For World Autism Acceptance Month, we want you to see autistic people as individuals, not stereotypes.

If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met 𝘰𝘯𝘦 autistic person. Each autistic person has a unique combination of strengths and challenges. By making misinformed assumptions, we miss getting to know the real individual.

Whether you're neurodivergent or not, we all have our own way of interacting with the world and each other.

Tired stereotypes, outdated myths about autism, and a lack of understanding from non-autistic people continue to make life harder for autistic people.

Imagine trying to navigate the world when most people don’t understand you, don’t empathise with your experiences, and believe harmful myths and stereotypes about your community. You constantly monitor your behaviour and responses to other people so you don’t say or do the "wrong” thing. Sounds exhausting, right?

There’s a theory called the double empathy problem, coined by the autistic researcher Damian Milton³. The idea is that autistic people might struggle to understand and empathise with non-autistic people, and non-autistic people might struggle to understand and empathise with autistic people.

The problem is that the non-autistic worldview and communication style has been normalised. This puts a huge burden of responsibility on autistic people to be accommodating and "fit in" with a neurotypical society.

Many autistic people go to great lengths to try and understand non-autistic people, but, rarely, non-autistic people do the same in return. This needs to change.

There are numerous reasons to better understand autistic people, the most important being to make the world a kinder, more inclusive place for everyone. Research has shown that awareness of the neurodiversity movement may be associated with more positive feelings about autism.²

If you’re not autistic, here are three things you can do:

1. Ask, don’t assume. Each autistic person is unique. Just because you’ve met one autistic person who experiences the world in a certain way, doesn’t mean that another person will have had the same experience. Educate yourself about autism, ask autistic people if they have a preferred way of communicating, and learn what works for them on an individual basis.
2. Learn more about autism, so you’re better placed to tackle the myths and misinformation, and challenge outdated stereotypes when you hear them. One great way to do this is by reading autistic people’s stories and discovering more about their experiences.
3. Don’t dismiss someone’s experience just because you can’t relate to it. If someone is struggling with something and they share this with you, don’t automatically dismiss their experience. Some things that feel easy or natural to a non-autistic person might be more challenging for an autistic person. Kindness and understanding can go a long way.
   

Myths and stereotypes harm the autistic community. Outdated attitudes hold autistic people back in their social lives, careers and everyday activities.

At Autistica, we have six visionary and ambitious Goals. With your support, we are determined that, by 2030, attitudes towards autistic people will change.

Read more about our 2030 Goals, and our vision for happier, healthier and longer lives for autistic people.

See us as individuals, not stereotypes was proudly created in conjunction with creative agency House 337 and in close collaboration with a panel of Autistica community members.

[1] Autistica. (2022). YouGov poll commissioned by Autistica.

[2] Kapp, S. et al. (2013) ‘Deficit, Difference, or Both? Autism and Neurodiversity.’

[3] Milton, D. (2012). On the ontological status of autism: the ‘double empathy problem'