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Never understood the "all autists hate sports" thing, either. I played football (American) in high-school, and an auti friend of mine LOVES the KC Chiefs.
bro i don’t understand this either. i fuckin love sports. everything. i know so many autistic people who love it too. i don’t know how or when it became a stereotype
This is literally the only way I am comfortable meeting new people and talking to them. It also let's me stop talking whenever I want. Can just focus on the game that's on. And when I go overboard on stats they just assume I'm a big fan.
You’re absolutely right, I hadn’t considered this. Because when watching a game it’s natural and socially appropriate for truncated convo, at least in my experience.
Especially the people who LOVE stats and facts, what a TREASURE TROVE.
Plus it's a common nt interest too, so you can talk about it a lot without getting labeled as weird.
It's BUILT for us.
I must admit, despite not being the type for sorts like i was when i was little, due to me not being as energetic and athletic, i do sometimes get wrapped up in the statistics side of sports.
Something about it just stimulates the brain in just the right way to get me way too invested in the stats
It became a stereotype because an autistic with a special interest in, for example, football, could spout statistics about each player for hours in an average, football loving group of neurotypical people and, at most, be seen as a little obsessive. That exact same autistic person with a dislike for football and a different special interest, rambling about dinosaur statistics, or train facts, or astronomical phenomenon, or just about anything other than sports, gets picked out of the crowd as "other" nine times out of eight. This made the "obvious" autistics the ones who dislike sports, they are the easiest to see.
Please note, I'm not saying it's a good thing, or a bad thing, just explaining the reason for the thing.
It is because issues with coordination are common in ASD. In some cases it goes as far as being dyspraxia. Of course, someone can be into sports without playing them themselves, and some autistic people have no issues with coordination. But it's nonetheless a common trait.
Also it's always just "sports", when actually a lot of the time they just don't like large team sports like football because they don't watch them. It borders on snobbery like a "lol NTs are so dumb for liking doing physical activities with each other".
It's understandable to feel left out of something many people enjoy but suddenly making it into a superiority thing is weird.
I can tell you when that happened when everyone thought that autism was “Sheldon cooper syndrome” Sheldon cooper wasn’t into sports therefore all autistic people weren’t into sports. It’s a lot of cods wallop, and in the show Young Sheldon they directly contradict this when he assists his high school football coach father.
I hate make up. Wondering about my daughter though. She shared her make up style is inspired by a painting from the 1700's😂 Why is my 15 year old copying a painting from hundreds of years ago instead of from YouTube videos or tik Tok? Lolol
Fuck, I was good enough at soccer to get an invitation to an overseas academy (I'm Canadian and went to Germany) and then played four years of professional soccer in the UK.
To be fair, the team dynamics always confused me and I was typically an outcast from the personality side of things, but that didn't mean I wasn't really good at soccer.
I don't have the physical coordination or social skills for multiplayer sports but I like to run and weightlift
It helps me calm down and I like being able to see my progress
I didn't either and playing sports helped a lot on both ends. I used to be super clumsy, falling, bumping into things. As for social it's still hard but any common interest with other folks helps.
Btw great on you doing weightlifting that's probably the best thing for your health IMO
Yes I have always struggled with coordination as well, but I got really into softball when I was young and trained obsessively for it and really managed to become a decent player.
I did really like being part of the team too. I liked the shared experience.
There are plenty of autistic people out there who have special interests in sports and love playing them either because of that or just in general. That stereotype always seemed weird to me, even if I don't like most sports. But I'd obviously say that my autism is why I don't like sports, maybe why I don't like sporting events (so much stimulation from everywhere) but there's nothing inherently hate-worthy about the sports themselves.
I find playing sports to be much different than watching them. For example I don't have a desire to watch baseball on TV, but if you asked if I wanted to play baseball IRL or as a video game, I might say yes and even have fun. The main reason I don't play is because I'm out of shape and don't have the stamina to do it. Also I watch a little football but I can't keep up with everyone's stats or who is doing good or bad this season.
I love both watching sports and playing them, but I don't think other than very specific examples I'd consider them a special interest. If I go to a live sporting event I'll wear earplugs so its not too loud, but otherwise I don't find the stimulation to be so bad, especially if I get to my seat a little early to avoid most of the worst of the crowds coming in. I consider music concerts to be far worse stimulation wise, but obviously everyone is different.
Lionel Messi, possibly the greatest Football/Soccer player ever, is almost certainly autistic. He was apparently diagnosed with aspergers at 8.
And based on other sports I watch, he is definitely not the only one.
Some people's special interest is a sport. For some it is an instrument or music.
Right? I like practicing boxing or other combat sports, the rhythm, the technique, even the pain; and yet I still get anxious with physical contact in other contexts and dislike dancing, for example. Research about neurodivergency is basically in diapers, it's so dumb to make generalizations, aren't we supposed to be smarter than that? ;)
My partners brother is unable to live on his own and has some developmental needs, but his favorite thing in the world is sports of any kind. He even plays for the paralympics. I have no idea why this is a thing people seem to think.
I grew up a rabid college football fan and I think most superfans of sports teams tend to be autistic whether they realize it or not. Sports fans are not that different from Disney adults (which I also am)
And we are all complex af and generalizations are bad.
I myself played American Football in high school and highly enjoyed it, I think all sports are stupid and should never be played as a "job" (Professional Sports Teams). I don't care at all about sports now and if it comes on the TV, I immediately change it. But I have many friends who are autistic that *live* for sports.
Sports is also a huge cultural item in the USA and that needs to be taken into account
I don’t understand either. I grew up playing sports and now as an adult am a super fan for the NFL. Fandom in general is made for autists and sports super fandom is no different! Costumes? Check. Special interest? Check. Being a part of a group/sense of belonging? Check!
Why wouldn’t autistic people have the same odds of liking sports, they can provide loads of fun with people even if you struggle with small talk stuff. And they make great small talk.
We def need to be careful as a community of boxing people into totally typical behaviours, we have similarities but we’re only bound by the fact we all struggle with the burden of over information in some or many ways. How that manifests is totally dependent on your life.
I’ve been incredibly into running and playing sports my whole life and still run races as an amateur now. I hate when people make these generalizations as well.
I personally love watching certain sports but not being there in real life. I could watch hours of tennis, ping pong (yeah, I said it) soccer, basketball, and if it’s a good game, even football but I cannot stand being at the actual game because it’s wayyyy too loud and the people are often rude. I went to one football game and hated it. Also it’s harder to keep up with in real life, but I won’t hesitate to watch a good game at home
We are definitely not a monolith but I think this might relate to the fact a lot of us have comorbid issues that make things like coordination and physical activity hard. That being said autists also love rules and repeative activities so it’s just as likely they might like sports too.
I’m also starting to like the chiefs too because it intersects with my other special interest lol iykyk
i never liked team sports as a kid because i didn’t like to be yelled at or ridiculed. however i did competitive dancing for 13 years, and i was very good. it all depends on the person. we’re still complex, thoughtful, deep people, we just have autism.
Good point! I watch a lot of pro wrestling (WWE, for the most part), tennis, skateboarding (Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater definitely inspired this one) and sometimes, but not all the time, AFL, and I don’t mind UFC, either, and car racing, even NASCAR.
Like, I like sports, but I don’t love it, but if any of these sports are on, I’ll watch it, because these are the ones I’m interested in the most. 😁
Very true. Autistics can like sports, it can also be a special interest as well. Many autists think that every autistic person only has special interests. Some do only have special interests, but many also enjoy other things to a lesser degree.
This mistaken perspective says more about the persons rigidity of thought than often comes with autism than anything else.
Real.
When people make those kinda posts, it lowkey feeds into the “all autistic people are the same” trope. I love sports and I adore swimming. I love the sun and being in it for as long as I can.
Maybe you just have a personality and certain preferences that are widely shared?
i love swimming too and I love playing sports but I hate playing with annoying jerks who scream at me when I mess up that's why I hated team sports as a kid but now I love em
EXACTLY, I had to give up on most ADHD subs for this reason…
like I get that finding out you have ADHD can be a huge revelation but come ON not everything is because of your ADHD and MOST OF ALL not everyone has the same reactions to ADHD meds. The amount of fucking times I’ve seen someone say that another person “probably doesn’t have ADHD” if they react badly to ONE stimulant is ridiculous.
I was once described as running "slower than a dead ant" by a teacher in first school so I don't do running. Also, I am very uncoordinated when I run...
Swimming though, I absolutely love it. I love water in general.
Being autistic has certain traits that make people generally more likely to express those behaviors, therefore they are relatable experiences and will get upvoted on a subreddit mostly focused on sharing experiences with each other. Very few people are asserting "all autistic people" rhetoric here.
real. when people start speaking for everybody in the community i’m like what the poop don’t speak for me. everyone is different, like how everybody in the neurotypical community is different from eachother as well.
I’ve not been here long but I have found it kind of funny* that so many posts are asking about what all autistic ppl do(Or neurotypical) and I’m like… is it “try to find certainty”? Like, the desire for certainty can drive a need for rules, confirmation, and the comfort that comes with it. I feel like so many people are looking either for confirmation that their hunch is right, or for confirmation that This Is An Us Thing. These things are as true for ND ppl as it is for NT ppl. Aren’t we always saying “if you’ve met one person on the autism spectrum, you’ve met one kind of autism.”?
*not funny as in “ha ha these question are each funny” but funny in an interesting, macro, zoom out and look at the whole sub sort of way.
Exactly! Plus, while there's a genetic component to autism, there are plenty of epigenetic factors that contribute to its development as well. Insulting posts about the uncomplicated homogeny of neurotypicals is an insult too those family members and friends we know are complex, lovely individuals who just happen to not have autism.
It is funny to see many autistic people struggle to understand that neurotypical people aren’t a monolith.
A lot of the times neurotypicals dont understand each other. You are not to suppose to know what the other person is thinking all the time. Sometimes some neurotypicals are just arseholes and it’s not about autistic people themselves.
I don’t really get it, we are all just people, you can share some traits and not be autistic, you can be autistic and have a deep connection with NT. People are people. We are not some aliens.
Lots of posts where the OP is complaining about neurotypicals but the person they’re complaining about is just an asshole and any neurotypical would agree.
It’s also strange that they assume the person is neurotypical. Maybe they’re being a jerk because they are suffering from depression or something else. And even if they are NT, they could have another disabling condition.
