By Jennifer Villalobos
April 2 is World Autism Day. This internationally recognized day was designated by the United Nations in 2007 in an attempt to “raise awareness about autistic individuals throughout the world.” During the month of April, many organizations and governmental agencies organize autism events in their community, including our very own city of Parkland, which is the first city in Broward County and the second city in the state of Florida to be designated autism-friendly.
In 2021, the CDC reported that an estimated 1 in 44 children in the U.S. are on the autism spectrum. Given that prevalence, it would be unlikely for any of us to be totally unaware of autism. Awareness is not enough, though. What is also needed is a deeper understanding of autism and more acceptance. More acceptance includes autistic individuals accepting themselves, caregivers accepting their children for who they are and not who they imagined them to be, and society at large accepting that autistic people deserve the same respect, understanding, and access as anyone else.
Although most people have a general understanding of autism, there are still a lot of misconceptions out there. Here are five of the most common ones:
Misconception 1: Autistic people are all one certain way.
Truth: Although autistic individuals share some common traits such as difficulty with communication and social interaction, as well as the presence of restricted and repetitive behaviors and interests, every autistic person is different. Some people with autism will be highly verbal and others will be nonspeaking. Some may require little support while others may require significant assistance with daily activities. This is why it is called a spectrum.
Misconception 2: Autism is an intellectual disability.
Truth: According to the CDC’s data, only 31% of autistic children have an intellectual disability (IQ < 70), 25% are in the borderline range (IQ = 71–85), and 44% exhibit average to above-average intelligence (IQ > 85). The media have a history of portraying autistic people as either significantly cognitively impaired or as a savant who is highly gifted. The truth is that most autistic people fall somewhere in between those two extremes.
Misconception 3: Autistic children have a lot of tantrums.
Truth: People often mistake meltdowns for tantrums, but in actuality they are two very different things. Tantrums are very common in young children. They call it the “terrible twos” for a reason. This is a typical part of development that decreases as the child gets older. Children have some control over their tantrums, they usually don’t last for very long, and the child can be distracted or redirected.
Meltdowns are caused by feeling extremely overwhelmed and can happen in children and adults alike. They may be triggered by a variety of things, such as sensory sensitivities, pain, fear, changes to routines, or feeling out of control, among others. When your brain senses danger, the amygdala jumps in and activates the fight-or-flight response. This can result in the person lashing out, shutting down, or running away. Meltdowns can last a very long time and will only subside by a change in environment, a reduction of sensory input, or the person eventually wearing out.
Misconception 4: Autistic people aren’t empathetic.
Truth: Although autistic people can have trouble reading facial expressions or predicting and interpreting the behavior of others, there is no research to support that they lack empathy. In other words, it is not that they don’t care what others are thinking or feeling, it is that they may not be able to identify and understand it. In fact, many adults with autism report having an overabundance of empathy, to the point that it is paralyzing and affects their ability to function in daily life.
Misconception 5: Most autistic people are nonspeaking.
Truth: Studies have shown that 25% to 40% of autistic individuals are nonspeaking or minimal speakers (having fewer than 30 words). It is important to note that even highly verbal people with autism can have difficulty speaking when stressed or overwhelmed and may require accommodations for these situations. It was once thought that if a child did not speak by age 4, then he or she probably never would, but that has since been disproven.
The call for autism acceptance is a shift away from the traditional medical model of disability, where the goal is for autistic people to be taught how to behave or act more “neurotypical.” This model views autism (and other disabilities) as problems to be solved via medical interventions. It results in disabled individuals being passive recipients of treatment rather than active participants in their care. And it perpetuates the belief that there is something wrong with these individuals that needs to be “fixed.” Many adults with autism have spoken out against the use of this medical model for autism, reporting that it led them to lack acceptance of their own autism, as well as experience a lack of acceptance from their peers and even their own caregivers at times.
Others have reported that this approach caused them to engage in masking. Masking is when autistic individuals hide or suppress their traits to appear “less autistic” and “more neurotypical.” Some examples of masking include forcing eye contact, hiding or minimizing their special interests, pushing through sensory sensitivities, such as loud noises, and preventing themselves from stimming (repetitive movements or vocalizations). Research has shown that people who engage in masking have higher rates of anxiety, depression, and autistic burnout, and one study even showed a correlation between prolonged masking and suicidal ideation.
In recent years, the social model of disability has become more accepted as an alternative approach to the medical model. The focus is on providing the individual support and accommodations as well as removing social barriers by changing non-autistic people’s attitudes toward autism. This involves accepting autism as a different neurotype rather than a disorder that needs to be “cured.” The benefit of this model is that it can help reduce the stigma and discrimination that many autistic people face, and it can help create a more inclusive society for all neurodivergent individuals. However, although it is growing, it is not yet fully accepted by all healthcare systems or governmental agencies that are still tied to the traditional medical model.
As autistic adults share their experiences, we can gain a better understanding of how our actions have affected them. We should be listening to their voices. In 2021, the Autism Society of America did exactly that by formally changing their “Autism Awareness” campaign to “Autism Acceptance.” Many other advocacy groups have since followed suit. This is a big step in the right direction for the neurodiversity movement. The sooner that our society accepts autistic people for the unique and diverse individuals that they are, the sooner they will be able to live more authentic and fulfilling lives.