Autism describes the way people communicate and interact with the world. There is no one way to be Autistic, there are a variety of qualities that every Autistic person experiences.

What is Autism?

Common Qualities of Autism:

It’s important to understand that everyone experiences Autism differently, whether you’re a woman, man or non-binary individual. However, to understand Autism, here are common overlapping qualities:

  • Processing situations takes us more time and energy compared to a neurotypical person.

  • Our decision-making process is methodical rather than efficient.

  • Difficulty expressing and interpreting people’s feelings.

  • Dislike changes to our routine.

  • Difficulty making friends and socialising.

  • Rituals and repetitive behaviour.

  • Often take things literally.

  • Have highly focused interests or hobbies.

Myths about Autism

  • In most cases, Autistic individuals love to socialise and engross in conversations they’re passionate about with other people, however, socialising in a neurotypical world requires a lot of energy. For most Autistics, we require more time than Allists to process information such as body language and tone of voice. Overwise, overloading ourselves with information may make us go “blank” after prolonged socialising. As a result, behaviours including minimal or too much eye contact may be perceived as anti-social rather than a manifestation of our mind trying to process information.

  • A common misconception of Autism is that only cis-gendered boys have Autism. A prominent reason is diagnostic tools were created by observing cis-gendered boys. As a result, this explains why cis-gendered boys are more likely to be diagnosed with Autism compared to other genders. However, with more research, more individuals from a variety of genders are being diagnosed with Autism which is broadening diagnostic tools.

  • Autism is a lifelong spectrum condition that affects how we communicate and interact with the world. While Autism is commonly diagnosed in childhood, the qualities that we acquire in childhood either further develop into adulthood or are replaced by another quality.

    According to Autistica, in the UK, there are more Autistic adults than children due to barriers such as gender, race and class often preventing some children from being diagnosed at a younger age.

  • Research suggests that in the UK 2.4% of the student population is diagnosed with Autism, and less than 40% of Autistic students complete their university education. However, there is still a large proportion of Autistic students that graduate. With better support at university, Autistic students will be less likely to either drop out or not consider university at all.

  • This was a common myth I heard during my childhood (years before I was even diagnosed with Autism). Research studies have consistently found that vaccinations do not cause Autism, and this includes the MMR vaccine which is largely brought into consideration.