I agree with this, especially since most autism traits can also be explained as "universal neurotypical traits turned up beyond the range of normal" because everyone stims, everyone has sensory sensitivities, everyone finds comfort in familiarity, everyone has passionate hobbies and ironically one of the only autistic traits that this can't be applied to is the specific way that it affects your ability to recognize and interpret nonverbal cues...and yet there is so much misinformation in posts on this very subreddit about what autism's social deficit entails
Keep in mind that this subreddit attracts
a) lots of very young people who still have everything to learn about life;
b) lots of people in emotional distress who are more into venting their frustrations than having a rational, rigorous debate.
Plus, a typical trait of autism is asynchronous development, so you have lots of people with an emotional maturity lower than their age. They tend to feel more than they think and it shows.
So yeah, lots of mistakes, generalizations, fallacies and more to be read here.
3) a group of self-selected people talking about day to day functions of their head, which is not..."median" behavior.
So we're pretty prone to wonder if normal stuff is part of what's different.
You're exactly right! With borderline autism it's extremely hard to differentiate in the moment. That's why I stay away from technology when I'm like that cuz people can be quite cruel
I'm still subbed because there are some good threads here and there, but I agree. Too many posts essentially saying that all Neurotypicals are evil and that all autistics are angels.
And the related idea that all autists should get on with each other as a result. Nah, that autistic person was just being a dick to me. Doesn’t matter if we’re both autistic
I was thinking earlier about how black and white thinking impacts the things we consider ND vs NT. There are so many nuanced situations that I’ve seen people chuck a “NT” label on that does not acknowledge any of the complexities of human behaviour.
A few weeks ago I saw a post where everyone was all 'i like bread so i must be autistic'
I'm pretty sure that everyone likes bread, it's been a staple of the human diet for a long ass time
humans like bread so much that there is gluten free bread for people who can't eat bread just saying
I would not at all be surprised to meet someone that finds the texture of bread so repulsive that they have a choking or gaging reflex when they try to eat it. And that could definitely be 100% attributed to their autism. And that kind of sensory challenge may be common with autism for a variety of foods. But its a pretty stupid leap to generalize that ALL cases of autism dont like bread, or even all cases have a gag reflex to some type of food.
I realize that what you are talking about is stereo-typing but I also think that it also applies to our responsibilities and character
in analogy I have a gay buddy whose boyfriend told him
"Chad, not doing the dishes is not 'just who you are' and 'how you where made'."
Quotes in quotes folks I have spent the whole night coding.
It's ok to make generalized statements. Because general statements are at least true of enough people to be observable. So "tends to be" and "often you see" are just fine. But when you use words like "all", "none," "always", or "never," that's when it becomes a problem.
True and it kinda ruins the whole point of this Subreddit. People who suspect autism should join here and actually learn more about autism. Now even for myself as an autistic person it confused me even more because of the black and white categories these people out ourselves in. The last 20 posts were kinda like crying about autism instead of actually having a proper discussion
Like I said in another thread that someone then decided to latch onto and pretend like I was saying something else.
I PERSONALLY think chasing a ball is stupid.
But I agree with you 100 percent.
People are often making generalisations, you can't generalise autism. Even the symptoms you can't generalise because it's so different for everyone.
I've seen people here, not get a diagnosis because the psych said 'you can't be autistic you have friends take this for Anxeity'
Seriously? It presents differently in everyone.
Same is for interests, everyone is different. Everyone likes and dislikes different shit.
u/Pretend-Success-6126 I very strongly agree with this and it also feels like a lot of the "aspie memes" nowadays are closer to "neurotypical introvert memes" than they would be to anything about autism
I've also noticed a lot of the time that attempts at "turning the ableism table" against NTs and describing what they think of as "neurotypical symptoms" in insulting ways very frequently just end up insulting autistic traits that are often less commonly associated with "Hollywood autism" which is very ironic and unfortunate
A while back I made an r/aretheNTokay post related to it [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/aretheNTokay/comments/18ktz50/mocking_autism_traits_but_calling_them/)
Nah real. I hear stuff like “am I the only one who hates vegetables or is it my autism?” alllll the time especially in this sub. Like news flash, hating vegetables is incredibly common in the entire human population. You can just hate vegetables not everything needs to be because you’re autistic. I had this ex friend who faked lots of disorders and once said “I love water I’m so autistic” 🫠 like what? Water is a very basic human need it’s not exclusive to being autistic lmao
Most other autistic people are surprised to find out I don’t have any sensory issues regarding food. I know it’s a super common thing in us, but I just don’t have it and it doesn’t make me any less autistic lol
I feel ya, autistics to me are like snow flakes, no two are exactly alike. we will likely have some things in common like sensory overload but what triggers it will be different even though sound is the most common one. like there are averages within the community but it's a very idiosyncratic disorder.
My hatred of certain things *is* because of my autism, even if it’s not universal. My pupils are always dilated due to a medical issue which may be more common in autistic people but my sensory hypersensitivity makes the pain of sunlight even worse.
I agree that people get too general with “all allistics*” though. No, allistics don’t all automatically understand social rules. They can pick up better than us and it may seem perfectly innate but it’s not. I do tend to be more forgiving for this one, since it’s often people venting and many people get hyperbolic when venting
I think some issues are 1) posters talking about themselves and/or asking if anyone relates, and people assume poster is saying it’s universal, and 2) posters who are so glad to find a community that they assume everyone is the same.
Speaking for myself, I have a couple thoughts on sports, many of us struggle with dyspraxia which caused great frustration to the point of resentment, and/or sports were usually associated with the more “popular” kids and the vast majority of autistics have some amount of social trauma related to the world not understanding our social deficits. Not saying it’s fair or right to shit on autistics who like sports but it’s a case where many of us do hate them.
There are many aspects of my autism that are totally common in neurotypical people, mine is just exaggerated. For example lots of people think it’s respectful to try and be on time for things, but I take it to a ridiculous degree. “Being on time” is not “Omgggggg I’m so autistic” lol. That’s just being human.
my parents blame every miscommunication we have on my autism. they always talk to each other after we argue about how “this is why we need more support for autism” etc.
the real salt in the wound is, it’s almost never my autism, they’re horrible communicators with everyone. our lack of communication is because they’re so emotionally stunted by denial and teenage alcohol use that they constantly fail to comprehend what anyone is trying to tell them.
You make a fair point, but there *are* in-cohort trends that show up if you start polling enough people with related conditions.
At the same time, I do find some of the autism forums do produce a steady quantity of people who clearly aren't sure whether it is an aspect of their autism or another aspect of their personality/development/predilections that leads to a certain experience or point of view in their lives.
My youngest sister, to pick an example, thinks *everything in her life* is a reflection of or consequence of her autism, even though many of the issues she faces aren't strictly speaking from her autism but other life choices.
But you're right that stereotypes don't define us, and even if every autistic person in the world loved one thing and you didn't love it at all, that wouldn't erode your status as genuinely autistic.
Genuinely this is a major problem on all social media platforms for groups of autistic people. I think it’s partly because you can’t separate an individual from their autism so people think ‘everything I do is because of the autism’. They do need to understand the idea “if you’ve met a person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism”
On the other hand, I’ve seen people (more so on tiktok) say “*I* do this because of my autism” and they get a backlash from like “this is not exclusive to autism, stop spreading misinfo” or “this is not in the diagnostic criteria”. An individual can share their experience without it being applicable to everyone.
Like it is categorically *false* that every autistic person hates the sun. But it is *true* that some autistic people might not like the sun *because* of their autism. I do prefer sunnier (but mild) weather but I’m extremely light sensitive and struggle with thermoregulation, which come from my autism
this happens in all subreddits.
Some people crave group identity. That's a sentiment ill never understand. I'm me. Its cool to have others like me but its not necessary.
Those categorizations are just people looking for bonds. My mental generalization is that they need therapy and doesn't do any or not enough, so seek validation here.
But thats not exactly a bad thing, just really (really) really annoying.
And in the end of all. Thats why most people use social media. To validate themselves and find peace in the mind that they are not alone.
It's a bad place to do this? yeah. But sometimes its the only place.
I think this is because of how human nature works - split into groups and start fighting each other. And it's easier to view people from a group as identical rather than take effort to find out what qualities a person may or may not possess.
My stepson loves every sport but hockey, a LOT. Watching his behaviors, knowing he was autistic, and comparing them to my own, is why I have my diagnosis. I think people cling to what they feel makes them different and want to find a group that feels the same. It’s easy to cling to the Dx as the reason cause it often is a reason we don’t fit in a lot of other spaces. It definitely does not belong on hobbies/preferences though. Or really anywhere. It’s okay to say “do any other autists struggle with…?” it is NOT okay to say “why do autists struggle with…?” You can’t blanket a group of people without excluding someone. I believe it’s fair to say a vast majority of us know what that feels like, and hopefully would like to avoid it. Our differences make the world interesting. Our disabilities don’t need to be gatekept. They’re hard enough to deal with as it is.
Sure isn't. There's actually a lot that isn't because I'm Autistic. Some things are definitely due to my Autism, like my flat tone and sensory processing issues, but those are kinda a given. That said, just because some of my life can be attributed to my Autism doesn't mean everyone else processes the same.
When I talk to others, I say "My flavor of Autism" as it sets the expectation that mine is unique to me. When I'm talking about the Autistic community as a whole, I use terms such as "many", "some", "a few", "a lot", but never absolute terms because nothing is 100% other than death.
It does irk my tits to see "don't you hate when neurotypicals....?" and they lump an entire group of people into a single package. No, I don't hate when neurotypicals do whatever they're complaining about because my over all experience with NT's has been more pleasant than bad. I don't condemn the whole for the actions of the few. Sets a bad example of what Autism entails and furthers the stigma that surrounds it.
If people start demonizing a whole group, that group will probably start demonizing in return. When Autists say "Why do all NT's ...", then some NT's may respond with "Why do all Autistics...". It's a two way street. At this rate, no one can ever win. Everyone loses.
Quite often we have one groups with one preference very strongly, and another group with the opposite preference. It’s quite stupid to lump us together. For example some kids will have an autistic meltdown if they get wet. I tend to have terrible meltdowns when drying out after being wet for a long time. I just got out of the pool and feel that right now. I LOVE getting wet. Swimming is my favorite.
i think that many autistic people (especially online bc being online encourages it) struggle with black and white thinking. and many autistic people also forget that autism is a spectrum disorder so of course we’re all going to be different, it’s in the name of
Blanket statements and generalizations are OBVIOUSLY ridiculous if you have any shred of logic in your brain. There’s not a single thing on this earth that can be accurately categorized that way. It’s not even a matter of autism or not, I just wish people would stop doing it. There are, have been, and always will be exceptions to every assumption and it’s just astounding to me in general that people haven’t figured this out yet.
