9 Horrific Ways Autistic People Experience Gaslighting
9 Common Sayings Screaming Ignorance About Autism
Autism is a relatively new diagnosis and only became a recognised condition within the diagnostic manual in 1980. Although it has been 44 years since then, many people are still not educated on what autism is, the autism spectrum, or what our needs can look like. Arguably, there is more of an understanding and acceptance around autism in 2024; the stigma still exists, and it can be a challenging experience for autistic people to feel misunderstood, uncared-for, disrespected, unloved, unseen and unwanted, or belittled simply because they’re autistic.
Furthermore, there is a misconception that more people are autistic than ever before. The reason why there are more autistic people is because there is a greater awareness of what autism is. So, many of us are being late-diagnosed with autism in adulthood. I was late diagnosed with autism and ADHD at the age of 27, and although it seems obvious looking back that I was autistic, I had no idea what autism or ADHD looked like in someone who wasn’t a white boy.
I have been told by colleagues, family members, friends and trolls online that my symptoms aren’t autistic and that I am making it up. Many other autistic people, particularly high-masking women, have reported that they…
