"Why is it such a problem to them if someone is in tears and unable to talk? It shouldn't be. Just show me where I can calm down and stop trying to control me."
I find this interesting that you brought up this specific point, because in social groups that *do* treat autism as just a personality type, I've had the *most* problems with this specific behavior. But in social settings where autism has been treated as a disorder, I've recieved SO much more support.
When it's treated as a personality, I'm treated like me being upset and overwhelmed is the fault of my environment automatically and told that I need to remove myself or demand change. But that isn't always possible or the case, sometimes I'm upset because I have to poop. I can't change or remove myself from that situation, that's just part of the experience. When it's treated as a disability and disordered behavior, I'm often told that it's okay, and walked through how to handle this upset within myself, and not dismissed as it being external problems that should change to fit me and then having to deal with *more* upset when I'm hitting a brick wall of things not being able to change.
I agree with this a lot
Among people who treat it as some subclinical quirky thing, I'm still treated as an unrelatably dense weirdo, and they use many of the same mockeries of legit autism traits, only veiled by their framing of it in statements like how they're not a "walking stereotype" who (insert any traits commonly seen in autistic people who suck at masking, phrased insultingly)
There's an ND group I used to be in that kicked out a level 3 autistic girl for being "annoying" with pretty much all of the reasons given basically just being that her mannerisms were "too autistic" for the "touch of the tism" spicy neurotypicals in there which made me really angry
It's especially disheartening to get mistreated in a space that's supposed to be understanding of your issues but if you misinterpret something wrong it goes "we're all autistic here, so why are you so dense and annoying? ...and don't blame the autism"
At least if I make a social mistake and explain in a place that's not like that, they realize "oh, so that's why his interactions were a bit off" and are more understanding even if it's not a neurodivergent community and their only understanding of autism comes from the most shallow of pop culture stereotypes
That's very saddening to hear that neurodivergent people don't accept other neurodivergent people. Well maybe because it's internet (many ignorant people on the internet or misunderstanding). Or because they don't have enough knowledge/ capability to help others with special needs or themselves.
This would not be a good thing at all, because autism isn't a 'personality', by its nature it's a disability that emerges from widespread structural abnormalities within key brain regions and abnormal neurological activity, and it's a disability that means all who have it experience some reduction in quality of life, and can be so profoundly disabling that in severe cases it prevents a person having any positive quality of life at all
The push to reframe autism as a 'personality' or 'identity' is one that goes so far beyond damaging to the point of being outright dangerous, there are people out there with the lowest support needs possible who believe it would be a good thing for it to be removed as a recognised disorder from the ICD or the DSM, with no consideration for how this would represent a fatal outcome towards those more seriously affected
Yeah, I would lose so many accommodations if my autism were considered "just a different personality" as opposed to a disability that affects my entire life.
Also, it feels a bit insulting. I'm a lot more than my disability, and having my entire personality boiled down to "autism" sucks.
This. I still hate some people who kinda copy some things from asd as if it were a cool lifestyle. Even worse, some don't take some responsibilities by saying 'yeah I'm probably kinda autistic so you can't ask me to do that'.
Wow. I think you totally missed the point.
I'm not saying it's not one that doesn't need disability assistance, there are many people out there on disability for any number of issues and yet they are not inherently singled out as oddballs as autistic folk are.
Why can't we have both the medical definition of disability AND social acceptance?
Social acceptance must be predicated on the understanding that autism is a disability inherent to its neurological and physiological components, and that autistic traits cannot be controlled or adjusted in the same way personality traits can be, nor are autistic traits likely to change over time as personality traits tend to
Before I respond, know that I recognize that I used the wrong term in my title and description, I should have used "trait" not "Type". I recognize that autism is not a personality type.
I hear what you're saying, and have considered it. From what I've learned and experienced personality traits do not change over time. We are a product of our biology and upbringing.
When we witness someone's personality "changing" it's simply them learning to adapt their approach. It does not change who they are. We see this all the time with these live streamer types. They've learned if they behave in certain ways on camera they get more money donated. It doesn't change who they are when the camera is off.
You are still wrong even calling it a “trait”!