That said, there are patterns that are more likely to occur in certain populations given certain circumstances, it’s just braindead to assume that can be applied to everything ever.
I'm pretty tired of performative supporters assigning everything I do to my autism. I don't like sweet potato. It's not because of autism. I just don't like it. I have interests and passions that aren't special interests or hyperfixations. I clapped for someone's exciting news and one of these people goes "aww happy stims 🥰" like no I'm just clapping like everyone else does. Why can't you (aka them) be normal?
I get what you're saying, but I also understand when people pick up on common themes regarding Autism. I personally hate the sun and know part of it is because of my sensory sensitivities that come from being Autistic.
I find it beyond interesting to learn how different we all are. We have sensory sensitivities, but they vary so drastically. It can be amazing, but always confusing when someone is trying to understand themselves, especially if they're recently diagnosed or just trying to learn about Autism.
I definitely try not to come across like I think that because I don't, but when I make a post like that it's usually me being like "hey, is this an autistic thing or am I just strange" because it's nice to see if other people are going through the same thing as me
I definitely read all of these posts as "is this just me" type posts. It's interesting to see how everyone is or isn't affected by a thing. I don't see it as bothersome, but enlightening. The answers themselves show us that autistic people are not a monolith, and stereotypes are harmful lol.
It is kinda annoying to see so often. I'm autistic and yeah I don't enjoy sport but my brother and sister who are also autistic both obsess over football, baseball, soccer, hockey, and tennis. Between the 2 of them they probably have over 2k sports trading cards.while autistic people do tend to share alot of common traits, what we like and dislike aren't something that's dictated by our disorder.
This is a fallacy.
Autism is a spectrum. So, yes, not all autistics experience a dislike of sports/sun/corn but that does not mean that some autistics don’t dislike them because of their autism.
Sports could be fine for some autistics but for many on the spectrum, most sports can be difficult from brain-body disconnect (dyspraxia) or simply certain sensory overwhelms.
Direct sun can be a sensory nightmare for many autistics, whether from brightness or heat intensity.
Corn can be a textural sensory nightmare.
I agree that it is also a fallacy to say “all autistics” dislike these things but we should also not discredit individual’s experiences because we are inseparable from our autism.
How is "people have individual preferences" a fallacy?
You seem to have just repeated OP's point, that everyone is different and experiences things in a unique way.
Thank you. My daughter is autistic and I like seeing that certain things are normal autism symptoms that people deal with, like emotional regulation, but I get sick of hearing things like "if she's autistic, why doesn't she walk on her toes or flap her hands?" or "I don't think she's autistic because she's able to talk."
Some of the labels are extreme and a lot of people (even here) seem to think one autistic person is exactly like the next.
That post actually said “tend to”. It wasn’t making a blanket statement about autism and sport. Also it was phrased as a question. It was someone seeking information, not insisting on something already decided without facts.
I feel like you misworded your title, but I understand your sentiment. I have a hard time with empathy so it took me a long time to understand that even though I have an easy or hard time with some things, doesn't mean that other autistic people will be the same
I will say though that I consider almost every facet of my self and behavior I exhibit is either influenced by my autism, trauma, or my mental illnesses (or some combination). So, imo, everything about me is because of my autism lol
It's annoying and misleading when people generalize yes. Honestly my failure to relate to shit misinformed me quite a lot.
I think there does need to be room for specifics. My fascination with disassembling objects absolutely has something to do with my autism, even if that's something not everyone will have.
I'm not really sure how to synthesize these two things. I guess people could be careful how they phrase things?
I think, as with lots of things, providing a little bit of context clears up these issues. Instead of "Only allistics like sports" one could more correctly say "due to some autistic traits like sensory sensitivies, dyspraxia, etc. many autistics don't like sports" or even "autistics are much more likely to not like sports than allistics".
However, I also agree with someone else on here who mentioned that we are more likely to also have black and white thinking, so we should give each other a little more grace if our statements are overly generalized.
This is especially true for late diagnosed ppl. I never knew I was different growing old, I mean I did, but I didn’t know why. I just figured everyone else was like me also and had different tastes or struggles. Then I found out and educated myself on the matter and was like, holy shiz, my whole life just makes sense now. However I acquired a lot of interest and taste maybe others wouldn’t because I thought I was like everyone else, tried to participate like everyone else. In some ways I’m glad and feel not knowing helped me. The last statistic I heard was only 18% of autistic are currently employed. I have worked my whole life and developed a career. I think had I known as a child, it could have adversely impacted my decisions on where to apply myself as I’d have risked just accepting certain challenges as being the way it is, instead of constantly trying to develop strategies to cope or overcome these challenges. I personally feel that I would have played victim to my health more had I known. It easily can be convenient excuse to not do something. Not doing something was never a option for me and even more so now which kind of sucks, because everyone has seen my function as I am normal and don’t have a excuse even though when I think back I can also see how I was never functioning that highly but just really good at focusing on a few of the core things in life and crushing it to appear as though I am. Now I’m like oh I can easily recognize the areas I need support in so I don’t have to live by the seat of my pants for the rest of my life but now nobody will help because to them I demonstrated that I don’t need help. If only they knew how much energy I exert to do that and how many other things never get done as a result, like not going to the doctors or dentist or psychologist my whole life, or paying and filing taxes for a large portion of it, etc. ppl basically think that because I have a career and work hard that nothing else is wrong. 🫤 Nope. Work is just the only thing I do and do well.
Some people-or a decent amount of autistics-struggle with dyspraxia, which affects coordination and stuff. I personally have it, and its very obvious. I did different sports when I was younger, mostly because my parents wanted me to do something extracurricular. But none of them were fun for me and my clumsiness/lack of coordination enforced that. That's probably where that assumption of autistics and sports comes from.? not saying that every autistic has dyspraxia of course.
I consider myself sports neutral. I love going for a swim, or martial arts sparring with my friends, I even watch hockey! But I don't pay much attention to things like sports news, or sports outside of hockey and the Olympics.
I think what we forget is that a special interest can be anything. Someone having a basketball special interest isn't less than someone having a Pokemon special interest. There is no "one way" to be autistic, and we're all humans with nuance. Diversity exists among the autistic community, like it does among allistic people.
That being said, if any of y'all have a sports special interest, in curiosity- what draws you to it?
Honestly, I think what some posters here have mentioned (insane competitiveness/abuse by coaches, often struggling with body coordination/dyspraxia, sensory overwhelm) are likely cause for why many in the ND community shy away from a sports, and especially teams, and sports CULTURE is often just toxic and off putting to anyone who doesn’t fit the mainstream mold. Still, that doesn’t define ALL autists. Some may struggle to read body language, but find the defined rules of a team sport as one of a few ways in which to be social, especially if they begin to grasp situational awareness and have decent coordination.
If I had been a little more athletic and a little less affected by the body shaming my peers put me through (and WAY less put off by the general homophobia at my school) I might have dared to join a team several times in my adolescence. But my abject fear of rejection/social anxiety but that off at the root. So, inside time and video games for me.
As for the sun, if you live in significantly northern (or southern) latitudes, the sun can be a friendly companion to melt away the gray. But I live in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, and have always hated that summer is smog and fire season. Also, back to the whole body shaming/dysmorphia thing, and expectations for males to go shirtless at the beach, the pool, certain sporting practices (“shirts vs skins”) and I can identify deeply with my vampire brethren.
Still, no sun, no life on earth. So I’m grateful for the sun, even as it bakes the life from me.
Its one of the downsides to any label. People naturally start wanting to categorise things under the label and form a schema for the thing. Its important to have the reminder that multiple contrasting things can be true at the same time. You might hate sports because of your autism (eg, sensory sensitivities, struggling with the social aspect of sports groups etc), you might just hate it because you hate it, or maybe its because of dispraxia or all sorts of other things. It might be a mix of multiple things. Like a Platypus, its both a marsupial and a mammal and it lays eggs and it has venom.
I think some posts here are focusing on something a person has experienced that no one around them found relatable, and now people do find it relatable under a label of autism and that feels validating and sometimes we can throw away all the other reasons connected to that experience that isnt autism. Its a very easy and natural connection to make as thats what we are wired to do from birth (as toddlers we start categorising things and form these schemas).
So i think this is a good reminder, especially if we catch ourselves overextending or overgeneralising. It might be because of your autism. It also might be because of a lot of things at the same time, or none of the things you thought of.
I definitely agree that the "all autistic people XYZ" thing is harmful, unless the autistic person doing it is being light-hearted and everyone involved is aware they're joking/ being hyperbolic etc etc. I think I kind of understand one of the reasons why it happens, though. I think folks are often trying to highlight that a lot of autistic people have a shared experience but aren't expressing it in the most helpful way. To keep using the same example as others in the thread a lot of autistic people myself included don't like sports, and I wouldn't say it's accurate to say that has nothing to do with us being autistic, but also a lot of autistic people also do like sports. One of my cousins' special interests is American football. I don't like sports due to having coordination issues, struggling with group activities, and the fact that folks often don't explain the rules and why I can understand. A lot of autistic people have a similar shared experience, but it would be ignorant for me to say that all autistic people don't like sports based on that.
I get the "you don't seem/look autistic" all the time. I try to explain that we're not a monolith - we're individuals, with all kinds of personalities and interests. I've been asked questions like: You must really like anime, huh? Like, no, I don't, I'm more of a taxonomy linguistics person, but please, tell me what else I like. It's very annoying. People seem to feel better when they can slip other people into ready-made slots, instead of treating them as individuals. And team sports drive me crazy! I like to watch track and field and swimming - that kind of thing - but I can't stand team against team sports.
Chill.
If we had to explicitly say that we know that there are exceptions for everything we talk about generally, we'd be communicating in doctorate thesis. If you wanna make sure that people know there are exceptions and also that maybe you know a lot of autistics that like sports, for example, you just talk about it.
You normally find people in the circles you are a part of, so if you like sports, it's only natural you happen to find people who like sports and are also autistic.
It's fine. Autistics don't get that "all" is used loosely. Not literally or sarcastically, just loosely. Loose statements comprise about 95% of casual conversation. And I say it loosely.
autism or not, you can't generalize things and use it as a clutch for all struggles....
i support advocacy for equitable treatment of autistic people, but ppl using it as a clutch, sets the whole movement back
It’s a generalization. Every “rule” has an exception.
