5 Things I Love About Being Autistic
Autism is something that is so heavily stigmatized, and doesn’t have lots of positivity surrounding it. You can tell someone you’re autistic, and they’ll look at you and go “Oh, I’m sorry”, as if you’re suffering from some terrible illness. The truth is, autism is not some terrible illness, neurotypicals. Honestly? It’s something to be proud of. So many people make autistics feel bad for being autistic, and so it’s important to see people positively talk about autism, and being autistic in general. So, how about I talk about the reasons why I love being autistic?
1. Having Special Interests
One thing I love about being autistic is the ability to have special interests. For me, having special interests makes me incredibly happy. They’re a great source of joy for when you need it. They’re also a perfect way to connect with other people, for example, say one of your special interests is psychology. If you find another person who happens to like psychology, then you have a potential conversation topic. When you’re bored and need something to do, are feeling understimulated, etc, you can engage with your special interests. I’d say special interests are my number one favorite thing about being autistic.
2. Stimming
Stimming is one of the most stigmatized things about being autistic, but there is nothing negative about it. Stimming can be really enjoyable to do when you’re in a good mood, and feel like stimming to release all of that happiness. Stimming is also helpful for when you’re stressed and need to relieve that stress in some way. There’s also many different forms of stimming (such as dancing) that can make it fun to do. One of my favorite ways of stimming is humming song parts.
3. Having A Strong Connection With Animals
One autistic trait is having a strong connection with animals, and feeling more connected to animals than people. I’m personally a huge animal lover, especially with cats. I strongly relate to cats as well, and consider them my number one favorite animal. Since I can’t understand most people (pretty much neurotypicals) that well, it feels great being able to have animals to relate to.
4. Being Able To Understand Other Autistics
Another main thing I love about being autistic is being able to understand other autistics and making autistic friends. Since I often feel misunderstood and struggle to understand people who aren’t similar to me, being able to have people like me who I can relate to is a great feeling, especially because you can talk about certain things you struggle with and have a chance of being understood. Besides, advice coming from people who think like you and truly understand you is better compared to advice coming from people who can’t really understand you.
5. Being Knowledgeable On Multiple Things
Another huge reason why I love being autistic is the fact I’m able to gain knowledge on multiple different topics (that some people may particularly deem as niche) as a result of me hyperfocusing on gaining information on certain things and experiencing hyperfixations. Gaining knowledge on something is a real fun experience for me because it gives me something to do when I’m feeling bored, and being able to express my knowledge on certain things gives me a reason to feel proud of myself.
Being many autistics feel ashamed of being autistic (or just experience negative feelings about being autistic in general), I felt this article would be helpful for those who’re having a hard time feeling proud of being who they are. Also, with all of the negativity surrounding autism, we just deserve that kind of positivity in general. To all of my fellow autistics, you’re all amazing and deserve to feel proud about who you are, and you deserve to appreciate what makes you unique. Being unique is a beautiful thing, really.