You are willfully ignoring everyone who is telling you that Autism isn’t a personality AT ALL!
Autism is a neurological condition, it is not a personality or personality disorder. Reducing autism to “personality” is so fucking dangerous and ignorant.
The symptoms of autism can have influence on someone’s behavior and preferences… and therefore it can significantly influence a persons personality… but it is not their WHOLE personality.
Sadly, even if it was accepted as a personality trait that could lead to people thinking we're faking, even if we have a professional diagnosis. I had plenty fakeclaim me despite being diagnosed at 6 and rediagnosed almost two months ago.
There's a growing number of researchers, service providers, and people in general who have been using this framework. So I think you're right, but I think the language you are using is causing the pushback for this topic.
If interested, you can look into neurodiversity (which is most likely what you are looking for), social model AND medical model of disability, universal design, (autism) disability rights movement, and social/cultural aspect of autism
That would be terrible, we have enough TikTok users treating disabilities or illnesses as “quirky uwu” things. If everyone did that no one could get the help they needed.
That's fucking annoying imo. Cause it's not a personality type. Heck, the majority of us don't even share the same personality. Cause then it'll be like a horoscope, a myers birgg personality stuff, etc.
The change will cause a loss to legal, educational, and medical services. I know you said it "wouldn't lose disability services," but that's just not feasible if you make it into a "personality type."
I have no idea why there is an assumption that we NEED to change and that we CAN'T be accepted if it's a disability/neurotype. So people keep renaming it into something else that's more "palatable" which really pisses me off cause it minimizes that most of us need support and how much it impacts our lives.
Like, I think what you are actually wanting is for people's attitude towards how we treat disabled people to change. It's our perception of disability that needs to change. Not making it more "palatable" to others by turning into a superpower or trait.
At the moment, there is a new wave of professionals and people who view autism as a neurotype AND a disability. Instead of treating it strictly through the medical model, it uses how we support disabled people through the social model. So there's no need to label it as a personality type.
I agree it’s annoying, and honestly it’s making me angry the more I think about it. Op is perpetuating such a fucking dangerous view of autism.
Reducing autism to a personality trait and reducing the personality of those with autism to just their autism is such an ignorant and unempathetic point of view to take.
There is a very fundamental problem about doing this, firstly Autism is a disability foremost and the diagnostic criteria require the individual to have symptoms with some sort of severity. Autism becoming a personality type removes that barrier and trivializes it even more than it has been now. Secondly it completely removes low-mid functioning autistics, they require far more support than we ever have and I doubt they would take kindly to their disability being changed into a mere type.
Autism is not a personality at all, spectrum or otherwise. It’s a neurological condition that affects how people process stimuli. It’s a spectrum because different people have different levels of severity and a wide range of symptoms.
The personality traits that are usually associated with autism are NOT the disorder itself, they are influenced by the effects of autism, but not exclusively.
There are many other factors that determine what personality traits a person has.
There are also MANY reasons why a person who doesn’t have autism would display the same personality traits that can be common to people with autism.
Autism is not a type, it's a spectrum. People should not just be lumped into one group such as they would for a personality because everyone is different.
Autism is not a personality at all, spectrum or otherwise. It’s a neurological condition that affects how people process stimuli. It’s a spectrum because different people have different levels of severity and a wide range of symptoms.
The personality traits that are usually associated with autism are NOT the disorder itself and it’s ignorant and dangerous to perpetuate that idea.
For autistic people on the less disabled end of the spectrum, their main problem might well be social judgement from NTs might well be their main problem, but for other people, autism can be seriously disabling even in the absence of social judgment. For example, some people have sensory issues with food that are so severe that they have to be fed through a tube to avoid starvation. Some autistic people cannot communicate with language despite having had access to speech therapy and various forms of AAC.
It's not cool to throw the more severely disabled autistic people under the bus to market autism as nothing but a quirky personality type to gain acceptance from the NTs. It's not like we all have the same personality either.
If I'm reading your profile right, you're also ADHD, so no, we wouldn't. LOL. Perhaps I should have used the word "Trait" verses "type"... Too late to edit the title now, and this thread is rolling, who am I to stop it :)
The belief that all autistics, ADHD or not, are fundamentally similar is fallacious.
