Common Myths About Autism

In our previous post, we discussed how tricky it is to define autism. Part of this complexity lies in how it manifests in different people. There is a saying: “If you meet one person with autism, you only know one person with autism.” I did not understand this at the beginning.

If you are new to learning about autism, you might hear some common beliefs about it. But these beliefs don’t give a true representation of what autism is.

This is why we want to continue our learning journey with 10 myths about autism:

Autism doesn’t manifest the same way in every person with autism.

I am quoting the saying mentioned above: if you meet one person with autism, that’s all you know. Two autistic people can have differences in sensory needs, communication, etc.

People with autism aren’t empathetic or don’t have emotions.

Autistic people do experience emotions. But in some cases, they don’t connect the sensation in the body with the emotion they’re feeling. Also, sometimes they communicate their emotions differently compared to neurotypical people.

All people with autism are the same.

We want to emphasise the “all” here. Not all autistic people have exceptional skills, learning disabilities, or violent behaviors. Autism is a mixture of strengths and difficulties that present differently.

Only boys are autistic.

More boys go through autism diagnosis than girls. Girls can be better at hiding their autism (called “masking”) from teachers, parents, or peers. This makes it harder to diagnose girls with autism. Also, in some cases, girls tend to seek diagnosis later in life.

Autism presents only in children.

Autism is a lifelong condition that in some cases gets identified during childhood. The earlier it gets identified, the better future a child is going to have, thanks to receiving treatments that will help them throughout their life.

Autism is caused by a parenting style.

Parenting is not classified as a cause of autism. Yet, parents with enough information can be the best advocates for their children.

Autism can be cured.

Autism is not a disease; it is a condition that can’t be cured. But the person can improve their life by receiving treatment.

Only children can be diagnosed.

Adults also can seek diagnosis. In any case, autism diagnosis is something that can be very helpful to an adult, no matter where they are in life.

Children with autism can’t learn.

Children with autism have different learning styles than their neurotypical peers. In some cases, “paying attention” means stimming, looking away, or doodling. Short and clear instructions are better, together with visuals. In general, autistic people are visual learners.

Autism is caused by.

Researchers haven’t found a cause for autism yet. There is no consensus on the main cause(s) yet; this is why more research is needed to help us understand more.

References

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