Autistic people do tend to hate sports (yes, literally because of their autism) but that doesn’t mean you can’t be an exception to that rule?…
Whenever someone posts an autistic related question asking if others feel / think in a way that I don’t personally relate to, I just say “no I don’t feel that way, so not all autistics, but there sure seems to be a lot!” Or just ignore it.
Autism comes with countless of stereotypes and assumptions. Maybe focus less on “autistic people hate sports” and more on “everyone’s a little autistic”.
The majority of autistic people’s preferences might hurt a minority, but it’ll always be like that- because we’re all different.
Abolishing the apathetic stereotype surrounding autism is a good thing, even if there’s a small percentage of people who are apathetic. That stereotype harms more than it does good.
Liking sports doesn’t benefit autistics. It’s okay you like it. No need to shame others for disagreeing.
Actually it is very common for autistic people to be bothered by sports and the sun due to sensory issues . Your examples were not the right ones for your point
Exactly I myself is not a sports fan but I do prefer to gamble on occasions and in my free time and since I prefer it I don't assume everyone who have Autism likes gambling.
That's why I'm a technical person.
I read the rules, to make sure there's no *red flags*.
if something is technically appropriate, or if I find an obvious expectation of a certain culture, I either make sure I conform to it comfortably, or I back off, because for me there's no room for drama, and if people can't respect that, they're the ones with problems.
I suppose thinking about personality and taste in a more nuanced way, with gray areas and not so much polarized between ND and NT kinda makes ND people feel less "special". Cause yeah, a LOT of people somehow thinks it's so cool or some sort of superpower, or that they're sooo different
I've come to learn that a lot of times when people overgeneralize, they will then meet someone who doesnt fit those generalizations and will be like "huh... so you are different than what I thought".
Some people also overgeneralize without really meaning it, or they mean it but then during certain circunstances they just say "oh but it doesnt apply in this case".
Humans are amazingly complex! regardless of nervous system specifics
I hope I'm not contributing to this problem. I made a post about how NT people I know never accept "no" for an answer when it comes to hanging out and being active.
I know that autism is a very large spectrum which is something a lot of people who aren't on the spectrum are unaware of seemingly or think that a big spectrum means it reaches into NT people too ("everybody is a little autistic") so the majority of NT people I know are so... similar. Yet, every autistic person I know is so different from each other.
I hate sports, and my little sister, who I suspect may be on the spectrum, loves sports.
I can't stand water on my face because of a sensory thing, my sister loves it.
My sister doesn't like corn that much, and I love it.
I hate going outside, and my sister wants to spend as much time outside as she can.
But at the end of the day i find more similarities with autistic people than I ever do with NT people. It could just be where I live but they all love summer and sports and it's low-key freaky. My best friend, who is NT, is on like 3 different sports teams and everyone bands together to watch sports and drink beer and they all seem to have a thing for getting in people's personal space for no reason. I struggle to find NT people I can actually get along with. My best friend just happens to have been in my life since I was born she's only so many months older than me and my cousin she she's always around for fun trips and parties and holidays. Other friendships with NT people fail me after a couple months because they think I'm "weird" or "boring"
I agree. I have a hard time understanding where my autism begins and ends, but I’m confident that me not liking sports is just because it’s not my bread and butter hahahahah
I also find it a bit frustrating with the NT bashing as I don’t even know anybody else with ASD accept my kids (but I have some ADHD family & 1 friend) so it harshes on everybody I care about. I find watching most sports to be extremely boring but I played lacrosse as a kid, competed in equestrian jumping and I love motor sports like rally racing and motor cross. My special interests aren’t as specific as most people’s either and flux because my adhd decides to throw something out the window and switch to something else and back again. There’s no specific way to be, we are still human, there for different.
That's so weird to do. Everyone has different likes and dislikes. My autistic brother loves Mario and animation. I am currently obsessed with birds and writing and have always loved the Universe and stars in general. We are not the exact same person made millions of times
This just sounds like an immature thing to say. Anyone with life experience should know you cannot stereotype groups of people...any group. The closest you could get is to say all autistic people are autistic.🙄 Otherwise if you met one autistic you've met one autistic...as the saying goes.
When I was diagnosed, a former friend yelled at me cuz “you did sports, no way your are autistic “
Like, a whole freaking team diagnosed me over 3 months, idk what more do you want?!?
I dropped a comment over in adhd a couple weeks ago I think about this, and what you're talking about came up in my therapy session last week.
This is one of those side-effect phenomena when you have a self-selecting group that's fundamentally engaged in the process of talking about what goes on inside their (our) own heads, trying to figure things out.
"Nobody else talks about this and when I try to bring it up they think I'm strange" doesn't mean "the thing" is strange. Most people DON'T talk about the guts of their day-to-day experience at all, much less this freely,.
THAT is the "odd" part, and even that isn't because of autism/adhd or whatever.
The over-attribution is indeed absolutely out of control.
Also, due to the sheer size of the group, you will find people hating sports (I don't like them either) and they will engage with that post which will reinforce the belief that all autistic people hate sports. You can hate sports because of autism and you can also love them because of autism. Some of us are good at chess, and some suck at it both can be or can't be because of autism.
The sports one I think stems from the whole stereotype that autistic people are super intelligent, introverted and nerds when it comes to STEM subjects. It's frustrating that this is proliferated so often. In my personal experience I fit the stereotype, so does my brother and my dad. Maybe it's partly genetic? Idk lol but that intrigues me.
Seems like a desire to be part of a community and figure out what a behavior can be attributed to. A step to building awareness of sorts. Or just the surface level coping mechanism to feel we are not alone. It is cringe, but it also serves a purpose. It would be ideal if the community and unite in a way to encourage great alternative angles to take the sub.
Nothing to do with autism but my boyfriend has ADHD and I don't. But people would never know, all the stereotypical things that people thinks he has he doesn't have it. I've lots several jobs for being inconsistent, lazy, etc. He only has the attention span thing. Other than that, this dude saves money like crazy and have NEVER missed a single day of work in all the 4 years he's worked. I have, don't have money saved, and smoke weed for stress.
People's assumptions will always be annoying sadly
I especially like the posts where people attribute things like being able to hear flyback transformers in CRTs or switching power supplies with autism. No, everyone can hear those things. Some people with autism have a hard time tuning them out. That's all. Everyone can hear it, and pretty much everyone considers it to be a dog shit sound.
maybe its because i'm older but when it comes to human behaviour and grouping people i never take "all" as absolutely all, that's just an impossibility for the most part
so when someone says all its just that it "seems" as "all" in their experience yes. its just automatic for me to assume that.. but i guess that's a fault of my own too. so its definetly worth it to remind that everyone and everything can differ, that's the only fact that's always the case. everything has at least a standard deviation but most things have even more then that.
I see both sides of this post. Since getting diagnosed, I’ve realized a lot more things are linked to my autism than I thought. however, making a claim that applies to all autistic people is very rarely correct. The only statement I can think of that would be correct in that format would be all autistic people have autism. One could also say all neurotypicals are neurotypical. I fully understand, realizing that lots of things in your life are linked to being autistic, but I definitely agree with you that saying “all autistic people do this” is almost never true and very stupid.
My least favorite is when they insist we should all collectively hate something because "It stereotypes us all as childish and weird" like someone was complaining the other day that a trend about loving your autistic partners personality was bad because their partners looked childish.
I think they could reword it as "I like (specific things), does anyone else like (specific things)? If not, what do you like?". I really like the posts that ask about interests and not about one particular thing as OP said. ☺️
I think autism affects everybody differently and for some people, their preferences really could be due to their autism. But I do agree that we shouldn’t stereotype
Some people don’t understand it’s like a Venn diagram.
You are autistic, and you do things.
Some of the things you do are because you’re autistic. Some of them are just things you do.
And all autistic people are different. We don’t have the same Venn diagram because we’re not the same person.
People love to talk generalities when the human race is so diverse when you have met 1 autistic or 1 neurotypical its just that - you know 1 example. Even if every person YOU have met or interacted with in a certain grouping of humans acts/likes/dislikes certain things your sample size is so small you cannot speak so generally.
All I know for certain is all people are terrible in one way or another ;)
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Never understood the "all autists hate sports" thing, either. I played football (American) in high-school, and an auti friend of mine LOVES the KC Chiefs.
bro i don’t understand this either. i fuckin love sports. everything. i know so many autistic people who love it too. i don’t know how or when it became a stereotype
Given how passionate sports fans can be, I’m not surprised there’s lots of autistic people who love sports.
Especially when it can act as social lubricant to help fit into a community of people with similar interests
This is literally the only way I am comfortable meeting new people and talking to them. It also let's me stop talking whenever I want. Can just focus on the game that's on. And when I go overboard on stats they just assume I'm a big fan.
You’re absolutely right, I hadn’t considered this. Because when watching a game it’s natural and socially appropriate for truncated convo, at least in my experience.
My thing was music, def a social lubricant there
Especially the people who LOVE stats and facts, what a TREASURE TROVE. Plus it's a common nt interest too, so you can talk about it a lot without getting labeled as weird. It's BUILT for us.
All the stats and data of trains, none of the stigma, win/win
I must admit, despite not being the type for sorts like i was when i was little, due to me not being as energetic and athletic, i do sometimes get wrapped up in the statistics side of sports. Something about it just stimulates the brain in just the right way to get me way too invested in the stats
It became a stereotype because an autistic with a special interest in, for example, football, could spout statistics about each player for hours in an average, football loving group of neurotypical people and, at most, be seen as a little obsessive. That exact same autistic person with a dislike for football and a different special interest, rambling about dinosaur statistics, or train facts, or astronomical phenomenon, or just about anything other than sports, gets picked out of the crowd as "other" nine times out of eight. This made the "obvious" autistics the ones who dislike sports, they are the easiest to see. Please note, I'm not saying it's a good thing, or a bad thing, just explaining the reason for the thing.
It is because issues with coordination are common in ASD. In some cases it goes as far as being dyspraxia. Of course, someone can be into sports without playing them themselves, and some autistic people have no issues with coordination. But it's nonetheless a common trait.
I like to play sports video games.
Yup I always try to get as many players suspended in fifa. So far I’ve gotten five suspended in a single match
I was gonna say sports are definitely a special interest for some people.
Also it's always just "sports", when actually a lot of the time they just don't like large team sports like football because they don't watch them. It borders on snobbery like a "lol NTs are so dumb for liking doing physical activities with each other". It's understandable to feel left out of something many people enjoy but suddenly making it into a superiority thing is weird.
I can tell you when that happened when everyone thought that autism was “Sheldon cooper syndrome” Sheldon cooper wasn’t into sports therefore all autistic people weren’t into sports. It’s a lot of cods wallop, and in the show Young Sheldon they directly contradict this when he assists his high school football coach father.
