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It’s Autism Awareness Month, and Wondrfly is here to try and remove the stigma from conversations around autism. Many people associate autism with intellectual disability, social anxiety, and the need for significant assistance in later life.
These challenges are a part of the autistic experience for many people, but they don’t define all people with autism.
Lots of people are also afraid to get their kids assessed for autism or to be assessed for autism themselves because of the stigma surrounding autism. But those who are uninformed about the condition are more likely to succumb to this fear. So, let’s investigate and debunk some prevailing myths about autism.
What is Autism?
Autism is a genetic condition that is predicted to affect 1 in 44 children in the United States. It affects a person’s ability to develop language, motor, social, and emotional regulation skills, among other things. Autism is diagnosed along a spectrum, with all autistic people having a different range of abilities and challenges. ‘
To learn more about signs and characteristics of autism spectrum disorder, check out this helpful factsheet.
Common Myths about Autism
Autistic People Can’t Communicate
About 40% of autistic people are non-verbal. Since we associate autism with its effects on language development so much, it’s surprising to see that fewer than half of autistic people are fully nonverbal. In actuality, autistic people can experience varying degrees of difficulty acquiring and using language.
They may even benefit from their autism in this area! Why? Well, in terms of written communication, autism is associated with hyperlexia. You may have heard of its cousin, dyslexia, a learning disability that makes the acquisition of reading and writing difficult. Dyslexia is linked to autism, but Hyperlexia is the opposite—extremely advanced reading and writing skills relative to age—and it’s also linked to autism!
Autism is an Intellectual Disability
Autism is not, in itself, an intellectual disability. It can, however, cause it. It’s predicted that 44% of autistic people have IQ scores below the official standard for intellectual disability. An additional 25% are thought to have IQs between 70 and 85, what’s called the “borderline” range. So, while it’s common for autistic people to have a low IQ, many do not.
Autism is a Disease
Autism is not a disease because the word “disease” implies a cure. There is no known cure for autism, only therapies and accommodations to help people with autism succeed and be happy. That said, the word “disease” also implies that something should be cured. Opinions vary on whether autism should be “corrected” or accommodated by society. Indeed, autism has many positive characteristics that can be helpful to society if they are encouraged and cultivated. You can’t say the same of many diseases.
Autistic Children Can’t Succeed in School
As we discussed earlier, autistic kids can even have advantages over their peers in certain areas of academics. However, it is true that most autistic kids struggle in school for one reason or another. This may be due to low IQ, but often it’s also to do with sensory overstimulation, difficulty communicating, and bullying. If properly accommodated, plenty of autistic kids can bring home passing (and even excellent) grades.
All Autistic People are Savants
Many autistic kids excel in certain areas because autistic people are likely to have what’s referred to as a special interest. These are usually very specific activities, areas of knowledge, or skills in which the person has an intense and unrelenting degree of interest and curiosity. Due to their ability to study special interests intensely without tiring, some higher IQ autistic individuals become known as savants—or individuals who excel in one very specific area over others.
However, just as it is wrong to assume all autistic people are intellectually disabled, it’s erroneous to believe all autistic people develop savant-level skills as well. In addition, whether we consider an autistic person a savant or not often depends on how socially accepted their special interest is. A young autistic person who can comprehend advanced calculus is more likely to be hailed as a savant than one who can name every best picture winner in the history of the academy awards. This is because certain interests and skills are valued more by society than others.
Autistic Children Never Grow Out of Temper Tantrums
This one really comes down to semantics, but we’ll explain why the use of language, in this case, is so important. Temper tantrums, or just tantrums, are episodes of emotional upset and lashing-out experienced by toddlers because of their inability to properly identify and communicate their needs or emotions.
Autistic children do have tantrums as toddlers, but beyond a certain age, we start referring to these episodes as “meltdowns” in autistic people. That’s because tantrums are they’re different from the meltdowns autistic people experience in later life. Even if an autistic person can communicate their needs and emotions under stable conditions, they can partially or fully lose this capability when a meltdown hits.
The word “tantrum” implies the complete inability to communicate and identify needs and emotions. It is also heavily associated with toddlers and using the word tantrum to refer to the meltdown of someone above age 6 or 7 notably infantilizes them. It can make them feel as though they will always be viewed as and treated like a toddler. Tantrums are also implied to be an attention-getting mechanism. People having meltdowns are very unlikely to want attention paid to them and may find this especially shameful and embarrassing after the fact.
There Are No Autistic Adults
Now, no one is really saying this, of course. We know intellectually that autistic kids grow up to be autistic adults. But, if you consider the portrayal of autism in media up to the present, it would seem like autism affects only kids. Additionally, many organizations serving autistic people focus on early intervention in childhood, instead of managing the condition in later life. This results in a dearth of resources for those diagnosed after the age of 18.
Autism Affects Boys More Often
The CDC indicates that boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism, but recent research seems to indicate that autism is disproportionately diagnosed in young boys over girls. There are a few proposed explanations for this, including the differences in social expectations of the genders, and the fact that autism may present differently in those assigned females at birth.
If You Think You or Your Child May Be Autistic…
It’s important to seek a diagnosis as soon as possible. In your child’s case, childhood intervention and the early application of behavioral therapy techniques can help your child learn and achieve more, and live a happy, healthy, independent life. If you believe your child has autism, it may be beneficial to screen yourself as well, if possible, or vice versa.
Looking for More Kids’ Behavioral Health Content?
Check out the “Health and Happiness” topic on the Wondrfly Blog!
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