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How to respond to 'Aren't we all on the spectrum'

Botty

I've had 2 people recently reply to hearing of my diagnosis 'Isn't everyone on the spectrum?'. I've found that quite insulting. No, autistic people will be on a spectrum of traits. Neurotypicals are NOT on the spectrum as far as I am concerened and have no idea of what we deal with.

What do others think? How do you reply to this cliche? 

Parents

  • There is thing such as BAP (broader autistic phenotype) so someone there would think, that everyone is on the spectrum. I would maybe try to Explain to them the difference of just having autistic traits versus struggling in everyday life because of being an outcast. But it may go wrong. I often get misunderstood so I guess it's tricky. Today the word spectrum is very popular.  I heard of tge spectrum of LGBT, which I agree it is a spectrum. And I would say there is also a spectrum of "normal" - NTs differ a lot from one another but they share similar communication styles which allows them to intuitively find one another who fit together and understand the social norms. 

    So maybe if someone says "we all are on tge spectrum" I would agree and then ask them to explain, what spectrum they actually mean. Maybe a good starter for some discussion but its not always possible.

Reply

  • There is thing such as BAP (broader autistic phenotype) so someone there would think, that everyone is on the spectrum. I would maybe try to Explain to them the difference of just having autistic traits versus struggling in everyday life because of being an outcast. But it may go wrong. I often get misunderstood so I guess it's tricky. Today the word spectrum is very popular.  I heard of tge spectrum of LGBT, which I agree it is a spectrum. And I would say there is also a spectrum of "normal" - NTs differ a lot from one another but they share similar communication styles which allows them to intuitively find one another who fit together and understand the social norms. 

    So maybe if someone says "we all are on tge spectrum" I would agree and then ask them to explain, what spectrum they actually mean. Maybe a good starter for some discussion but its not always possible.

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