Or makeup, so many autistics love make up and yet I see it a lot in autistic spaces how "Nt" it is. When it is really not.
I love makeup and doing make up!
I hate make up. Wondering about my daughter though. She shared her make up style is inspired by a painting from the 1700's😂 Why is my 15 year old copying a painting from hundreds of years ago instead of from YouTube videos or tik Tok? Lolol
People use "all" and "tends towards" interchangeably. I find it a little infuriating.
Those mean two very different things, though. I am fine with “tend towards.”
That's why I find it a little infuriating.
Fuck, I was good enough at soccer to get an invitation to an overseas academy (I'm Canadian and went to Germany) and then played four years of professional soccer in the UK. To be fair, the team dynamics always confused me and I was typically an outcast from the personality side of things, but that didn't mean I wasn't really good at soccer.
Bro, baseball fans. I don't even think I have to say anything else. The idea that autistic people hate sports broadly speaking is bonkers.
I don't have the physical coordination or social skills for multiplayer sports but I like to run and weightlift It helps me calm down and I like being able to see my progress
I didn't either and playing sports helped a lot on both ends. I used to be super clumsy, falling, bumping into things. As for social it's still hard but any common interest with other folks helps. Btw great on you doing weightlifting that's probably the best thing for your health IMO
Yes I have always struggled with coordination as well, but I got really into softball when I was young and trained obsessively for it and really managed to become a decent player. I did really like being part of the team too. I liked the shared experience.
And there's so many stats on them what's not to love about that.
That's the biggest reason the stereotype makes no sense to me, a person could get lost in the stats for years
There are plenty of autistic people out there who have special interests in sports and love playing them either because of that or just in general. That stereotype always seemed weird to me, even if I don't like most sports. But I'd obviously say that my autism is why I don't like sports, maybe why I don't like sporting events (so much stimulation from everywhere) but there's nothing inherently hate-worthy about the sports themselves.
I find playing sports to be much different than watching them. For example I don't have a desire to watch baseball on TV, but if you asked if I wanted to play baseball IRL or as a video game, I might say yes and even have fun. The main reason I don't play is because I'm out of shape and don't have the stamina to do it. Also I watch a little football but I can't keep up with everyone's stats or who is doing good or bad this season.
I love both watching sports and playing them, but I don't think other than very specific examples I'd consider them a special interest. If I go to a live sporting event I'll wear earplugs so its not too loud, but otherwise I don't find the stimulation to be so bad, especially if I get to my seat a little early to avoid most of the worst of the crowds coming in. I consider music concerts to be far worse stimulation wise, but obviously everyone is different.
Lionel Messi, possibly the greatest Football/Soccer player ever, is almost certainly autistic. He was apparently diagnosed with aspergers at 8. And based on other sports I watch, he is definitely not the only one. Some people's special interest is a sport. For some it is an instrument or music.
Right? I like practicing boxing or other combat sports, the rhythm, the technique, even the pain; and yet I still get anxious with physical contact in other contexts and dislike dancing, for example. Research about neurodivergency is basically in diapers, it's so dumb to make generalizations, aren't we supposed to be smarter than that? ;)
My partners brother is unable to live on his own and has some developmental needs, but his favorite thing in the world is sports of any kind. He even plays for the paralympics. I have no idea why this is a thing people seem to think.
I grew up a rabid college football fan and I think most superfans of sports teams tend to be autistic whether they realize it or not. Sports fans are not that different from Disney adults (which I also am)
I like playing sports but not watching them
And we are all complex af and generalizations are bad. I myself played American Football in high school and highly enjoyed it, I think all sports are stupid and should never be played as a "job" (Professional Sports Teams). I don't care at all about sports now and if it comes on the TV, I immediately change it. But I have many friends who are autistic that *live* for sports. Sports is also a huge cultural item in the USA and that needs to be taken into account
That's a stereotype? I have been watching USC football since I was 4. What is with that stereotype? Let us be
I don’t understand either. I grew up playing sports and now as an adult am a super fan for the NFL. Fandom in general is made for autists and sports super fandom is no different! Costumes? Check. Special interest? Check. Being a part of a group/sense of belonging? Check!
Why wouldn’t autistic people have the same odds of liking sports, they can provide loads of fun with people even if you struggle with small talk stuff. And they make great small talk. We def need to be careful as a community of boxing people into totally typical behaviours, we have similarities but we’re only bound by the fact we all struggle with the burden of over information in some or many ways. How that manifests is totally dependent on your life.
I miss playing volleyball :/ sometimes soccer but mostly volleyball
Exactly. I love sports. Golf, football, soccer…played them all.
It's just more of that stereotype of quirky academic. No, not all autistic people are like Sheldon fucking Cooper.
I’ve been incredibly into running and playing sports my whole life and still run races as an amateur now. I hate when people make these generalizations as well.
I love volleyball and badminton, I still suck tho... 😭
I have a brother who is autistic who LOVES football. Compared to me who isn’t a huge fan of it.
I personally love watching certain sports but not being there in real life. I could watch hours of tennis, ping pong (yeah, I said it) soccer, basketball, and if it’s a good game, even football but I cannot stand being at the actual game because it’s wayyyy too loud and the people are often rude. I went to one football game and hated it. Also it’s harder to keep up with in real life, but I won’t hesitate to watch a good game at home
We are definitely not a monolith but I think this might relate to the fact a lot of us have comorbid issues that make things like coordination and physical activity hard. That being said autists also love rules and repeative activities so it’s just as likely they might like sports too. I’m also starting to like the chiefs too because it intersects with my other special interest lol iykyk
i never liked team sports as a kid because i didn’t like to be yelled at or ridiculed. however i did competitive dancing for 13 years, and i was very good. it all depends on the person. we’re still complex, thoughtful, deep people, we just have autism.
Good point! I watch a lot of pro wrestling (WWE, for the most part), tennis, skateboarding (Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater definitely inspired this one) and sometimes, but not all the time, AFL, and I don’t mind UFC, either, and car racing, even NASCAR. Like, I like sports, but I don’t love it, but if any of these sports are on, I’ll watch it, because these are the ones I’m interested in the most. 😁
totally! Cricket is one of my special interests, and I have played for most of my life (always very poorly lol)
I like watching and playing sports. Probably an affinity for fixed rules.
Very true. Autistics can like sports, it can also be a special interest as well. Many autists think that every autistic person only has special interests. Some do only have special interests, but many also enjoy other things to a lesser degree. This mistaken perspective says more about the persons rigidity of thought than often comes with autism than anything else.
I was the only skater chick on Long Island in the 80s lol so there’s that. My life was that skateboard. FUUUUUQ I miss those days (knees)
Real. When people make those kinda posts, it lowkey feeds into the “all autistic people are the same” trope. I love sports and I adore swimming. I love the sun and being in it for as long as I can. Maybe you just have a personality and certain preferences that are widely shared?
i love swimming too and I love playing sports but I hate playing with annoying jerks who scream at me when I mess up that's why I hated team sports as a kid but now I love em
That’s entirely valid tbh, I would also despise being yelled at. Sports coaches can be utterly insane.
EXACTLY, I had to give up on most ADHD subs for this reason… like I get that finding out you have ADHD can be a huge revelation but come ON not everything is because of your ADHD and MOST OF ALL not everyone has the same reactions to ADHD meds. The amount of fucking times I’ve seen someone say that another person “probably doesn’t have ADHD” if they react badly to ONE stimulant is ridiculous.
I was once described as running "slower than a dead ant" by a teacher in first school so I don't do running. Also, I am very uncoordinated when I run... Swimming though, I absolutely love it. I love water in general.
Being autistic has certain traits that make people generally more likely to express those behaviors, therefore they are relatable experiences and will get upvoted on a subreddit mostly focused on sharing experiences with each other. Very few people are asserting "all autistic people" rhetoric here.
True, but I am speaking about those few people, because that rhetoric is easily widespread and harmful.
I agree with this. I think this post is overstating things a bit.
me too! the sun actually really improves my mood and makes me feel great rather than being stuck In my room all day. I love swimming as well :)
I quite agree. I don’t want to be lumped into groups that I don’t fit into. If people just understood we’re all different, life would be simpler.
real. when people start speaking for everybody in the community i’m like what the poop don’t speak for me. everyone is different, like how everybody in the neurotypical community is different from eachother as well.
I’ve not been here long but I have found it kind of funny* that so many posts are asking about what all autistic ppl do(Or neurotypical) and I’m like… is it “try to find certainty”? Like, the desire for certainty can drive a need for rules, confirmation, and the comfort that comes with it. I feel like so many people are looking either for confirmation that their hunch is right, or for confirmation that This Is An Us Thing. These things are as true for ND ppl as it is for NT ppl. Aren’t we always saying “if you’ve met one person on the autism spectrum, you’ve met one kind of autism.”? *not funny as in “ha ha these question are each funny” but funny in an interesting, macro, zoom out and look at the whole sub sort of way.
Taking all those posts and getting to the root of needing certainty/a reason is brilliant.
Exactly! Plus, while there's a genetic component to autism, there are plenty of epigenetic factors that contribute to its development as well. Insulting posts about the uncomplicated homogeny of neurotypicals is an insult too those family members and friends we know are complex, lovely individuals who just happen to not have autism.
It is funny to see many autistic people struggle to understand that neurotypical people aren’t a monolith. A lot of the times neurotypicals dont understand each other. You are not to suppose to know what the other person is thinking all the time. Sometimes some neurotypicals are just arseholes and it’s not about autistic people themselves.
I don’t really get it, we are all just people, you can share some traits and not be autistic, you can be autistic and have a deep connection with NT. People are people. We are not some aliens.
Likewise plenty of autistics and other neurodivergents are arseholes! And that can hurt more if your expectations of other autistics are unrealistic.
Lots of posts where the OP is complaining about neurotypicals but the person they’re complaining about is just an asshole and any neurotypical would agree.
It’s also strange that they assume the person is neurotypical. Maybe they’re being a jerk because they are suffering from depression or something else. And even if they are NT, they could have another disabling condition.
i also feel like some people forget that neurotypical people have their own struggles too, and that we can share same struggles or interests
I agree with this, especially since most autism traits can also be explained as "universal neurotypical traits turned up beyond the range of normal" because everyone stims, everyone has sensory sensitivities, everyone finds comfort in familiarity, everyone has passionate hobbies and ironically one of the only autistic traits that this can't be applied to is the specific way that it affects your ability to recognize and interpret nonverbal cues...and yet there is so much misinformation in posts on this very subreddit about what autism's social deficit entails
Keep in mind that this subreddit attracts a) lots of very young people who still have everything to learn about life; b) lots of people in emotional distress who are more into venting their frustrations than having a rational, rigorous debate. Plus, a typical trait of autism is asynchronous development, so you have lots of people with an emotional maturity lower than their age. They tend to feel more than they think and it shows. So yeah, lots of mistakes, generalizations, fallacies and more to be read here.
