8 Debunked Myths About Autism

Let’s clear up some confusion for Autism Acceptance Month

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The most commonly-shared quote in the autistic acceptance community is probably, “if you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met ONE autistic person.” It’s often used to help newcomers understand that the autistic experience isn’t at all universal — though we show atypicalities in the same traits, those atypicalities show up in wildly different ways.

In the spirit of April being autism acceptance month, let’s clear up 8 myths about autism so you may be the best ally (or self-advocate) you can be:

• It’s only for boys. Though males are diagnosed as autistic more than females, at a 4–1 ratio, experts cite that this is due to an increase in camouflaging autistic traits in females and “criteria for autism are biased and based on the typical presentation of the disorder in boys.” It might look different in other genders, our special interests might not be as peculiar, and we might playact as normal with more success — but the above spectrum of atypicalities still applies, and whether the expression of traits is repressed or not, the internal experience will involve similar struggles. Autists can be of any gender.
• It’s only for kids. Oooof. People do not grow out of being autistic! A person with autistic neurology will always be…