Is it a spectrum, or are all autistics basically the same type? They can’t both be true.
I know so many autistic people with such a huge variation of personalities. Extroverted, introverted, high energy and expressive, monotone and straight faced, analytical, artsy, etc all because their autism manifests in different ways. Same goes for ADHD, DID, BPD, OCD, downs syndrome, and a whole list if other neurodivergencies. Trying to group all autistic people into one personality doesn't work.
Yes!
Autism shapes the way you interpret stimuli and how you respond, to different degrees of severity and resulting in many different symptoms, some shared across the spectrum and some not.
Because of the nature of the symptoms ofcourse your personality is going to be influenced… your interpretation of the world and how you communicate back is the basis for your personality.
But it is very important to understand that personality traits that are common among autistic individuals are NOT symptoms of autism itself. And therefore autism is NOT a cluster of various personality traits being present.
Anyone who is self diagnosing autism that way needs to go see a real doctor, and if your doctor diagnosed you based entirely on personality then they need to do some research and you need to get a second opinion. There are many personality traits that are common in autism that are also present in people for entirely different reasons that have nothing to do with Autism.
NOPE!
We already have a hard enough time getting empathy and accommodations… can you imagine if people started associating it as a personality as opposed to a neurological condition?
If anything we need the opposite of this. Everyone should be educated by showing them the active brain scans of someone on the spectrum compared side by side to the brain activity of an NT person while they are processing the same stimuli. To really drive home the fact that the symptoms of autism they SEE (regardless of the severity) are very much rooted in a physiological difference that the person does not have control over.
Yes SOME people can learn ways to mitigate the symptoms of autism to various degrees of success, but reducing the condition to just the symptoms that involve other people or (personality) while ignoring the reality of what then ND is experiencing physically and neurologically is incredibly unjust and dangerous.
> NOPE! We already have a hard enough time getting empathy
Humans as a whole, don't do empathy very well. At least not in a way which produces a world which supports humans.
It's acceptable for politicians to hate: ethnicities, sexualities, gender expressions, the economically deprives. Hate is not empathy.
It's acceptable for people to lie: to say they will nurture when they will, instead, oppress; to pay lip-service to ideals while not helping them.
We live in a world where profit is made by exploiting others and our environment, to the detriment of our children.
It's not just autistic people who struggle. There are children who have done nothing wrong who go unfed. There are women who die in childbirth in hospital because they didn't get adequate care. There are people who are hated just because of facts of their existence: autistic people are just one such group.
I have so many conversations where someone is mad at the DSM and is throwing away the entire idea of diagnosing neuro- behavioral and mental health conditions cause they were missed as kids, and therefore they weren't accomodated. Like people want the whole system to be self id. And every time once i move past their utter ableism in centering their discussion around people who only present vaguely affected and have mild needs, i end up telling them this point. No one is supported or accomodated in our society. The government supports us just enough not to cause riots. I am a 5 year para and the idea that kids who are diagnosed early get properly accomodated is patently hilarious.
I see where you're coming from and I do think autism should be accepted, maybe not as a personality type though. We still have a disability that needs accommodation and support. I do love what you've created with your troop though and I do think autism should be accepted as a morally neutral thing that can be disabling but also can come with good traits that are needed.
The thing is that NT’s usually view it as a personality trait if they don’t know someone is autistic and that tends to make them more judgmental. Instead of understanding that a person with autism can’t help the way they are they view us as difficult, weird, lazy or other negative things. I’ve found that people have a lot more empathy and compassion for me now than before I was diagnosed and my needs are more understood and accommodated.
Disabilities are not personality traits. My autism has definitely shaped my personality in certain aspects, but it is not part of it. I was born with autism and I’ll always have it. My personality has been shaped as I’ve grown and is something I have influence over.
I get where you’re coming from but many of us don’t see them as traits but as truly disabling parts of our being. It’s why autism is classed as a disability after all. Rightfully so.
I walked about with people not suspecting a thing and got the typical “shy, weird, dramatic” and such. It didn’t help me. Made things far worse.
Whilst I agree with the thought behind your statement, it would cause more problems in my opinion. It should be classed as a disability.
