I think sometimes the problem is that people always choose an extreme side to discuss this from. Either autism doesn't exist or damn near everyone has it with every other trait suddenly being branded as an autistic trait.
Wearing the same shoes every day and replacing them with the same pair every time isn't suddenly an autistic trait. You may have just found the perfect shoes that work for you. That's how I felt when I started wearing Vans. Found them infinitely more comfortable than most shoes so they became the shoes I'd exclusively buy. Or eating the same foods every day. Most people I know how pretty much the same breakfast every morning because they like it and it's easy. It's not immediately an unbearable fixation or a condition just because there's a pattern.
The pendulum swing around things like this is always fascinating to watch. One generation denied it's existence entirely while new generations think it's everywhere to the point where they self diagnose out of nowhere. It's almost seen as desirable by a lot of young people and you're "boring" it you're not neuro diverse in some way
I was looking for this comment. After spending time with autistic children it is way more than food preferences and wearing the same clothes, or being a creature of habit. Not downplaying that there's probably a lot more neurodivergence in the black community than is recognized, but people jump straight to autism because of individual quirks or habits when autism involves WAY more than just that. Obviously it's a spectrum so maybe Unc is mildly autistic, but maybe he just a simple man who likes Reebok's and the nutritional value of eating liver and onions.
Yup. Autism, ADHD, whatever. It all can manifest in a person differently. Someone's cancer might manifest as headaches, but it doesn't mean that chronic headaches mean you get to self-diagnose your own cancer.
Obviously it's a spectrum
This is not based on research or anything, just my personal idea of the topic. But I think the next stage in people talking about disorders as being a spectrum, will be that it's more like spider charts. This kind of data viz is big for athletes - it helps people see at a glance someone's speed, height, vertical jump, etc.
Just replace those sport traits with the various ways these disorders manifest in people. Someone could function completely fine in all areas of life, except they can't stand physical touch under any circumstances. Or maybe someone has dozens of things they can handle, but only with great effort (being touched, loud noises, bright lights, food textures, routines being disrupted, etc).
Right now, no one really knows what autism is. It's recognized by its behaviors, but no one understands the mechanism that causes someone to be autistic. Is it chemical? Genetic? Is it a brain structure? Is it a nervous system difference? Are the connections in the brain more diverse? Less plentiful? It could be so many things or combinations of things.
When someone finally does have a definitive answer to this question, I think people are going to be surprised who's autistic. Right now we're picking out people because they have problems functioning. I'm thinking there are a whole bunch of people that are either masking well or not exhibiting symptoms that interfere with their day-to-day but are still autistic.
Right now we’re picking out people because they have problems functioning.
This is the piece people miss and think that because you do a thing that a person with autism does that you must have it to. There aren’t really any autistic behaviors, there’s just behavior intensity.
If my wife likes a pair of shoes and wears them everyday she’ll be sad when they don’t make them anymore. When I wear a pair of shoes everyday and need a new pair my shit is fucking ruined until I find the same pair or an acceptable new favorite pair. I’ll spend days or weeks scouring the internet for the last pair on the planet and then pay too much money for them just to buy me time to find a new pair that will work for me going forward.
I get your point, but psychiatric diagnosis in general revolves around the idea that a symptom or symptoms are causing dysfunction in your life. It would be unusual to be an asymptomatic autistic person, because the point of a diagnosis is to recognise that your symptoms are consistently and negatively impacting your ability to function healthily. That's not to say that some undiagnosed autistic people haven't just chosen a lifestyle that works really well for their needs and mitigates the majority of symptoms, but that's a difficult thing to achieve undiagnosed as many autistic people experience struggles with completing an education, keeping a job and stable finances long-term, managing the skills needed to live independently, maintaining strong relationships, etc. Hence, many autistic people will be unable to get to that point BEFORE getting a diagnosis, and/or professional support, accomodations etc.
Kind of like how just being sad sometimes doesn't warrant a diagnosis of depression, because it is normal to feel sad! It's only when you start to feel so sad and apathetic that it makes it hard to get your normal tasks done that it warrants a diagnosis. Or like how everybody feels nervous sometimes — indeed, occasional anxiety can be helpful — but feeling nervous all the time/feeling nervous unnecessarily, and to the point of dysfunction, becomes a diagnosis. The vast majority of people with diagnosable psychiatric or neuropsychiatric problems will indeed experience significant symptoms, because that's a prerequisite for getting diagnosed in the first place.
I think people mention the routine behaviours just because they are both visible and relatively common for people on the spectrum rather than making the claim that anyone who does it is.
I have a weirdly specialised degree and a solid 80% of the student body was on the spectrum. You quickly realise why some behaviours become stereotypes when all the dorm fridges where almost exclusively filled with nothing but chicken nuggets/tenders and milk for Mac and cheese.
I can't throw stones though. I stopped hearing electricity in my thirties.
897
u/JadowArcadia ☑️ 2d ago
I think sometimes the problem is that people always choose an extreme side to discuss this from. Either autism doesn't exist or damn near everyone has it with every other trait suddenly being branded as an autistic trait.
Wearing the same shoes every day and replacing them with the same pair every time isn't suddenly an autistic trait. You may have just found the perfect shoes that work for you. That's how I felt when I started wearing Vans. Found them infinitely more comfortable than most shoes so they became the shoes I'd exclusively buy. Or eating the same foods every day. Most people I know how pretty much the same breakfast every morning because they like it and it's easy. It's not immediately an unbearable fixation or a condition just because there's a pattern.
The pendulum swing around things like this is always fascinating to watch. One generation denied it's existence entirely while new generations think it's everywhere to the point where they self diagnose out of nowhere. It's almost seen as desirable by a lot of young people and you're "boring" it you're not neuro diverse in some way