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50 Pretty Big Facts About Autism

CaptainQuirk
Autism

After this album of pictures got over 3,000 shares on Autistic Not Weird’s Facebook page [all links open in new windows], I thought I’d upload them all here for your viewing pleasure!

For those who are seeing these for the first time, I hope you find them useful.

(Important note- after Autistic Not Weird became so well-read that my articles were being stolen literally on a daily basis, I had to disable right-clicking. However, for those who want to share an individual photo without sharing this whole article, each one of these can be found in their original location here.)

Off we go!

(2020 edit- this was written back when the ANW logo had little bits of puzzle piece in it. Rest assured, I know better now and they have been removed.)

Fifty Facts for Autism Awareness Month

Hope you found these useful! High five if you got through every single one of them.

Feel free to join us on Autistic Not Weird’s Facebook page, and if you feel like helping me turn Autistic Not Weird into a career (in exchange for some nice rewards), take a look at what’s available on Patreon.

Take care,

Chris Bonnello / Captain Quirk

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Chris Bonnello is a national and international autism speaker, available to lead talks and training sessions from the perspective of an autistic former teacher. For further information please click here (opens in new window).

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17 Responses

  1. These are amazing. I’m going to save them to my email because they say things so perfectly. Thank you so much for posting this and sharing this Insight.

    Reply

  5. This list is very good, and is so true regarding 43/50 and 29/50, just to name a few. Now, this bit might make you squirm, but I have to say this, it’s too important: autism IS a disease. This is the blog post that convinced me (http://www.savagelightstudios.com/warpedlens/?p=113). All I ask is to read it with an open mind. I’m autistic by the way

    Reply

    1. “Disease” suggests something you can catch, or develop, though, as well as something that has solely negative effects. The closest it skims to that is if you put your faith in it being (as is most strongly suggested by research) a hereditary/genetic condition.

      Even so, it’s really just a “difference”, and probably one that has persisted in the human genome because its traits at least occasionally turn out to be beneficial both for the species and for the carrier’s reproductive success in certain conditions that otherwise presented a fatally difficult challenge to the more “NT” of our ancestors. (…though it’s probably an uncomfortable truth that leadership, and reproduction, was at the time rather more a matter of brute strength than social ability; NOT understanding that you were hurting someone may itself have been advantageous, in some situations)

      Similar to how dyslexia (specifically that, rather than dyscalculia or dyspraxia, though I expect they also have their hidden advantages) was likely as not a generally advantageous allele for your chromosomes to carry, unless you were trying to get a job as a scribe, all the way up until widespread literacy started to become a socially important thing. Or in other words, you could describe *that* as also being “a disease” in the modern world, but rewind just five or six hundred years and its particular disadvantages would hardly be felt, if at all, by the common man, whilst the boosts it often gives to other parts of human intelligence would be far more valuable. What kind of disease does that?

      For every persistent mutant trait in human genetics, there’s more than likely a backstory where it’s proven repeatedly useful down the millennia, and in some cases where it’s now seen as problematic, that only came to pass relatively recently. There’s even research suggesting homosexuality – which you’d think to be something that selected quite strongly against its own inheritance – being a genetic factor that survived as a recessive allele (thus only exhibiting when two carriers got together, or in the background in bisexual partners) because family/clan groups with nonreproductive but closely related uncles and aunts who were available to carry on hunting and gathering (and staying in better health), or to look after existing children, whilst the breeders got on with making more, carrying them to term and weaning them, were *overall* more fruitful and less likely to have their bloodlines die out.

      (Though there’s also the alternative, more depressing interpretation that it was mainly passed along due to arranged/forced marriages, and the married partners, especially the women, being expected or outright physically coerced into mating regardless of attraction to the other… and regardless of whether any lack of attraction was based in their sexuality, rather than their externally-chosen spouse simply being ugly or otherwise “not their type”… And a third one being that it just promoted a greater array of affectionate friendships, rather than direct competition and rivalry…)

      Reply

      1. Or in other words … we’re not actually broken. Just born in the wrong era. Like a wind-up pocketwatch in the age of smartwatches.

        (But that wind-up does still have the advantage that it never needs its battery recharging, and it can remain in active use for *centuries* without major internal repairs, if it was well-made in the first place. It’s just no good if you want something on your wrist, or to do anything more than tell the time.)

        Reply

  6. My 14 year old daughter was diagnosed about 3 years ago. She is still very immature and won’t get rid of any of her childhood toys or stuffed animals. She is neary adulthood but will not take any responsibilities for her actions. Her time management in showering, getting dressed, eating and swallowing food, getting changed is a daily battle. She must be prompted on every task all day. What do we do to get her to change these routines? We’re afraid she’ll always be co-dependant for the rest of her life. She makes empty promises constantly. It takes her an hour to get dressed. 2 hours to finish any meal. She’s very smart but has no time management and acts likes she is 5 when she’s 14. I don’t know the route to take. Help!

    Reply

  7. What an amazing website full of resources you have! I’m extremely impressed, thank you!

    I’m on the spectrum, but am at a point where most of my triggers are under control and I am working with twin 11 year old boys who are also on the spectrum.

    One thing I’ve noticed, when working with one of the twins (whose struggles are much more visible and externalised), is that the words ‘right and wrong’ cause him much anxiety, so his mother and I, as well as his psychologist are working to replace them with ‘acceptable’ and ‘unacceptable’ rather than the ‘good/right’ and ‘bad/wrong’ connotations which seems to help him a lot.

    Also, I’m working with them part time after school most days and one thing I’ve observed is how much is done for them, and is something that is difficult to bring up with their mother…
    Snacks will be brought to them, when they have the full capacity – physical and psychological to go to the pantry and fetch their own snack; they will ask for their ipad or Nintendo3DS to be brought to them and their mother and father will do it without question. This bothers me in the sense that they have almost zero responsibility (and have never been expected to do much at all) and expect these things to be done for them because they were raised this way.

    Since they will be going to highschool next year, let alone more long term issues that are likely to arise, I’m concerned, and unsure how to go about talking this through with an extremely overwhelmed mother who has issues of her own that can affect her very strongly. As well has how to implement (gradually and with as little extreme reactions as possible) them being more self sufficient and taking on responsibilities they are so capable of.

    Any suggestions? Thank you very much for reading.
    Ash

    Reply

  10. Chris,

    I recently was scheduled an official diagnosis for Autism Spectrum Disorder based on my therapists advice. After she had said I needed to be tested I did a lot of research and took several screeners online and am fairly certain I fall in to the category of ASD. My entire life made much more sense now that I have something that applies to why I struggle in normal situations with people.

    I was someone who felt initially that I was cursed as this is not a topic discussed that positive in society. However, after reading several of your articles on here I am beginning to feel better about it. I go to get officially tested on Thursday 06/07/2018, and then I will find out for sure how I fall in the spectrum. The “if I have ASD” is already answered though.

    Thanks for being here for us Aspies!

    Sam

    Reply

    1. Hi Sam, thanks very much for the comment! 😀 You’ve made my day with that. I’m really glad that you’re beginning to feel better about being on the autism spectrum, and I really hope tomorrow goes well and is helpful to you. 🙂
      Take care, thanks again,
      Chris

      Reply

  11. I thought it was interesting how behavioral issues that come with autism are usually anxiety-based or the result of being scared while not having a coping strategy on hand. My sister has a child who was recently diagnosed with autism and she has been looking for resources to help educate her and her husband about the condition. It’s helpful that there are so many sources online that can help provide information about subjects such as autism.

    Reply

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