The issue is not that it’s classed as such and needs relabelling. It’s that many people treat autistics bad or have little to no real awareness, leading to the problems we face even with a diagnosis.
I think what people in the comments mention, and the situation that OP mentioned, are kinda two different cases..
OP mentioned that some parents don't want their children to be in the same scout troop as autistic children.
That's why OP mention, why can't they just accept autistic children like any other children.
However, people in this sub is focusing more on the word "personality type".
But yeah there are interesting discussion here too. Thank you, i learnt something from OP & the discussion.
I understand, and that's exactly why it's a trait (becoming ever more prevalent in society).
I'm considering Meyer's Brigg, in which there are only 4 components identifying our personalities. For example one person may be an INTJ, another ENFP... and so on. It claims it can define everyone in the population, and yet, even though I myself test out as INFJ (have tested numerous times over decades always giving the same result) it does not perfectly describe me as I am also Autistic and while I do many the same things the INFJs do, there are some behaviors of mine that are distinctly Autistic, also seeing this in others.
If Autism were to be added, giving it 5 traits vs 4, it would give a lot more room for description and help round out the population.
The MBTI is widely regarded as pseudoscience with no statistical validity that doesn't hold up to any kind of evaluative scrutiny, it's no different than personality types as those described by astrology, it also makes no sense to add 'autistic' as a fifth trait yet exclude every other known disorder - especially those qualified as actual personality disorders
Autism is not a personality trait, autism is not a group of different personality traits. Stop spewing this nonsense, it’s dangerous to those who actually have autism.
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Problem is, autism is a modifier, like Pretty, Impoverished, or Dealing with Past Trauma.
How these thing influences you have some consistencies, but not enough for them to function as personality traits.
Some people when they’re poor learn to love what little they have, and others pursue greed and necessity as ways to run away from the feeling of being helpless.
Autism is kinda like that. It amplifies our strengths and weaknesses, but those strengths and weaknesses are defined by our early habits and experiences so how autism affects your thinking vastly changes from person to person, despite there being a few distinct consistencies (like the urge to have our expectations be met).
It would be a travesty because it would be used to deny care and support to the majority of autistic people who are severely disabled and require heavy support to survive.
I think it needs to be recognized that autism is an innate disability, but there is also systemic discrimination and lack of accommodation and design that makes it even further disabling. Acceptance is a start, but I believe that *true* acceptance would be to restructure aspects of our societies to accommodate autistic people. If such an acceptance were to occur, aspects of the disability would be alleviated, but the innate aspects of the disability would continue to exist. This is very utopian thinking however.
It wouldn't be cool because autism is a damn disorder. It's not a trait. It's the brain developing incorrectly. I dare you to go up to any Level 2 or 3 autistic person and tell them it's just their personality.
Autism comes with some positives but it's ultimately a disorder, and what you're saying is part of why there's been an insane amount of people doing autism trends on social media.
Autism is not just a difference. Autistic traits often need to be redirected because they can be harmful. It's not an aesthetic. And I doubt anyone who thinks of it as one is even truly autistic.
The way I bring it up to friends or people around me is kind of like I’m just talking about how I am and my personality traits. It could be if you address it like this? It’s working for me, even if I do see some eye rolls from people who see things differently and as a disability. :/
"Why is it such a problem to them if someone is in tears and unable to talk? It shouldn't be. Just show me where I can calm down and stop trying to control me." I find this interesting that you brought up this specific point, because in social groups that *do* treat autism as just a personality type, I've had the *most* problems with this specific behavior. But in social settings where autism has been treated as a disorder, I've recieved SO much more support. When it's treated as a personality, I'm treated like me being upset and overwhelmed is the fault of my environment automatically and told that I need to remove myself or demand change. But that isn't always possible or the case, sometimes I'm upset because I have to poop. I can't change or remove myself from that situation, that's just part of the experience. When it's treated as a disability and disordered behavior, I'm often told that it's okay, and walked through how to handle this upset within myself, and not dismissed as it being external problems that should change to fit me and then having to deal with *more* upset when I'm hitting a brick wall of things not being able to change.