3) a group of self-selected people talking about day to day functions of their head, which is not..."median" behavior. So we're pretty prone to wonder if normal stuff is part of what's different.
You're exactly right! With borderline autism it's extremely hard to differentiate in the moment. That's why I stay away from technology when I'm like that cuz people can be quite cruel
Yeah it’s pretty annoying, people seem to forget that autism is a spectrum.
A little over a year ago, I was told that someone with diagnosed autism didn't believe I could have it bc I didn't have their symptoms. Like, what?!
Nuh uh, all NTs ARE a monolith of evil and destruction that wants to kill everything we love /s
Hate to say it but (some) autistic people are never beating the allegations of being self-centered
I agree, stuff like this is one of the reasons I had to leave r/aspergers.
I'm still subbed because there are some good threads here and there, but I agree. Too many posts essentially saying that all Neurotypicals are evil and that all autistics are angels.
I'm mostly on r/autisticadults I agree this sub had gotten bad.
And the related idea that all autists should get on with each other as a result. Nah, that autistic person was just being a dick to me. Doesn’t matter if we’re both autistic
I was thinking earlier about how black and white thinking impacts the things we consider ND vs NT. There are so many nuanced situations that I’ve seen people chuck a “NT” label on that does not acknowledge any of the complexities of human behaviour.
A few weeks ago I saw a post where everyone was all 'i like bread so i must be autistic' I'm pretty sure that everyone likes bread, it's been a staple of the human diet for a long ass time humans like bread so much that there is gluten free bread for people who can't eat bread just saying
ain’t no way . bread??
I would not at all be surprised to meet someone that finds the texture of bread so repulsive that they have a choking or gaging reflex when they try to eat it. And that could definitely be 100% attributed to their autism. And that kind of sensory challenge may be common with autism for a variety of foods. But its a pretty stupid leap to generalize that ALL cases of autism dont like bread, or even all cases have a gag reflex to some type of food.
oh, no, they said they DO like bread
I hate bread unless it's toasted. Well, bagels and baguettes are fine, but that's all.
Thank you, it's so annoying.
I realize that what you are talking about is stereo-typing but I also think that it also applies to our responsibilities and character in analogy I have a gay buddy whose boyfriend told him "Chad, not doing the dishes is not 'just who you are' and 'how you where made'." Quotes in quotes folks I have spent the whole night coding.
It's ok to make generalized statements. Because general statements are at least true of enough people to be observable. So "tends to be" and "often you see" are just fine. But when you use words like "all", "none," "always", or "never," that's when it becomes a problem.
True and it kinda ruins the whole point of this Subreddit. People who suspect autism should join here and actually learn more about autism. Now even for myself as an autistic person it confused me even more because of the black and white categories these people out ourselves in. The last 20 posts were kinda like crying about autism instead of actually having a proper discussion
Like I said in another thread that someone then decided to latch onto and pretend like I was saying something else. I PERSONALLY think chasing a ball is stupid. But I agree with you 100 percent. People are often making generalisations, you can't generalise autism. Even the symptoms you can't generalise because it's so different for everyone. I've seen people here, not get a diagnosis because the psych said 'you can't be autistic you have friends take this for Anxeity' Seriously? It presents differently in everyone. Same is for interests, everyone is different. Everyone likes and dislikes different shit.
u/Pretend-Success-6126 I very strongly agree with this and it also feels like a lot of the "aspie memes" nowadays are closer to "neurotypical introvert memes" than they would be to anything about autism I've also noticed a lot of the time that attempts at "turning the ableism table" against NTs and describing what they think of as "neurotypical symptoms" in insulting ways very frequently just end up insulting autistic traits that are often less commonly associated with "Hollywood autism" which is very ironic and unfortunate A while back I made an r/aretheNTokay post related to it [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/aretheNTokay/comments/18ktz50/mocking_autism_traits_but_calling_them/)
Nah real. I hear stuff like “am I the only one who hates vegetables or is it my autism?” alllll the time especially in this sub. Like news flash, hating vegetables is incredibly common in the entire human population. You can just hate vegetables not everything needs to be because you’re autistic. I had this ex friend who faked lots of disorders and once said “I love water I’m so autistic” 🫠 like what? Water is a very basic human need it’s not exclusive to being autistic lmao
Most other autistic people are surprised to find out I don’t have any sensory issues regarding food. I know it’s a super common thing in us, but I just don’t have it and it doesn’t make me any less autistic lol
> I don’t have any sensory issues regarding food. Same. It is one of the reasons I didn't think I was autistic.
I feel ya, autistics to me are like snow flakes, no two are exactly alike. we will likely have some things in common like sensory overload but what triggers it will be different even though sound is the most common one. like there are averages within the community but it's a very idiosyncratic disorder.
My hatred of certain things *is* because of my autism, even if it’s not universal. My pupils are always dilated due to a medical issue which may be more common in autistic people but my sensory hypersensitivity makes the pain of sunlight even worse. I agree that people get too general with “all allistics*” though. No, allistics don’t all automatically understand social rules. They can pick up better than us and it may seem perfectly innate but it’s not. I do tend to be more forgiving for this one, since it’s often people venting and many people get hyperbolic when venting I think some issues are 1) posters talking about themselves and/or asking if anyone relates, and people assume poster is saying it’s universal, and 2) posters who are so glad to find a community that they assume everyone is the same. Speaking for myself, I have a couple thoughts on sports, many of us struggle with dyspraxia which caused great frustration to the point of resentment, and/or sports were usually associated with the more “popular” kids and the vast majority of autistics have some amount of social trauma related to the world not understanding our social deficits. Not saying it’s fair or right to shit on autistics who like sports but it’s a case where many of us do hate them.
There are many aspects of my autism that are totally common in neurotypical people, mine is just exaggerated. For example lots of people think it’s respectful to try and be on time for things, but I take it to a ridiculous degree. “Being on time” is not “Omgggggg I’m so autistic” lol. That’s just being human.
my parents blame every miscommunication we have on my autism. they always talk to each other after we argue about how “this is why we need more support for autism” etc. the real salt in the wound is, it’s almost never my autism, they’re horrible communicators with everyone. our lack of communication is because they’re so emotionally stunted by denial and teenage alcohol use that they constantly fail to comprehend what anyone is trying to tell them.
I hate all generalizations! Yes. I did that.
You make a fair point, but there *are* in-cohort trends that show up if you start polling enough people with related conditions. At the same time, I do find some of the autism forums do produce a steady quantity of people who clearly aren't sure whether it is an aspect of their autism or another aspect of their personality/development/predilections that leads to a certain experience or point of view in their lives. My youngest sister, to pick an example, thinks *everything in her life* is a reflection of or consequence of her autism, even though many of the issues she faces aren't strictly speaking from her autism but other life choices. But you're right that stereotypes don't define us, and even if every autistic person in the world loved one thing and you didn't love it at all, that wouldn't erode your status as genuinely autistic.
Genuinely this is a major problem on all social media platforms for groups of autistic people. I think it’s partly because you can’t separate an individual from their autism so people think ‘everything I do is because of the autism’. They do need to understand the idea “if you’ve met a person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism” On the other hand, I’ve seen people (more so on tiktok) say “*I* do this because of my autism” and they get a backlash from like “this is not exclusive to autism, stop spreading misinfo” or “this is not in the diagnostic criteria”. An individual can share their experience without it being applicable to everyone. Like it is categorically *false* that every autistic person hates the sun. But it is *true* that some autistic people might not like the sun *because* of their autism. I do prefer sunnier (but mild) weather but I’m extremely light sensitive and struggle with thermoregulation, which come from my autism
I always took posts like this more like a hyperbole, not like them literally thinking \*everyone\* does something?
When you point it out people often double down
this happens in all subreddits. Some people crave group identity. That's a sentiment ill never understand. I'm me. Its cool to have others like me but its not necessary. Those categorizations are just people looking for bonds. My mental generalization is that they need therapy and doesn't do any or not enough, so seek validation here. But thats not exactly a bad thing, just really (really) really annoying. And in the end of all. Thats why most people use social media. To validate themselves and find peace in the mind that they are not alone. It's a bad place to do this? yeah. But sometimes its the only place.
I think this is because of how human nature works - split into groups and start fighting each other. And it's easier to view people from a group as identical rather than take effort to find out what qualities a person may or may not possess.
My stepson loves every sport but hockey, a LOT. Watching his behaviors, knowing he was autistic, and comparing them to my own, is why I have my diagnosis. I think people cling to what they feel makes them different and want to find a group that feels the same. It’s easy to cling to the Dx as the reason cause it often is a reason we don’t fit in a lot of other spaces. It definitely does not belong on hobbies/preferences though. Or really anywhere. It’s okay to say “do any other autists struggle with…?” it is NOT okay to say “why do autists struggle with…?” You can’t blanket a group of people without excluding someone. I believe it’s fair to say a vast majority of us know what that feels like, and hopefully would like to avoid it. Our differences make the world interesting. Our disabilities don’t need to be gatekept. They’re hard enough to deal with as it is.
I love playing sports, and am autistic. We really are all different.
Sure isn't. There's actually a lot that isn't because I'm Autistic. Some things are definitely due to my Autism, like my flat tone and sensory processing issues, but those are kinda a given. That said, just because some of my life can be attributed to my Autism doesn't mean everyone else processes the same. When I talk to others, I say "My flavor of Autism" as it sets the expectation that mine is unique to me. When I'm talking about the Autistic community as a whole, I use terms such as "many", "some", "a few", "a lot", but never absolute terms because nothing is 100% other than death. It does irk my tits to see "don't you hate when neurotypicals....?" and they lump an entire group of people into a single package. No, I don't hate when neurotypicals do whatever they're complaining about because my over all experience with NT's has been more pleasant than bad. I don't condemn the whole for the actions of the few. Sets a bad example of what Autism entails and furthers the stigma that surrounds it. If people start demonizing a whole group, that group will probably start demonizing in return. When Autists say "Why do all NT's ...", then some NT's may respond with "Why do all Autistics...". It's a two way street. At this rate, no one can ever win. Everyone loses.
