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"Everyone is on the Autism Scale!" - is this right?

Mweekie

Hi.

I don't often post on here, but I have been getting very frustrated by some people who I know...

The other day, I was talking to someone in particular and about my (currently undiagnosed) autism and she turns round and I quote... "Well...everyone is on the autistic scale on one end or the other. No one is a 'normal' person. Everyone has some autistic trait...". She continued on this track for well over an hour and I felt myself getting more and more upset by her.

So my question is - is everyone in the world on the scale in one sense or another.

I know what I feel about it and I know that yes some people are on the scale (whether diagnosed or not) but I don't feel every single person is on it.

Thank you for letting me a) rant and b) ask this question.

Mweekie xx

Parents

  • I think that in some cases people are trying to be reassuring, kind of like saying "you're not as different as you might feel you are", however most of the time I do see it as dismissive of people's struggles due to actually being autistic. 

    To me it's like going up to a person in a wheelchair and telling them we're all a bit disabled because I twisted my ankle the other day. My wife has a friend who has OCD and gets furious when people talk about how OCD they are because they line their pens up on the desk nice and straight. 

    What I try to point out to people (sometimes more diplomatically than others) is that there is a vast difference between the outwardly observable traits associated with autism (which yes, I agree, lots of people do display to varying degrees) and the impact on their lives.  

  • in reply to Spreadsheets&Pizza

    Yes! I agree to all of this. Autism is mostly invisible and mostly not relatable by neurotypicals. The dismissive attitude is well meant but unfortunately unintentionally not so nice. I also feel like noone in my family or the few friends I have do not want to hear anything about it. This is disappointing.

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