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Haha I used to think this too. These are good links:

https://www.facebook.com/Aucademy

https://www.instagram.com/thearticulateautistic/ 

An interesting perspective is, it isn't something you 'have' or have 'caught' any more than being human is something you'd 'have'. I think there's a bit of a struggle in psychology right now in that Autism describes a different way of processing information, a different way of experiencing information and a different way of communicating. And while some of us might appear to have more a handle on things and others might have added needs, we can relate neurologically to one another in the same way Neuro-Typical individuals relate to one another. 

There's a LOT to process especially if you've been told you're supposed to engage with and perceive the world like NTs do. The fact is, we don't. I've had friends who've micro-dosed on mushrooms to see the world how I do. You might need some time to pause and regroup. I had several breakdowns in my 20s. 

There was a lot of research in the last century on how marginalising Capitalism can be for those who aren't psychologically and neurologically wired for it. NTs tend to use their social/tribal/language brain-parts a bit more which help them create defence mechanisms or neurosis in order to function 'normally'. Such as the concept of Sublimation: receiving "secret" social information which trains them to convert desire into socially accepted behaviour. Jung, Freud, Lacan, Guattari - all noticed that Autistic and Schizophrenic individuals weren't receiving this secret information while young. Fast forward to 2022 and we have a little more information telling us that the Autistic/Schizo-Analytical brain could be using images or the imaginary to process and understand, while NTs use language. There are many papers which back up the possibility that only an Autistic wired brain can end up with Schizophrenia. When the Neurotic brain struggles with the fiction vs reality, it become Psychotic. There was a push at one point to make a clear definition between the two. I think Francesca Happé is helping promote that concept in psychoanalytical circles because our picture-thinking analytical brain is better suited for cooperation, not competition. And that can make us kinder humans. It's a massive distinction. 

This might be more than you were hoping for! But Being autistic, highly focused, capable of sensing far more than my NT friends has its value. Learn the best parts of who you are! And if you can take time out as you're doing to do so, you'll be all the better for it :) 

Haha I used to think this too. These are good links:

https://www.facebook.com/Aucademy

https://www.instagram.com/thearticulateautistic/ 

An interesting perspective is, it isn't something you 'have' or have 'caught' any more than being human is something you'd 'have'. I think there's a bit of a struggle in psychology right now in that Autism describes a different way of processing information, a different way of experiencing information and a different way of communicating. And while some of us might appear to have more a handle on things and others might have added needs, we can relate neurologically to one another in the same way Neuro-Typical individuals relate to one another. 

There's a LOT to process especially if you've been told you're supposed to engage with and perceive the world like NTs do. The fact is, we don't. I've had friends who've micro-dosed on mushrooms to see the world how I do. You might need some time to pause and regroup. I had several breakdowns in my 20s. 

There was a lot of research in the last century on how marginalising Capitalism can be for those who aren't psychologically and neurologically wired for it. NTs tend to use their social/tribal/language brain-parts a bit more which help them create defence mechanisms or neurosis in order to function 'normally'. Such as the concept of Sublimation: receiving "secret" social information which trains them to convert desire into socially accepted behaviour. Jung, Freud, Lacan, Guattari - all noticed that Autistic and Schizophrenic individuals weren't receiving this secret information while young. Fast forward to 2022 and we have a little more information telling us that the Autistic/Schizo-Analytical brain could be using images or the imaginary to process and understand, while NTs use language. There are many papers which back up the possibility that only an Autistic wired brain can end up with Schizophrenia. When the Neurotic brain struggles with the fiction vs reality, it become Psychotic. There was a push at one point to make a clear definition between the two. I think Francesca Happé is helping promote that concept in psychoanalytical circles because our picture-thinking analytical brain is better suited for cooperation, not competition. And that can make us kinder humans. It's a massive distinction. 

This might be more than you were hoping for! But Being autistic, highly focused, capable of sensing far more than my NT friends has its value. Learn the best parts of who you are! And if you can take time out as you're doing to do so, you'll be all the better for it :) 

Just reading about some of this in Neurotribes by Steve Silberman.  Leo Kanner and his school of psychology thought there was a link between Schizophrenia and Autism.  They initially thought autism was childhood schizophrenia before realizing that autistic children were just in a world of their own, not actually delusional.  I haven't got to anything that might suggest that Schizophrenia might actually be only in autistic adults but I can see it being the case - maybe it is neurodivergent rather than ASD specifically.

Great book and very interesting though a hard read at times.  Autistic children were not been treated very well in the past including forced sterilization in the USA and other countries.