Common Myths in Autism
Autism is a condition that affects how a person thinks, feels, interacts with others and experiences their environment. It is estimated that 1 in 60 people are on the autism spectrum. It is a lifelong diagnosis and each autistic person is different to every other; it’s not a monolithic group.
Neurotypical refers to individuals who do not display autistic or other neurological atypical patterns of thoughts or behaviour.
Common Myths in Autism:
‘You don’t look autistic’
Why is autism (previously known also as Asperger’s syndrome) synonymous with White Boy Who Loves Trains?
Hans Asperger (1906 – 1980) was an Austrian physician and is the namesake behind both Autism and Asperger’s syndrome. He first identified autistic individuals and wrote 300 papers on psychological disorders. He reportedly spared ‘high functioning’ autistic boys he encountered from being sent to Nazi death camps. He was seen initially in history as someone who had no choice but to collude with a fascist regime and save what few children he could. Although there is some controversy that he had a more active role in the deaths of disabled children than previously thought.
The Asperger’s stereotype came from his research. A high functioning, white, male, with a lack of empathy, smart and a ‘nerdy’ intense absorption in a special interest. More stereotypes included that autistic people were clumsy, had a lack of desire for much social connection and a penchant for numbers.
However, this definition left out the experience of autistic women, autistic people of colour, queer autistic people, autistic people who display a lot of empathy and have social skills, among many others.
You may not know by looking at someone whether they are autistic or not. Autistic individuals have often learnt from a young age to observe, copy and mimic neurotypical individuals to fit in. The experience of being autistic can be much more internal.
‘Autistic individuals don’t have much empathy’
Autistic individuals often have a lot empathy and often feel emotions very strongly and have a strong desire for connection with others. Autistic people can be very compassionate. Other autistic individuals report less empathy. This is similar to neurotypical people (some report naturally high levels of empathy and others report lower levels of empathy).
Sometimes they can find other people’s emotions are overwhelming and need to shut themselves self away. In these situations Autistic individuals may appear aloof, blunt, direct, stress, reserved or irrational due to being overwhelmed.
‘You’re not in a career that someone who is autistic would have’
Autistic people can be in any profession. For example, they can be a scientist, engineer, professional gamer or visual artist. They often may choose careers where they work primarily alone (although this is not always the case). They may be actors or actress (getting to pretend to be someone else). They can be passionate about saving the planet/responsibility for wildlife/climate or go into helper professions (teaching, psychology).
‘You don’t have any stereotypical interests’
Often autistic people will have special interests. However, sometimes these can be age appropriate and not ‘stereotypically’ autistic (e.g. trains; numbers). For instance, an 8-year-old girl obsessed with dollhouses. It’s more about the intensity of interest or obsessive interest in collecting. For instance, a young girl arranging/lining up dolls as a child may be seen as pretend play, but often the child doesn’t actually play with the dolls.
Resources that inspired this article:
https://www.autismspectrum.org.au/about-autism/what-is-autism
‘Understanding Autistic Needs’; Barb Cook & Allison Haynes (2022)
Unmasking Autism by Devon Price