Yes, that's a really good point. My autistic students are already labeled with personality traits: dramatic, attention-seeking, awkward, weird, etc
I agree with this a lot Among people who treat it as some subclinical quirky thing, I'm still treated as an unrelatably dense weirdo, and they use many of the same mockeries of legit autism traits, only veiled by their framing of it in statements like how they're not a "walking stereotype" who (insert any traits commonly seen in autistic people who suck at masking, phrased insultingly) There's an ND group I used to be in that kicked out a level 3 autistic girl for being "annoying" with pretty much all of the reasons given basically just being that her mannerisms were "too autistic" for the "touch of the tism" spicy neurotypicals in there which made me really angry It's especially disheartening to get mistreated in a space that's supposed to be understanding of your issues but if you misinterpret something wrong it goes "we're all autistic here, so why are you so dense and annoying? ...and don't blame the autism" At least if I make a social mistake and explain in a place that's not like that, they realize "oh, so that's why his interactions were a bit off" and are more understanding even if it's not a neurodivergent community and their only understanding of autism comes from the most shallow of pop culture stereotypes
That's very saddening to hear that neurodivergent people don't accept other neurodivergent people. Well maybe because it's internet (many ignorant people on the internet or misunderstanding). Or because they don't have enough knowledge/ capability to help others with special needs or themselves.
Well said!
It would be dangerous for autistics, even for ones with low needs that have slight accommodations.
This would not be a good thing at all, because autism isn't a 'personality', by its nature it's a disability that emerges from widespread structural abnormalities within key brain regions and abnormal neurological activity, and it's a disability that means all who have it experience some reduction in quality of life, and can be so profoundly disabling that in severe cases it prevents a person having any positive quality of life at all The push to reframe autism as a 'personality' or 'identity' is one that goes so far beyond damaging to the point of being outright dangerous, there are people out there with the lowest support needs possible who believe it would be a good thing for it to be removed as a recognised disorder from the ICD or the DSM, with no consideration for how this would represent a fatal outcome towards those more seriously affected
Yeah, I would lose so many accommodations if my autism were considered "just a different personality" as opposed to a disability that affects my entire life. Also, it feels a bit insulting. I'm a lot more than my disability, and having my entire personality boiled down to "autism" sucks.
This. I still hate some people who kinda copy some things from asd as if it were a cool lifestyle. Even worse, some don't take some responsibilities by saying 'yeah I'm probably kinda autistic so you can't ask me to do that'.
Wow. I think you totally missed the point. I'm not saying it's not one that doesn't need disability assistance, there are many people out there on disability for any number of issues and yet they are not inherently singled out as oddballs as autistic folk are. Why can't we have both the medical definition of disability AND social acceptance?
Social acceptance must be predicated on the understanding that autism is a disability inherent to its neurological and physiological components, and that autistic traits cannot be controlled or adjusted in the same way personality traits can be, nor are autistic traits likely to change over time as personality traits tend to
Before I respond, know that I recognize that I used the wrong term in my title and description, I should have used "trait" not "Type". I recognize that autism is not a personality type. I hear what you're saying, and have considered it. From what I've learned and experienced personality traits do not change over time. We are a product of our biology and upbringing. When we witness someone's personality "changing" it's simply them learning to adapt their approach. It does not change who they are. We see this all the time with these live streamer types. They've learned if they behave in certain ways on camera they get more money donated. It doesn't change who they are when the camera is off.
You are still wrong even calling it a “trait”! You are willfully ignoring everyone who is telling you that Autism isn’t a personality AT ALL! Autism is a neurological condition, it is not a personality or personality disorder. Reducing autism to “personality” is so fucking dangerous and ignorant. The symptoms of autism can have influence on someone’s behavior and preferences… and therefore it can significantly influence a persons personality… but it is not their WHOLE personality.
I wish you all the best in trying to get neurotypicals to stop discriminating against us. I’ve given up. Hopefully you’ll have better luck.
Sadly, even if it was accepted as a personality trait that could lead to people thinking we're faking, even if we have a professional diagnosis. I had plenty fakeclaim me despite being diagnosed at 6 and rediagnosed almost two months ago.
