Stereotype list please!

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I'd like to know some stereotypes people have experienced when it comes to NT perceptions on autism. I wanted to use it for a club in school (disability awareness). I know of a few, but I don't know if they've started-totally faded off or not?
1. Autism= mentally ret*d/intellectually deficient (had experience w/ this one especially b/c when stepmom tried to explain that she was worried about her grandson to her son (we all think he & now even his younger brother (their almost 3/practically mute & a baby who cannot be in a moving vehicle) & when she said "autism" he went right to "ret*d" .
2. Autistic females are less intelligent than males (I cannot remember where I read that one )
3. The autistic people never care about others, do not love, etc. crap...
I also read another one that really bothered me, but I'd rather not list it b/c I forget where I read it, again...

Can anyone suggest other ones? Any exist that are not too "touchy" to bring up in public (or is that impossible)?

No harm in adding a few that aren't so negative, eh? From what I've heard, Aspies...

-use Linux
-watch science fiction
-play the clarinet
-are good with computers
-study science at school

...and I must confess, most of them are true for me (except the Linux one!), all are true for the only other Aspie I know in real life, most are true for the other Aspies he knows, and I've seen a fair bit of it on WP.

Some people think only males can have it... including (so I found out this week) people with sons with AS.

There's also the old assumption about lack of empathy meaning people AS can't feel sorry for anyone.

The first three do have basis in fact (Kanner's Autism), though it's incorrect when applying it to everyone, as there's exceptions:

-It's actually correct that females with Autism/AD have more severe mental retardation than males (more females are in the "profound" group, where more males are in "mild")
-Most with Autism/AD are mentally ret*d, and there's nothing wrong with this, it's just that people attach a negative connotation to mentally ret*d.
-I'd say that the majority of those with LFA don't care about people; the deficits in empathy and human relatedness are that profound--people with HFA tend to form a single bond with someone, and those with AS usually can form more than one bond if given a chance (family and some people outside of such)

Asperger's are:

- single minded
- left brained
- cannot understand jokes
- litteral
- think in pictures

Rain Man. That seems to be the extent of a lot of people's exposure to autism (plus, it's funny).

I suppose there's the old chestnut about people with AS being likely to "fall in with the wrong type" and get into trouble......I know there's probably some statistical truth in it, but it's a dangerous generalisation. How many people here are currently involved with gangsters? There's a similar notion that we're much more likely to disregard the law (presumably because our impaired brains have no sense of belonging to our countries of origin), but again I think it would be hard to see any difference between AS and NT in that respect.

Possibly the problem is rooted in the way generalisations can have some truth in them without being good predictors of the behaviour of any one individual......just as making generalisations about an ethnic group can lead to racism, because people often just apply the label without really thinking it through.

Yes, the sex ratios do change with IQ. However, the emerging evidence shows the ratio of males to females with moderate to profound MR in autism can be as low as 1.95:1 (see Witner & Lecavalier: J Autism Dev Disord (2008) 38:1611–1624), so there are still slightly more males, but it is much nearer equal than for the normal IQ range.

Here's some BS I have come across. I think making it touchy on some level is unavoidable.
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-If one has a 'disorder' label, they are just impaired, period. Not impaired only in some places. Everything in their brain is impaired equaly to a degree.
-Therefore, they will hurt businesses, and must not be hired. (oh please!)
-Autistic children are nothing but a burdon on their families. Especialy to their wallets.
-All Autistic labeled need drugs
-Being quiet = stupid, evil and/or self centered (:roll: )
-People of mental difficulty spectrums drool all over food so they should never serve the public.
-Never put one on the registar unless your business has zero money issues, and is in a very poor location, away from most of the public. That way, you can fire them when they mess up for the 70th time.
-Their family will wound up in poverty level anyway, because of how much they have to pay to take care of them.
-They only care about their scensory
-All of them have a label, so they are alike. Once you met one, you met them all.

Actually, only 2 of those apply to me at all. I like science fiction & science (but my major is lib science not science or bio). Ironically, my major & condition should imply I'm good w/ computers... I suck at working them (they hate me!) . Yeah, some nice ones though. I made a post about liking strange odors, could that be a stereotype.

I just thought of another, not capable of forming lifelong commitments/relationships... BS. Though in my case being alone is best (sensory issues + asexuality + partner = no way)

Plus, I just realized at my college if I include myself & my 2 aspie friends we have a 2 female:1 male ratio!

But it's:
1. 1 HFA female (me)
2. 1 aspie female
3. 1 aspie male

Kind of wondering mow if most autistic people on the spectrum who are in college have an aspergers diagnosis?

Most have Asperger's or PDD-NOS, but quite a few classic autistics go to college too. (Then again, PDDNOS and Asperger's are more common than classic autism.) I know an engineer with a master's degree and classic autism, for example.

That everyone on the spectrum has behaviour issues and should be kept out of school...
That we all bite, scream, freak out, and have tantrums/meltdowns all the time
we are all non verbal.
None of us are capable of living on our own, working, and driving.

... and their time.

-Having an autistic child will ruin your marriage/relationship since the child is such a burden
-Autists either bang their heads or are catatonic
-You can't be autistic if you're reflective (why an ex-teacher couldn't believe I was an Aspie until she read the trait list)
-Autism is caused by "refrigerator moms"
-Autists can't speak
-All autists are idiot-savants
-All autistic people are mentally ret*d

Heh, I read what you quoted and I was about to get really pissed; then I remembered I was looking at the "stereotype list" thread. Carry on!

All Aspies throw chairs if left in a classroom.
All Aspies have spock-like characteristics, or are really good at math.
Aspies are incapable of doing art, or feeling empathy for another person.
Aspies cannot physically take care of themselves.
Aspies are really smart, or; Aspies are really stupid.

That's just some of the ones I've seen. You'd be surprised how much variance I see. *shrug*