By Keira Mcgahon
A myth is just a misconception. Below I have put some myths about autism, here are mine and my friends' comments on it. (As we’re both autistic). For people who don't know, autism is a neurological disability that comes under the umbrella of hidden disabilities which means if you were to look at someone you wouldn’t be able to tell if they were disabled.
Myth #1
“All autistic people are really good at maths”
Me: I am decent at maths and I know other autistic people who are good at maths but a family member has other learning difficulties along with his autism.
My friend: I would consider myself very good at maths and I understand that not all people with ASD will be good at maths. However, I believe that this stereotype stems from the ‘black’ and ‘whiteness’ of autistic brains and the ‘black’ and ‘white’ rules of maths; these two things work very harmoniously. Still, every brain is different and not all will work the same way. I also believe that being good at maths has a strong correlation with where you are on the spectrum and if you would consider yourself high-functioning, as I do.
Myth #2
“Autism is caused by vaccines”
Me: I have had vaccines since I was little but autism is in the brain not the bloodstream which is where vaccines go. If all people who got vaccines would turn out autistic then how is most of the population neurotypical/not autistic?
My friend: Just no. One article a few decades ago made this up and now it has become the facebook theory on autism. I have displayed autistic traits long before I got all of my childhood vaccines. And to those who refuse to vaccinate children, better an autistic kid than a dead one. Autism is a neurological condition. It affects the structure of the brain and the neural connections your brain makes, this is not affected by a harmless pathogen being injected into you.
Myth #3
“All autistic people are the same”
Me: No, we are all different just like how neurotypical people are all different and we all have different experiences in school/work and we all have different interests but my mother has noticed that a lot of autistic people either end up in the sciences or the arts, possibly due to the black and whiteness of science or the creativity allowed with the arts.
My friend: No, it’s the same as not all neurotypical people being the same. Sure there may be a bigger bulk of people that share similar interests but even those people will like different foods, have a different favourite movie, etc. The correlation between shared interests inside the ASD community is likely because many autistic brains are creative or scientific, so similar things will peak the interest of similar people. No two people are the same, not even twins.
This article was made to compare our opinions on autistic stereotypes and how they may offend or upset autistic people. I have gotten a second opinion because having two opinions rather than one can show a range of ideas in relation to the given statement and ensure that more of the autistic community is represented.
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