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What the Broader Community Keeps Getting Wrong About Autistic People

The gulf between what many people think autism is and the lived experience of autistic people is still huge

Jae L
The Unexpected Autistic Life
8 min readDec 11, 2024

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A woman stares into the camera lens.
Photo by Almos Bechtold on Unsplash

Almost daily, I hear autistic people being spoken about in a way that sets my nervous system on edge. As a late-identified autistic person, I often feel like I’m living in two worlds.

These days, I’m lucky enough to spend most of my time in a world where I can authentically share my inner experience with like-minded people.

But I also have to spend some of my time in a world that has no inkling I am autistic. In this world, an unavoidable degree of masking means that my autism is invisible, and people’s preconceptions about autism remain unchallenged.

There are still many environments where it’s not safe or feasible to be open about being autistic. As a result, there is still a vast gulf between what many people think autism is and the reality of autistic lives. And the burden falls on autistic people to bridge that gulf by speaking up to correct, explain, and educate. Not only does this burn through valuable mental and emotional energy, but it also puts us in an uncertain, vulnerable, and risky position.

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Jae L
Jae L

Written by Jae L

Queer, neurodivergent and in the business of asking questions and stirring things up. Conspire with me. diverge999@gmail.com; https://justinefield.substack.com

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