Poll 14: how people react when learning you're autistic?

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Option A
Most people were surprised that I was autistic as they did not expect to see any evidence of intelligence or independence from an autistic person, they thought that all autistics spend their day in a corner rocking or perhaps that they are the same as the character in Rain Man


Option B
Most people seemed to know a decent amount about autism and it was not a surprise for them to hear that I was autistic


Option C
Most people didn't seem to know anything about autism or have any presumptions whatsoever and so just accepted whatever they were told about it


Option D
From my experience people have reacted differently to these options and I have written about this below

I tell people I have aspergers, not autism so they for one did not know what it is. So I get a combination of A and C. For one, they just accepted it because they knew little to nothing about, I would tell them I was diagnosed and they cant really argue with something they don't know anything about. One the other hand, they didnt really get it and they think Im normal.

They were completely unsurprised and expected that I had Asperger's but a surprising number of people tried telling me how Asperger's was definitely not autism and tried to say I wasn't autistic...

"But you seem so normal!"

"That makes sense."

Most people I tell also ask "Isn't Asperger's Syndrome a form of autism?"

I have to go with option "A" since the country where I live is still strongly affected by cultural blindness on certain topics and because of it many people here still think autism is a serious disease (sic) and know little to nothing about high-functioning autism. In rare cases when they do know something, they seem to look only at the negative side of it. It's so annoying...

The few people I told that I have it were always doubting it. By the time the psychs told my father in person that I have a form of high functioning autism he developed the notion I must be a hypochondriac.

A combination of all three, actually. A few of my friends have family members on the spectrum (one has a little brother with classic Autism on the more "severe" end of the scale) or know a little; other people are just dumbstruck that a person with autism can "act so normal." Still others just ask, "What? Asperger's? Never heard of it!" (i.e. one of my bosses at work)

That's the reaction I generally get. Members of my family tend to think, why take on a negative label.

When to me, being on the spectrum explains a lot about my life and very much has a positive side.

I picked option D because I've told different types of people: many know a lot about autism, many do not. The vast majority, however, are neutral when I tell them and do not treat me any differently.

I can't answer as they don't.

I don't tell anyone. People just assume I'm schizophrenic..

I only told a few people. And they don't seem to know anything about it and just accept it like "oh so you have this condition called Asperger's" like it's similar to other chronic illness.

I think my mom starts to get sleepy every time I tried to explain it. She's the type who never try to understand things, and instead just keep worrying without figuring out what's wrong.

Option D as when I used to tell people most of the time they suddenly looked at me/talked to me like I'm mentally ret*d. Even though I'm often one of the smartest in my classes the second I tell most people they instantly think I'm getting the best grades because the school compensates my autism or something?
And when I try and explain it as aspergers, meaning most people with it have average or above average IQ some just think I'm being cocky?

I gave up on telling people now... It seems lots of people in Aus just don't understand it past what they've seen in the movies. (In fact I've heard half my current friends laugh about autism and about there old 'ret*d' friends.... )

I don't usually tell people, especially since I don't have an official diagnosis. My daughter does, kind of, but it's in process of being confirmed. Responses range from dead silence, to oh, surely not, to the usual dislike of "labels". There's no "most people" about it.

I have voted for option C as i have told many people about my Asperger's Syndrome and most of them didn't know much about it however they accepted the information i had provided them.