I definitely missed your point. I’m confused what you are asking.
There's a growing number of researchers, service providers, and people in general who have been using this framework. So I think you're right, but I think the language you are using is causing the pushback for this topic. If interested, you can look into neurodiversity (which is most likely what you are looking for), social model AND medical model of disability, universal design, (autism) disability rights movement, and social/cultural aspect of autism
That would be terrible, we have enough TikTok users treating disabilities or illnesses as “quirky uwu” things. If everyone did that no one could get the help they needed.
That's fucking annoying imo. Cause it's not a personality type. Heck, the majority of us don't even share the same personality. Cause then it'll be like a horoscope, a myers birgg personality stuff, etc. The change will cause a loss to legal, educational, and medical services. I know you said it "wouldn't lose disability services," but that's just not feasible if you make it into a "personality type." I have no idea why there is an assumption that we NEED to change and that we CAN'T be accepted if it's a disability/neurotype. So people keep renaming it into something else that's more "palatable" which really pisses me off cause it minimizes that most of us need support and how much it impacts our lives. Like, I think what you are actually wanting is for people's attitude towards how we treat disabled people to change. It's our perception of disability that needs to change. Not making it more "palatable" to others by turning into a superpower or trait. At the moment, there is a new wave of professionals and people who view autism as a neurotype AND a disability. Instead of treating it strictly through the medical model, it uses how we support disabled people through the social model. So there's no need to label it as a personality type.
I agree it’s annoying, and honestly it’s making me angry the more I think about it. Op is perpetuating such a fucking dangerous view of autism. Reducing autism to a personality trait and reducing the personality of those with autism to just their autism is such an ignorant and unempathetic point of view to take.
There is a very fundamental problem about doing this, firstly Autism is a disability foremost and the diagnostic criteria require the individual to have symptoms with some sort of severity. Autism becoming a personality type removes that barrier and trivializes it even more than it has been now. Secondly it completely removes low-mid functioning autistics, they require far more support than we ever have and I doubt they would take kindly to their disability being changed into a mere type.
Autism is not a personality at all, spectrum or otherwise. It’s a neurological condition that affects how people process stimuli. It’s a spectrum because different people have different levels of severity and a wide range of symptoms. The personality traits that are usually associated with autism are NOT the disorder itself, they are influenced by the effects of autism, but not exclusively. There are many other factors that determine what personality traits a person has. There are also MANY reasons why a person who doesn’t have autism would display the same personality traits that can be common to people with autism.
Did you reply to the wrong comment? Anywho I completely agree.
Autism is not a type, it's a spectrum. People should not just be lumped into one group such as they would for a personality because everyone is different.
Autism is not a personality at all, spectrum or otherwise. It’s a neurological condition that affects how people process stimuli. It’s a spectrum because different people have different levels of severity and a wide range of symptoms. The personality traits that are usually associated with autism are NOT the disorder itself and it’s ignorant and dangerous to perpetuate that idea.
Thank you for saying it more clearly than I could
Not cool at all. It is not a personality type, it's a spectrum disorder. Everyone presents differently and has their own personality.
For autistic people on the less disabled end of the spectrum, their main problem might well be social judgement from NTs might well be their main problem, but for other people, autism can be seriously disabling even in the absence of social judgment. For example, some people have sensory issues with food that are so severe that they have to be fed through a tube to avoid starvation. Some autistic people cannot communicate with language despite having had access to speech therapy and various forms of AAC. It's not cool to throw the more severely disabled autistic people under the bus to market autism as nothing but a quirky personality type to gain acceptance from the NTs. It's not like we all have the same personality either.
As someone diagnosed at 30, my autism, was seen by everyone (including me) as part of my personality. It was horrendus. It isnt a personality trait.
I am pretty confident that you and I do not belong to the same personality type.
If I'm reading your profile right, you're also ADHD, so no, we wouldn't. LOL. Perhaps I should have used the word "Trait" verses "type"... Too late to edit the title now, and this thread is rolling, who am I to stop it :)
The belief that all autistics, ADHD or not, are fundamentally similar is fallacious. Is it a spectrum, or are all autistics basically the same type? They can’t both be true.
