Public Awareness of Autism and Where It Comes From.....

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The more I look at these types of questions the more I believe that there is no public awareness as such. Some people know something's some are true but most aren't.

What do people think the general populations ideas on autism are and where do they come from?


All opinions welcome even if it's as simple as.

Public Awareness = Savant & Math Geniuses.

Where it comes from = Rain Man.


Cheers

I was not gay because gays were named Bruce and spoke with a lisp. I was not Autistic because I was nothing like Rain Man. Wrong in both cases.

I found out about my autism during the days of Rain Man. I had fears that my parents and teachers were predicting my future successes based on the character. I was under the impression that they didn't think that I had much of a chance for success in the job market. My peers also thought it was funny to wind me up, just to see if I would act like Rain Man. Let's just say that they were shocked by my vigilance.

Some people look at AS and think "If I were doing that, I'd be faking it for some reason, so they must be too." Some have heard of various savants, and some have heard about the non-verbal end of AS, but not other variants. Some lump us in with all "mental illness" and spook off. Why not stand on the street with a clipboard? We are only guessing.

Public awareness often comes from stereotypes in TV and movies, Autism Speaks and dated definitions of autism.

The media has always been good at stereotyping any one particular group.

Though, to be fair, it's not always easy to portrait and establish the various nuances in a short time frame. Though a TV serious could do that.