Autism Myths: An Autistic Person’s Attempt to Debunk Them

(Originally posted for The Voice of Heard on September 30, 2011)

When it comes to general knowledge of autism, rumors and myths tend to get mixed in with information on the disorder circulated by newspapers, TV shows, movies, books, and the Internet. When evaluation of such information is too difficult for some people, they would tend to look for the most basic and noticeable signs of autism, mainly odd hand movements, lack of communication, limited interaction with people, and very narrow interests. Once they find those said signs, they would end up making assumptions about autistic people in general and lead to stereotypes that are inaccurate at best and offensive at worst. As an autistic person myself, I feel that I have an obligation to clear up the misconceptions regarding autism in general in any way I can. I know other people have already compiled lists of autism myths on the Internet but I thought that maybe I could take a crack at making one. In this post, I will go over the myths, some of which have been debunked while others remain prevalent in the minds of the general public, based on my understanding of autism and my experience with autism.

Bullying Autism: An Injustice Under the Radar

Bullying is fairly common at schools regardless of grade level. Sometimes, it gets reported and dealt with appropriately. Otherwise, it does not get reported and continues with impunity. Sometimes, it gets swept under the rug when it does get reported. This situation is truly a socially problematic one, especially with autistic children, teens, and young adults being bullied (some in ways in which are especially vicious), as indicated in recent online news reports I have been reading. A long time ago, I was a victim of bullying myself. In high school, I got into a couple of fights with such bullies. On a few occasions, I witnessed a college with autism being bullied, prompting me to stand up to them. But since then, I have moved on with my life, preparing myself for future prospects such as a career in the video game industry. Occasionally, memories of the most violent bullying linger come back to me. Upon reading recent news stories of autistic children and teens being bullied, these incidents are, to say the least, more monstrous than what I have gone through. If I were in the position of those victims myself, the experience would have been horrific and my future would have been placed in jeopardy. The following stories are by far the most disturbing accounts of bullying autistic children and teens ever to be read by anyone with an autistic relative and anyone who is autistic.