I don’t like the quiet ones.

Yes.  A lot of Autistics are like us.  I don't know what proportion of Autistics are like us. But we could be the majority of Autists.

I've been to two gigs recently where I wore loops for the first time, I was amazed how much cleaner it sounded.  I tend to stand at the back near one of the sides trying to be as out of the way as possible!

I like loud music, but feel anxious when at a Gig. And, when seeing Paul Draper back in March, everyone else was either drinking or on a phone.

Grateful for the music I do know.

I agree sadly my neighbours are very loud and don’t care about how they affect other people. This was largely resolved when they started shouting at me when I asked them to stop their kids kicking a ball off the side of my house. I had a meltdown. Pure rage. They’re much quieter now.

Yep, I’m the same. It was an issue I raised with the people who diagnosed me. I can happily play loud music on my headphones but noise I can’t control makes me deeply upset. They said that’s very common and I’ve seen autistic YouTubers say the same.

I only like noise that I have decided to make.  Right now I'm listening to my stereo and enjoying it.  But if someone were to knock on the door I'd be very irritated or even angry.

Ditto. I hate noise, it upsets me.

I like music but it needs to be played quietly for me to be able to enjoy it. 

Kate Kestrel said:

In general my attitude is that we should try to be respectful of others, but also have the right to be who we are as long as it’s not harming anyone

Very well said! Seconded!!!

I like quieter environments and people, personally. I find the opposite extremely stressful and overwhelming, and I try to avoid it when I can. That's why I was volunteering in a library, a place that's often quiet with few people where I can spend time without getting overwhelmed and stressed.

I'm fortunate that my family are understanding and supportive. They make sure they never talk too loud and play music too loud, so I don't get overwhelmed and stressed. When I go out I avoid the louder places.

Peter said:

Here’s a set of earplugs, deal with it.

but in truth what offends me the most is them speaking on my behalf. equating autism with this supersensitivity to sound. A lot of us do not get this.

A lot of us do though. I'm genuinely pleased for you that you don't have this because I can say it is by far the most difficult part of autism for me. I have spent a fortune on all kinds of ear plugs, ear defenders, noise cancelling headphones, etc. They do not deal with it and only dampen it slightly to make the sound a little more tolerable. I can still hear a conversation going on at the opposite side of a room, the constant sound of the air conditioning, a reversing bleeper several streets away.

Peter said:

It’s really un helpful when people paint this inaccurate picture of the autistic presentation. You know the stereotype. If you’re autistic you’ve got to be really quiet and painfully polite and a real indoors introvert that would rather deal with animals than people. Someone who can’t stand noise and hates a party and is really adverse to confrontation.

Peter said:

it’s intolerable when other autistic people present the quiet stereotypes as being authentic.

Well you've just described me perfectly. I am that stereotype so am I not authentic?

Every autistic person is an individual and people should not assume what one autistic person is like based upon predetermined beliefs. However I would say the quieter sensory avoiding types are much more common than the louder sensory seeking types.

Peter said:

Have you ever had to interact with a certain type of autistic person who believes that their autism gives them a right to your silence?

The stereotype you have described above 'is really adverse to confrontation' therefore would be unlikely to demand quietness from you or tell you that you're shouting. They would be more likely to just keep as far away as possible from the source of that intolerable noise.

I don't like being around loud people and it doesn't matter whether they're autistic or not.

I understand what your saying here I think. You have your own personal way of autism presenting within you and feel that it's not very well presented widley and even within the autistic community? Please correct me if I've missed the crucial points. 

I think it's perfectly valid to feel like this, you want to feel understood for the way that autism shows up for you personally. 

Peter said:

It’s bad enough that the media gets it wrong, it’s intolerable when other autistic people present the quiet stereotypes as being authentic.

I think we all experience the frustration of misrepresentation of the autistic experience through the media. However, I haven't personally had experience of other autistic folk claiming that the "quiet" way of being is the definitive autistic experience. Being quiet as a result of autism is authentic to autism, just as being loud as a result of autism is authentic to autism. It's all authentic to autism. Autistic people that speak of their own experience can only speak about their own triats and attributes that are authentic to them, it doesn't mean that other traits are any less authentic to autism. 

What's difficult here is that autism is such a massive bubble of differences and diversities that are contradictory to each other. It's a beautiful thing, that there is so much diversity within the bubble we call autism. But it does present the challenges of representing all of it accurately, when there is so much to represent it is often impossible. But it is all authentic to autism as a whole, just not everything will be authentic to personal individual experiences of it. 

I remember being barred from Abrakebabra in Dun Laoghaire, at the start of 2000, for talking too loudly.

Everyone thinks I'm antisocial, whenever I'm trying to do something. Maybe I'm just not good at group conversations.

Ditto.

I don’t like the loud ones. 

When I was younger, I was often accused (by NTs) of basically shouting when speaking. My excuse at the time was that my voice having just broken made it naturally quieter.

I didn't really know how to regulate my volume. Now I've gone too far the other way really where I may be barely audible. I can't remember the last time I laughed out loud.

Music is fine for me because I'm expecting it. It's unexpected noise that give me the willies.

I am the quieter type of  Autist and am not really comfortable around loud people.

I prefer a quieter environment and I find louder people and environments very stressful. However I wouldn’t expect people (other than my family) to change their behaviour for me (btw my immediate family are autistic too and also prefer less noise so I don’t actually have to ask this of them). In general my attitude is that we should try to be respectful of others, but also have the right to be who we are as long as it’s not harming anyone. I like some louder things - music sometimes for example.

I can be pretty loud. but sometimes im too quiet (like when talking to people in public). Loud sounds can bother me but I think more its the type of sound. If its my own loud sounds or if im listening to music I like then I dont mind it being a bit loud, but then the opposite, I can be very bothered by quiet sounds.