be autistic due to her behaviour and indeed she might have "aquired neurodivergency", I think it's down to how our brains process information.