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Trying to explain autism feels pointless

Laddo

Does anyone ever get the impression that trying to explain autism to some people is about as much use as banging your head against a brick wall? I try to explain to certain people time and time again that it is not as easy as just being more social and that social situations are genuinely exhausting and sometimes mentally and physically painful but it never seems to go in, no matter how I word it. Our brains are wired differently to NTs' brains but that still doesn't seem to be enough proof to some people that socialising is incredibly difficult for us.

I don't mean to rant, but it all gets so frustrating. I can't continue to be friends with certain NTs if they refuse to even attempt to understand my condition

Parents

  • You make a good point regarding our portrayal in the media. There need to be more 'ordinary' autistic characters on TV - characters that aren't savant geniuses or brilliant detectives, but everyday autistic people who deal with the same highs and lows that most of us on the spectrum have to deal with. The media shows more and more non-heterosexual people, different ethnic groups and people with other disabilities in these lights, so why not people with autism?

    I hate the stereotype that we're all perverts, especially considering how many autistic people are asexual and therefore have no interest in the private parts of the opposite sex. That nurse you mentioned represents a classic misconception that all autistic people are the same. It's absurd - just like in neurotypical people, you get some perverts but you also get a great deal more of us who can keep our hands to ourselves. I was innapropiately touched by a female doctor when I was a kid being assessed for Asperger's but it doesn't mean I avoid all doctors and think they're all perverts.

    The Triad has becoming the Holy Trinity of diagnosing autism. This is dangerous for both autistic people and psychiatrists alike as 1. it limits the support we have access to and creates misunderstanding of our condition and 2. it means that psychiatrists and the NHS have to deal with a greater number of complaints regarding their mishandling of a diagnosis.

    So, what do we do about it? How do we start making changes and portray autistic people as individuals without tying them to the Holy Triad?

Reply

  • You make a good point regarding our portrayal in the media. There need to be more 'ordinary' autistic characters on TV - characters that aren't savant geniuses or brilliant detectives, but everyday autistic people who deal with the same highs and lows that most of us on the spectrum have to deal with. The media shows more and more non-heterosexual people, different ethnic groups and people with other disabilities in these lights, so why not people with autism?

    I hate the stereotype that we're all perverts, especially considering how many autistic people are asexual and therefore have no interest in the private parts of the opposite sex. That nurse you mentioned represents a classic misconception that all autistic people are the same. It's absurd - just like in neurotypical people, you get some perverts but you also get a great deal more of us who can keep our hands to ourselves. I was innapropiately touched by a female doctor when I was a kid being assessed for Asperger's but it doesn't mean I avoid all doctors and think they're all perverts.

    The Triad has becoming the Holy Trinity of diagnosing autism. This is dangerous for both autistic people and psychiatrists alike as 1. it limits the support we have access to and creates misunderstanding of our condition and 2. it means that psychiatrists and the NHS have to deal with a greater number of complaints regarding their mishandling of a diagnosis.

    So, what do we do about it? How do we start making changes and portray autistic people as individuals without tying them to the Holy Triad?

Children
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