I hate autism awareness

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Must be a generational thing. I dont run across people saying to others, or even about others, "...must be autistic".

One guy I used to work with..... folks would talk about him as being "special" and maybe having "adhd, or sumpin' like that". And I learned after he left the company that he was in fact an aspie. That was a few years ago. I guess even a few years ago there was less "autism awareness" than now. But there was some ADHD awareness back then.

In the 1980s, people used to think I was on speed!

Well...maybe I get it. Or maybe I dont.

I am of the older generation who grew up when "autistic" was only applied a microscopically small population of severely impaired folks whom most folks never even encountered in real life.

So there was no "autism awareness" like today.

And in my day if you really were anywhere on (what is today called)"the Autism spectrum" ( a much larger and commonly encountered group than the old autism category) you were destined for a life being "labeled" as a sick wierdo ret*d.

So telling me "nobody likes being thought of 'autistic' " seems extremely naive. If you really are autistic then you are destined for bad labels anyway. So what the hell difference does it make?

So thats where I am coming from.

But on the other hand: yes I do kinda see what all of young folks are saying. In my day folks had to go to school, or work alongside you, for a LONG time to form an opinion about any wierdness in your behavior. But you all are saying that today they instantly type you as being "autistic" (rightly or wrongly).

So they become immediately prejudiced against you (kinda like with skin color back in the day). In the old days you had a fighting chance to suppress your wierdness to win friends and influence people. But if your peers are instantly prejudiced against you from the get go then you dont have that room to maneuver that an ASD person with some level of social skills would have in the old days.

So that indeed might be worse.

I will have chew on this some more.

In my world, nobody talks about anybody being "autistic."

They might call somebody "a little hyper," or "a little weird," or "just like Rain Man," or "sort of like "Sheldon."

I'm happy to be aware of my autism, but i wouldn't say openly i have autism.

I find those names pejoratives.

I find "Autistic" more respectful and implying a much more objective reality.

I'm getting tired of trying to pretend to be normal. I feel like I'm about ready to just go around announcing it to everyone so that I can be done with the act already. It's too exhausting, and I'm bad at it.

I know it's a bad idea, so I'm not going to do it. But it's what I feel like doing.

Just be you. "Normal" is really in the eyes of the beholder a lot of the time.

As long as you don't outwardly offend anybody, call somebody names, or smell up a subway car, you're okay in my book!

I always got asked if Inwas on drugs.

Obviously, what I stated about people calling other people "weird," "hyper," etc was insulting!

I think autism awareness is alright. But I am one of those people who does not like telling many people that they are autistic. I guess its because I'm really nervous, but autism awareness is a good thing in my opinion

No, I wouldn't tell somebody that he/she is definitely autistic. If we were in one of those "confessional" sorts of conversations, I might talk about my autistic traits. Maybe the person would then say: "I have those very same traits," or something like that. T

That's a good way of making someone aware that they might be autistic (though the only way to conclusively prove that is to get diagnosed by a psychologist/psychiatrist).

100%

Why do you think that it is a bad idea?

I have seen some good films showing an objective picture of autism. I find it good that people learn what is autism.

My husband thinks he's coming across as anxious and smart.

His body language screams otherwise.

I'm guessing that is what is happening to you.