Published on 12, July, 2020
Myths are entertaining illusions. Autism myths are offensive to autistic people who are actually real. Autistic people are not on a par with dragons and sky fairies, nor are they lesser than neurotypical people. Myths are an excuse not to think, and by generalising autistic people, they dehumanise autistic individuals.
Thoughts?
People use stories to inform them about things they don't understand. If you're NT you can't have any idea what it's like to be autistic, and vice versa.
Unfortunately a lot of people have had a very limited range of stories on which to base their understanding of autism, such as Rain Man and the A Word - while both well done, they do not represent the majority of autistic adults.
There have been some documentaries on TV in recent years which have shown more how autism is for adults, there is this site, and there are lots of YouTube videos done by autistic adults now, so hopefully the stories will gradually change.
Thank you. The Rain Man myth is unfortunately still widespread. I posted a YouTube video about autism myths yesterday, though the volume discrepancy towards the end of the video is bugging me, so I think I'll re-post the video (and challenge more myths).