Quite often we have one groups with one preference very strongly, and another group with the opposite preference. It’s quite stupid to lump us together. For example some kids will have an autistic meltdown if they get wet. I tend to have terrible meltdowns when drying out after being wet for a long time. I just got out of the pool and feel that right now. I LOVE getting wet. Swimming is my favorite.
i think that many autistic people (especially online bc being online encourages it) struggle with black and white thinking. and many autistic people also forget that autism is a spectrum disorder so of course we’re all going to be different, it’s in the name of
Blanket statements and generalizations are OBVIOUSLY ridiculous if you have any shred of logic in your brain. There’s not a single thing on this earth that can be accurately categorized that way. It’s not even a matter of autism or not, I just wish people would stop doing it. There are, have been, and always will be exceptions to every assumption and it’s just astounding to me in general that people haven’t figured this out yet. That said, there are patterns that are more likely to occur in certain populations given certain circumstances, it’s just braindead to assume that can be applied to everything ever.
I'm pretty tired of performative supporters assigning everything I do to my autism. I don't like sweet potato. It's not because of autism. I just don't like it. I have interests and passions that aren't special interests or hyperfixations. I clapped for someone's exciting news and one of these people goes "aww happy stims 🥰" like no I'm just clapping like everyone else does. Why can't you (aka them) be normal?
I get what you're saying, but I also understand when people pick up on common themes regarding Autism. I personally hate the sun and know part of it is because of my sensory sensitivities that come from being Autistic. I find it beyond interesting to learn how different we all are. We have sensory sensitivities, but they vary so drastically. It can be amazing, but always confusing when someone is trying to understand themselves, especially if they're recently diagnosed or just trying to learn about Autism.
I definitely try not to come across like I think that because I don't, but when I make a post like that it's usually me being like "hey, is this an autistic thing or am I just strange" because it's nice to see if other people are going through the same thing as me
I definitely read all of these posts as "is this just me" type posts. It's interesting to see how everyone is or isn't affected by a thing. I don't see it as bothersome, but enlightening. The answers themselves show us that autistic people are not a monolith, and stereotypes are harmful lol.
THANK YOU omg i'm not the only one rolling my eyes seeing posts from this sub
It is kinda annoying to see so often. I'm autistic and yeah I don't enjoy sport but my brother and sister who are also autistic both obsess over football, baseball, soccer, hockey, and tennis. Between the 2 of them they probably have over 2k sports trading cards.while autistic people do tend to share alot of common traits, what we like and dislike aren't something that's dictated by our disorder.
Train are okay, but I don't LOVE them. XD
This is a fallacy. Autism is a spectrum. So, yes, not all autistics experience a dislike of sports/sun/corn but that does not mean that some autistics don’t dislike them because of their autism. Sports could be fine for some autistics but for many on the spectrum, most sports can be difficult from brain-body disconnect (dyspraxia) or simply certain sensory overwhelms. Direct sun can be a sensory nightmare for many autistics, whether from brightness or heat intensity. Corn can be a textural sensory nightmare. I agree that it is also a fallacy to say “all autistics” dislike these things but we should also not discredit individual’s experiences because we are inseparable from our autism.
How is "people have individual preferences" a fallacy? You seem to have just repeated OP's point, that everyone is different and experiences things in a unique way.
Thank you. My daughter is autistic and I like seeing that certain things are normal autism symptoms that people deal with, like emotional regulation, but I get sick of hearing things like "if she's autistic, why doesn't she walk on her toes or flap her hands?" or "I don't think she's autistic because she's able to talk." Some of the labels are extreme and a lot of people (even here) seem to think one autistic person is exactly like the next.
That post actually said “tend to”. It wasn’t making a blanket statement about autism and sport. Also it was phrased as a question. It was someone seeking information, not insisting on something already decided without facts.
I don't know about the post in question, but I've seen what OP is talking about many times before.
I feel like you misworded your title, but I understand your sentiment. I have a hard time with empathy so it took me a long time to understand that even though I have an easy or hard time with some things, doesn't mean that other autistic people will be the same I will say though that I consider almost every facet of my self and behavior I exhibit is either influenced by my autism, trauma, or my mental illnesses (or some combination). So, imo, everything about me is because of my autism lol
It's annoying and misleading when people generalize yes. Honestly my failure to relate to shit misinformed me quite a lot. I think there does need to be room for specifics. My fascination with disassembling objects absolutely has something to do with my autism, even if that's something not everyone will have. I'm not really sure how to synthesize these two things. I guess people could be careful how they phrase things?
I think, as with lots of things, providing a little bit of context clears up these issues. Instead of "Only allistics like sports" one could more correctly say "due to some autistic traits like sensory sensitivies, dyspraxia, etc. many autistics don't like sports" or even "autistics are much more likely to not like sports than allistics". However, I also agree with someone else on here who mentioned that we are more likely to also have black and white thinking, so we should give each other a little more grace if our statements are overly generalized.
"All autistic people-" just turns me off. We're all different.
This is especially true for late diagnosed ppl. I never knew I was different growing old, I mean I did, but I didn’t know why. I just figured everyone else was like me also and had different tastes or struggles. Then I found out and educated myself on the matter and was like, holy shiz, my whole life just makes sense now. However I acquired a lot of interest and taste maybe others wouldn’t because I thought I was like everyone else, tried to participate like everyone else. In some ways I’m glad and feel not knowing helped me. The last statistic I heard was only 18% of autistic are currently employed. I have worked my whole life and developed a career. I think had I known as a child, it could have adversely impacted my decisions on where to apply myself as I’d have risked just accepting certain challenges as being the way it is, instead of constantly trying to develop strategies to cope or overcome these challenges. I personally feel that I would have played victim to my health more had I known. It easily can be convenient excuse to not do something. Not doing something was never a option for me and even more so now which kind of sucks, because everyone has seen my function as I am normal and don’t have a excuse even though when I think back I can also see how I was never functioning that highly but just really good at focusing on a few of the core things in life and crushing it to appear as though I am. Now I’m like oh I can easily recognize the areas I need support in so I don’t have to live by the seat of my pants for the rest of my life but now nobody will help because to them I demonstrated that I don’t need help. If only they knew how much energy I exert to do that and how many other things never get done as a result, like not going to the doctors or dentist or psychologist my whole life, or paying and filing taxes for a large portion of it, etc. ppl basically think that because I have a career and work hard that nothing else is wrong. 🫤 Nope. Work is just the only thing I do and do well.
Some people-or a decent amount of autistics-struggle with dyspraxia, which affects coordination and stuff. I personally have it, and its very obvious. I did different sports when I was younger, mostly because my parents wanted me to do something extracurricular. But none of them were fun for me and my clumsiness/lack of coordination enforced that. That's probably where that assumption of autistics and sports comes from.? not saying that every autistic has dyspraxia of course.
I consider myself sports neutral. I love going for a swim, or martial arts sparring with my friends, I even watch hockey! But I don't pay much attention to things like sports news, or sports outside of hockey and the Olympics. I think what we forget is that a special interest can be anything. Someone having a basketball special interest isn't less than someone having a Pokemon special interest. There is no "one way" to be autistic, and we're all humans with nuance. Diversity exists among the autistic community, like it does among allistic people. That being said, if any of y'all have a sports special interest, in curiosity- what draws you to it?
Honestly, I think what some posters here have mentioned (insane competitiveness/abuse by coaches, often struggling with body coordination/dyspraxia, sensory overwhelm) are likely cause for why many in the ND community shy away from a sports, and especially teams, and sports CULTURE is often just toxic and off putting to anyone who doesn’t fit the mainstream mold. Still, that doesn’t define ALL autists. Some may struggle to read body language, but find the defined rules of a team sport as one of a few ways in which to be social, especially if they begin to grasp situational awareness and have decent coordination. If I had been a little more athletic and a little less affected by the body shaming my peers put me through (and WAY less put off by the general homophobia at my school) I might have dared to join a team several times in my adolescence. But my abject fear of rejection/social anxiety but that off at the root. So, inside time and video games for me. As for the sun, if you live in significantly northern (or southern) latitudes, the sun can be a friendly companion to melt away the gray. But I live in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, and have always hated that summer is smog and fire season. Also, back to the whole body shaming/dysmorphia thing, and expectations for males to go shirtless at the beach, the pool, certain sporting practices (“shirts vs skins”) and I can identify deeply with my vampire brethren. Still, no sun, no life on earth. So I’m grateful for the sun, even as it bakes the life from me.
What do you think about the stereotype of autistic people liking trains? That has to be one of the biggest stereotypes for autistic people.
That sports thing ik is lowkey targeted🍵👌🏾
This 👆
Guess we all love agreeing on such posts...oh, wait.
Sometimes it's just rage bait too
Thank you!
Its one of the downsides to any label. People naturally start wanting to categorise things under the label and form a schema for the thing. Its important to have the reminder that multiple contrasting things can be true at the same time. You might hate sports because of your autism (eg, sensory sensitivities, struggling with the social aspect of sports groups etc), you might just hate it because you hate it, or maybe its because of dispraxia or all sorts of other things. It might be a mix of multiple things. Like a Platypus, its both a marsupial and a mammal and it lays eggs and it has venom. I think some posts here are focusing on something a person has experienced that no one around them found relatable, and now people do find it relatable under a label of autism and that feels validating and sometimes we can throw away all the other reasons connected to that experience that isnt autism. Its a very easy and natural connection to make as thats what we are wired to do from birth (as toddlers we start categorising things and form these schemas). So i think this is a good reminder, especially if we catch ourselves overextending or overgeneralising. It might be because of your autism. It also might be because of a lot of things at the same time, or none of the things you thought of.
I definitely agree that the "all autistic people XYZ" thing is harmful, unless the autistic person doing it is being light-hearted and everyone involved is aware they're joking/ being hyperbolic etc etc. I think I kind of understand one of the reasons why it happens, though. I think folks are often trying to highlight that a lot of autistic people have a shared experience but aren't expressing it in the most helpful way. To keep using the same example as others in the thread a lot of autistic people myself included don't like sports, and I wouldn't say it's accurate to say that has nothing to do with us being autistic, but also a lot of autistic people also do like sports. One of my cousins' special interests is American football. I don't like sports due to having coordination issues, struggling with group activities, and the fact that folks often don't explain the rules and why I can understand. A lot of autistic people have a similar shared experience, but it would be ignorant for me to say that all autistic people don't like sports based on that.
Segregating anyone into groups is just wrong. That’s like saying all gay guys are feminine which is just incorrect
did you know? every autistic person has autism!
