Yes, autistic people are still human, and as such sometimes our experiences are shared by people who aren’t on the spectrum. That isn’t surprising. Comments like this give the sense that there’s something wrong with us sharing relatable posts in an autism community, even if non-autistics can relate to the same things.
I’d like to assume that isn’t what you’re intending, but when people post this sort of comment it’s hard not to read it as some sort of admonishment. Nobody said “only autistic people experience this,” or “this is absolutely 100% part of the autistic experience,” and those were never the points. The point was an attempt to relate to others in the same community… which is something we famously struggle with. The post title is a question, asking if others experience the same thing. That’s it - a question to a community. Not a claim that the habit in the post is special to us, just asking if we ever go through it.
Can we have just a little space to share experiences with each other without having to worry about whether or not neurotypicals relate to/approve of the topic? If a meme is relatable to the broader population, feel free to commiserate with us, or even share the image elsewhere to invite broader discussion. Coming along to an autism community and telling autistic people that the things we connect over aren’t “autism” enough for us to talk about in our own space is… well, concerning.
Not everything is autism.
Yes, autistic people are still human, and as such sometimes our experiences are shared by people who aren’t on the spectrum. That isn’t surprising. Comments like this give the sense that there’s something wrong with us sharing relatable posts in an autism community, even if non-autistics can relate to the same things.
I’d like to assume that isn’t what you’re intending, but when people post this sort of comment it’s hard not to read it as some sort of admonishment. Nobody said “only autistic people experience this,” or “this is absolutely 100% part of the autistic experience,” and those were never the points. The point was an attempt to relate to others in the same community… which is something we famously struggle with. The post title is a question, asking if others experience the same thing. That’s it - a question to a community. Not a claim that the habit in the post is special to us, just asking if we ever go through it.
Can we have just a little space to share experiences with each other without having to worry about whether or not neurotypicals relate to/approve of the topic? If a meme is relatable to the broader population, feel free to commiserate with us, or even share the image elsewhere to invite broader discussion. Coming along to an autism community and telling autistic people that the things we connect over aren’t “autism” enough for us to talk about in our own space is… well, concerning.
But my life sucks. Surely isn’t my fault? Right?