Published on 12, July, 2020
Partly because I'm trying to cheer myself up, partly because we need a bit of positivity in life and also because I'd like to get to know you all a bit better, what is your autistic superpower? I prefer to think of the positives that being autistic brings rather than dwell on the things I struggle with and I like to think of my strengths as "superpowers".
Mine are empathy (sometimes my heart can feel like it's going to break or explode!) and spotting details / patterns, particularly in numbers and equations. I also think I see more details in nature than my neurotypical friends (nature is my "special interest") and I get far more joy and excitement from nature than most people do. What are yours?
(Just I case it's confused anyone, I've changed my username, I hope that's OK?)
I really dislike the term 'autistic superpower' - sorry. I think it infantilises autistic people, and obscures the challenges they face. I'm not a superhero, I'm not Rain Man, I'm not weird - I'm autistic. Blunt, different, and autistic.
Autistic Not Alien said:I really dislike the term 'autistic superpower' - sorry. I think it infantilises autistic people, and obscures the challenges they face. I'm not a superhero, I'm not Rain Man, I'm not weird - I'm autistic. Blunt, different, and autistic.
Yes I understand that, that’s perfectly valid!
This discussion is not about superpowers as such it is just about emphasising our autistic strengths to support the development of a positive autistic identity for our neurokin. This is so important in our autistic community as so often we have negative and stressful experiences in our lives which negatively affect our perceptions of ourselves.
Autistic Not Alien said:Thank you for such a gracious response.
You are so welcome!
Autistic Not Alien said:I appreciate that, for example, my autistic brain is responsible for my strong sense of justice, which many would consider a strength. It's not a superpower (it's certainly had its downsides) but I do recognise that being autistic can mean having strengths or passions that may not be widely shared.
Yes absolutely, hence our spiky profile (which stems from our monotropic neurology). Every human has strengths and challenges, it’s just these things can be emphasised for us based on how we allocate our attention and processing resources (monotropism).
Thank you for such a gracious response. I appreciate that, for example, my autistic brain is responsible for my strong sense of justice, which many would consider a strength. It's not a superpower (it's certainly had its downsides) but I do recognise that being autistic can mean having strengths or passions that may not be widely shared.