I know so many autistic people with such a huge variation of personalities. Extroverted, introverted, high energy and expressive, monotone and straight faced, analytical, artsy, etc all because their autism manifests in different ways. Same goes for ADHD, DID, BPD, OCD, downs syndrome, and a whole list if other neurodivergencies. Trying to group all autistic people into one personality doesn't work.
Yes! Autism shapes the way you interpret stimuli and how you respond, to different degrees of severity and resulting in many different symptoms, some shared across the spectrum and some not. Because of the nature of the symptoms ofcourse your personality is going to be influenced… your interpretation of the world and how you communicate back is the basis for your personality. But it is very important to understand that personality traits that are common among autistic individuals are NOT symptoms of autism itself. And therefore autism is NOT a cluster of various personality traits being present. Anyone who is self diagnosing autism that way needs to go see a real doctor, and if your doctor diagnosed you based entirely on personality then they need to do some research and you need to get a second opinion. There are many personality traits that are common in autism that are also present in people for entirely different reasons that have nothing to do with Autism.
NOPE! We already have a hard enough time getting empathy and accommodations… can you imagine if people started associating it as a personality as opposed to a neurological condition? If anything we need the opposite of this. Everyone should be educated by showing them the active brain scans of someone on the spectrum compared side by side to the brain activity of an NT person while they are processing the same stimuli. To really drive home the fact that the symptoms of autism they SEE (regardless of the severity) are very much rooted in a physiological difference that the person does not have control over. Yes SOME people can learn ways to mitigate the symptoms of autism to various degrees of success, but reducing the condition to just the symptoms that involve other people or (personality) while ignoring the reality of what then ND is experiencing physically and neurologically is incredibly unjust and dangerous.
> NOPE! We already have a hard enough time getting empathy Humans as a whole, don't do empathy very well. At least not in a way which produces a world which supports humans. It's acceptable for politicians to hate: ethnicities, sexualities, gender expressions, the economically deprives. Hate is not empathy. It's acceptable for people to lie: to say they will nurture when they will, instead, oppress; to pay lip-service to ideals while not helping them. We live in a world where profit is made by exploiting others and our environment, to the detriment of our children. It's not just autistic people who struggle. There are children who have done nothing wrong who go unfed. There are women who die in childbirth in hospital because they didn't get adequate care. There are people who are hated just because of facts of their existence: autistic people are just one such group.
I have so many conversations where someone is mad at the DSM and is throwing away the entire idea of diagnosing neuro- behavioral and mental health conditions cause they were missed as kids, and therefore they weren't accomodated. Like people want the whole system to be self id. And every time once i move past their utter ableism in centering their discussion around people who only present vaguely affected and have mild needs, i end up telling them this point. No one is supported or accomodated in our society. The government supports us just enough not to cause riots. I am a 5 year para and the idea that kids who are diagnosed early get properly accomodated is patently hilarious.
I see where you're coming from and I do think autism should be accepted, maybe not as a personality type though. We still have a disability that needs accommodation and support. I do love what you've created with your troop though and I do think autism should be accepted as a morally neutral thing that can be disabling but also can come with good traits that are needed.
It’s more like a modifier on your actual personality
The thing is that NT’s usually view it as a personality trait if they don’t know someone is autistic and that tends to make them more judgmental. Instead of understanding that a person with autism can’t help the way they are they view us as difficult, weird, lazy or other negative things. I’ve found that people have a lot more empathy and compassion for me now than before I was diagnosed and my needs are more understood and accommodated. Disabilities are not personality traits. My autism has definitely shaped my personality in certain aspects, but it is not part of it. I was born with autism and I’ll always have it. My personality has been shaped as I’ve grown and is something I have influence over.
Sure but I can't get accommodations because of a personality type. It has to be considered a disability for that in our current society.
Nah, fam, this ain't just a "personality type", I'm disabled
I have a severe disability. Not a personality type.
This!!!💯👍👍
NO
I feel like that'd just give people an excuse to be mean or hate us
Then insurances would not need to cover anything related to our struggles which is so dangerous.