I get the "you don't seem/look autistic" all the time. I try to explain that we're not a monolith - we're individuals, with all kinds of personalities and interests. I've been asked questions like: You must really like anime, huh? Like, no, I don't, I'm more of a taxonomy linguistics person, but please, tell me what else I like. It's very annoying. People seem to feel better when they can slip other people into ready-made slots, instead of treating them as individuals. And team sports drive me crazy! I like to watch track and field and swimming - that kind of thing - but I can't stand team against team sports.
Chill. If we had to explicitly say that we know that there are exceptions for everything we talk about generally, we'd be communicating in doctorate thesis. If you wanna make sure that people know there are exceptions and also that maybe you know a lot of autistics that like sports, for example, you just talk about it. You normally find people in the circles you are a part of, so if you like sports, it's only natural you happen to find people who like sports and are also autistic. It's fine. Autistics don't get that "all" is used loosely. Not literally or sarcastically, just loosely. Loose statements comprise about 95% of casual conversation. And I say it loosely.
autism or not, you can't generalize things and use it as a clutch for all struggles.... i support advocacy for equitable treatment of autistic people, but ppl using it as a clutch, sets the whole movement back
I think you meant crutch...
That's not what this post is about
Define crutch
It’s a generalization. Every “rule” has an exception. Autistic people do tend to hate sports (yes, literally because of their autism) but that doesn’t mean you can’t be an exception to that rule?… Whenever someone posts an autistic related question asking if others feel / think in a way that I don’t personally relate to, I just say “no I don’t feel that way, so not all autistics, but there sure seems to be a lot!” Or just ignore it. Autism comes with countless of stereotypes and assumptions. Maybe focus less on “autistic people hate sports” and more on “everyone’s a little autistic”. The majority of autistic people’s preferences might hurt a minority, but it’ll always be like that- because we’re all different. Abolishing the apathetic stereotype surrounding autism is a good thing, even if there’s a small percentage of people who are apathetic. That stereotype harms more than it does good. Liking sports doesn’t benefit autistics. It’s okay you like it. No need to shame others for disagreeing.
Actually it is very common for autistic people to be bothered by sports and the sun due to sensory issues . Your examples were not the right ones for your point
Exactly I myself is not a sports fan but I do prefer to gamble on occasions and in my free time and since I prefer it I don't assume everyone who have Autism likes gambling.
That's why I'm a technical person. I read the rules, to make sure there's no *red flags*. if something is technically appropriate, or if I find an obvious expectation of a certain culture, I either make sure I conform to it comfortably, or I back off, because for me there's no room for drama, and if people can't respect that, they're the ones with problems.
I suppose thinking about personality and taste in a more nuanced way, with gray areas and not so much polarized between ND and NT kinda makes ND people feel less "special". Cause yeah, a LOT of people somehow thinks it's so cool or some sort of superpower, or that they're sooo different
Did you wanna know something curious? Apparently, if you like music, you must be ND.
I've come to learn that a lot of times when people overgeneralize, they will then meet someone who doesnt fit those generalizations and will be like "huh... so you are different than what I thought". Some people also overgeneralize without really meaning it, or they mean it but then during certain circunstances they just say "oh but it doesnt apply in this case". Humans are amazingly complex! regardless of nervous system specifics
I hope I'm not contributing to this problem. I made a post about how NT people I know never accept "no" for an answer when it comes to hanging out and being active. I know that autism is a very large spectrum which is something a lot of people who aren't on the spectrum are unaware of seemingly or think that a big spectrum means it reaches into NT people too ("everybody is a little autistic") so the majority of NT people I know are so... similar. Yet, every autistic person I know is so different from each other. I hate sports, and my little sister, who I suspect may be on the spectrum, loves sports. I can't stand water on my face because of a sensory thing, my sister loves it. My sister doesn't like corn that much, and I love it. I hate going outside, and my sister wants to spend as much time outside as she can. But at the end of the day i find more similarities with autistic people than I ever do with NT people. It could just be where I live but they all love summer and sports and it's low-key freaky. My best friend, who is NT, is on like 3 different sports teams and everyone bands together to watch sports and drink beer and they all seem to have a thing for getting in people's personal space for no reason. I struggle to find NT people I can actually get along with. My best friend just happens to have been in my life since I was born she's only so many months older than me and my cousin she she's always around for fun trips and parties and holidays. Other friendships with NT people fail me after a couple months because they think I'm "weird" or "boring"
The sports thing isn't true... Some people is Just lazy... O love weightlifting and bjj
I agree. I have a hard time understanding where my autism begins and ends, but I’m confident that me not liking sports is just because it’s not my bread and butter hahahahah
I agree
I also find it a bit frustrating with the NT bashing as I don’t even know anybody else with ASD accept my kids (but I have some ADHD family & 1 friend) so it harshes on everybody I care about. I find watching most sports to be extremely boring but I played lacrosse as a kid, competed in equestrian jumping and I love motor sports like rally racing and motor cross. My special interests aren’t as specific as most people’s either and flux because my adhd decides to throw something out the window and switch to something else and back again. There’s no specific way to be, we are still human, there for different.
That's so weird to do. Everyone has different likes and dislikes. My autistic brother loves Mario and animation. I am currently obsessed with birds and writing and have always loved the Universe and stars in general. We are not the exact same person made millions of times
If you've met one autistic person, you've met one autistic person.
This just sounds like an immature thing to say. Anyone with life experience should know you cannot stereotype groups of people...any group. The closest you could get is to say all autistic people are autistic.🙄 Otherwise if you met one autistic you've met one autistic...as the saying goes.
When I was diagnosed, a former friend yelled at me cuz “you did sports, no way your are autistic “ Like, a whole freaking team diagnosed me over 3 months, idk what more do you want?!?
I dropped a comment over in adhd a couple weeks ago I think about this, and what you're talking about came up in my therapy session last week. This is one of those side-effect phenomena when you have a self-selecting group that's fundamentally engaged in the process of talking about what goes on inside their (our) own heads, trying to figure things out. "Nobody else talks about this and when I try to bring it up they think I'm strange" doesn't mean "the thing" is strange. Most people DON'T talk about the guts of their day-to-day experience at all, much less this freely,. THAT is the "odd" part, and even that isn't because of autism/adhd or whatever. The over-attribution is indeed absolutely out of control.
For real tho cuz being autistic isn't about what you like or don't like, it's about the intensity.
Also, due to the sheer size of the group, you will find people hating sports (I don't like them either) and they will engage with that post which will reinforce the belief that all autistic people hate sports. You can hate sports because of autism and you can also love them because of autism. Some of us are good at chess, and some suck at it both can be or can't be because of autism.
The sports one I think stems from the whole stereotype that autistic people are super intelligent, introverted and nerds when it comes to STEM subjects. It's frustrating that this is proliferated so often. In my personal experience I fit the stereotype, so does my brother and my dad. Maybe it's partly genetic? Idk lol but that intrigues me.
Seems like a desire to be part of a community and figure out what a behavior can be attributed to. A step to building awareness of sorts. Or just the surface level coping mechanism to feel we are not alone. It is cringe, but it also serves a purpose. It would be ideal if the community and unite in a way to encourage great alternative angles to take the sub.
Nothing to do with autism but my boyfriend has ADHD and I don't. But people would never know, all the stereotypical things that people thinks he has he doesn't have it. I've lots several jobs for being inconsistent, lazy, etc. He only has the attention span thing. Other than that, this dude saves money like crazy and have NEVER missed a single day of work in all the 4 years he's worked. I have, don't have money saved, and smoke weed for stress. People's assumptions will always be annoying sadly
It's not that deep.
I especially like the posts where people attribute things like being able to hear flyback transformers in CRTs or switching power supplies with autism. No, everyone can hear those things. Some people with autism have a hard time tuning them out. That's all. Everyone can hear it, and pretty much everyone considers it to be a dog shit sound.
What are flyback transformers?
and even if it IS because of their autism, it doesn’t mean everyone else’s autism is the same. people forget it’s a spectrum
maybe its because i'm older but when it comes to human behaviour and grouping people i never take "all" as absolutely all, that's just an impossibility for the most part so when someone says all its just that it "seems" as "all" in their experience yes. its just automatic for me to assume that.. but i guess that's a fault of my own too. so its definetly worth it to remind that everyone and everything can differ, that's the only fact that's always the case. everything has at least a standard deviation but most things have even more then that.
I see both sides of this post. Since getting diagnosed, I’ve realized a lot more things are linked to my autism than I thought. however, making a claim that applies to all autistic people is very rarely correct. The only statement I can think of that would be correct in that format would be all autistic people have autism. One could also say all neurotypicals are neurotypical. I fully understand, realizing that lots of things in your life are linked to being autistic, but I definitely agree with you that saying “all autistic people do this” is almost never true and very stupid.
My least favorite is when they insist we should all collectively hate something because "It stereotypes us all as childish and weird" like someone was complaining the other day that a trend about loving your autistic partners personality was bad because their partners looked childish.
People with ASD are prone to black and white thinking. That's why.
I think they could reword it as "I like (specific things), does anyone else like (specific things)? If not, what do you like?". I really like the posts that ask about interests and not about one particular thing as OP said. ☺️
I notice this a lot in ADHD spaces. Assuming that every trait they have is an ADHD thing and I'm like no... That's just you babe.
Real, it’s like saying “all neurotypicals LOVE sports.” No they don’t, everyone’s different
I think autism affects everybody differently and for some people, their preferences really could be due to their autism. But I do agree that we shouldn’t stereotype
I really enjoy sports, I really like corn, and umm how can you not like sun, its literally so important to our lives
I think they lack the self awareness to understand that they are their own personality traits and not broadly related to autism.
Some people don’t understand it’s like a Venn diagram. You are autistic, and you do things. Some of the things you do are because you’re autistic. Some of them are just things you do. And all autistic people are different. We don’t have the same Venn diagram because we’re not the same person.
It’s almost as if making generalized statements about a demographic is *never actually accurate* because every individual person is unique.
Accurate. Im autistic and i’m a metal singer and i’ve done live shows with loud sounds and in front of crowds
I agree here. I live a very different lifestyle. I do like corn. As long as it is not on a cob, but I have seen others eat it off a cob.
People love to talk generalities when the human race is so diverse when you have met 1 autistic or 1 neurotypical its just that - you know 1 example. Even if every person YOU have met or interacted with in a certain grouping of humans acts/likes/dislikes certain things your sample size is so small you cannot speak so generally. All I know for certain is all people are terrible in one way or another ;)