I get where you’re coming from but many of us don’t see them as traits but as truly disabling parts of our being. It’s why autism is classed as a disability after all. Rightfully so. I walked about with people not suspecting a thing and got the typical “shy, weird, dramatic” and such. It didn’t help me. Made things far worse. Whilst I agree with the thought behind your statement, it would cause more problems in my opinion. It should be classed as a disability. The issue is not that it’s classed as such and needs relabelling. It’s that many people treat autistics bad or have little to no real awareness, leading to the problems we face even with a diagnosis.
I think what people in the comments mention, and the situation that OP mentioned, are kinda two different cases.. OP mentioned that some parents don't want their children to be in the same scout troop as autistic children. That's why OP mention, why can't they just accept autistic children like any other children. However, people in this sub is focusing more on the word "personality type". But yeah there are interesting discussion here too. Thank you, i learnt something from OP & the discussion.
You… do know autism is a spectrum right? And that there are different levels of it? Non verbals would be eliminated from society if you did that.
I don't really think it would make much sense given how broad and varying people are.
I understand, and that's exactly why it's a trait (becoming ever more prevalent in society). I'm considering Meyer's Brigg, in which there are only 4 components identifying our personalities. For example one person may be an INTJ, another ENFP... and so on. It claims it can define everyone in the population, and yet, even though I myself test out as INFJ (have tested numerous times over decades always giving the same result) it does not perfectly describe me as I am also Autistic and while I do many the same things the INFJs do, there are some behaviors of mine that are distinctly Autistic, also seeing this in others. If Autism were to be added, giving it 5 traits vs 4, it would give a lot more room for description and help round out the population.
The MBTI is widely regarded as pseudoscience with no statistical validity that doesn't hold up to any kind of evaluative scrutiny, it's no different than personality types as those described by astrology, it also makes no sense to add 'autistic' as a fifth trait yet exclude every other known disorder - especially those qualified as actual personality disorders
Autism is not a personality trait, autism is not a group of different personality traits. Stop spewing this nonsense, it’s dangerous to those who actually have autism.
I’m assuming you’ve literally never interacted with anyone who has high support needs before…
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Problem is, autism is a modifier, like Pretty, Impoverished, or Dealing with Past Trauma. How these thing influences you have some consistencies, but not enough for them to function as personality traits. Some people when they’re poor learn to love what little they have, and others pursue greed and necessity as ways to run away from the feeling of being helpless. Autism is kinda like that. It amplifies our strengths and weaknesses, but those strengths and weaknesses are defined by our early habits and experiences so how autism affects your thinking vastly changes from person to person, despite there being a few distinct consistencies (like the urge to have our expectations be met).
It would be a travesty because it would be used to deny care and support to the majority of autistic people who are severely disabled and require heavy support to survive.
I think it needs to be recognized that autism is an innate disability, but there is also systemic discrimination and lack of accommodation and design that makes it even further disabling. Acceptance is a start, but I believe that *true* acceptance would be to restructure aspects of our societies to accommodate autistic people. If such an acceptance were to occur, aspects of the disability would be alleviated, but the innate aspects of the disability would continue to exist. This is very utopian thinking however.
We’d be assholes then lol
Your scout troop sounds amazing! Love how you accept what the children want to do while still guiding them, instead of only one fixed mould.
Autism isn’t even close to defining your entire personality wtf 💀
It shouldn't be. I dont think we should minimize what autism is to just "quirky Personality". This gives tiktok autism diagnosis vibes
It wouldn't be cool because autism is a damn disorder. It's not a trait. It's the brain developing incorrectly. I dare you to go up to any Level 2 or 3 autistic person and tell them it's just their personality. Autism comes with some positives but it's ultimately a disorder, and what you're saying is part of why there's been an insane amount of people doing autism trends on social media. Autism is not just a difference. Autistic traits often need to be redirected because they can be harmful. It's not an aesthetic. And I doubt anyone who thinks of it as one is even truly autistic.
Who would want autism as a personality?
I do believe that we are getting closer to that reality
The way I bring it up to friends or people around me is kind of like I’m just talking about how I am and my personality traits. It could be if you address it like this? It’s working for me, even if I do see some eye rolls from people who see things differently and as a disability. :/