I read so many posts on the forum about people being told MYTHS about Autism with many myths being spouted by the National Health Service workers and also by freinds and family in some cases.
I thought i would start a thread about MYTHS about Autism and feel free to add your own if you want.

Myths about Autism

1. Autistic People Are All The Same

Myth: If I’ve met an autistic person (or seen the movie Rain Man), I have a good idea of what all autistic people are like.
Fact: Autistic people are as different from one another as they could be. The only elements that ALL autistic people seem to have in common are unusual difficulty with social communication

2. Autistic People Don't Have Any Feelings

Myth: Autistic people cannot feel or express love or empathy.
Fact: Many -- in fact, most -- autistic people are extremely capable of feeling and expressing love, though sometimes in idiosyncratic ways! What's more, many autistic people are far more empathetic than the average person, though they may express their empathy in unusual ways.

3. Autistic People Don't Build Relationships

Myth: Autistic people cannot build solid relationships with others.
Fact: While it’s unlikely that an autistic child will be a cheerleader, it is very likely that they will have solid relationships with, at the very least, their closest family members. And many autistic people do build strong friendships through shared passionate interests. There are also plenty of autistic people who marry and have satisfying romantic relationships.

4. All Autistic People Are Savants

Myth: Autistic people have amazing “savant” abilities, such as extraordinary math skills or musical skills.
Fact: It is true that a relatively few autistic people are “savants.” These individuals have what are called “splinter skills” which relate only to one or two areas of extraordinary ability. By far the majority of autistic people, though, have ordinary or even less-than-ordinary skill sets.

5. Autistic People Have No Language Skills

Myth: Most autistic people are non-verbal or close to non-verbal.
Fact: Individuals with a classic autism diagnosis are sometimes non-verbal or nearly non-verbal. But the autism spectrum also includes extremely verbal individuals with very high reading skills. Diagnoses at the higher end of the spectrum are increasing much faster than diagnoses at the lower end of the spectrum.

6. Autistic People Can't Do Much of Anything
Myth: I shouldn’t expect much of an autistic person.
Fact: This is one myth that truly injures our children. Autistic individuals can achieve great things -- but only if they're supported by people who believe in their potential. Autistic people are often the creative innovators in our midst. They see the world through a different lens -- and when their perspective is respected, they can change the world.


Over to members then............................

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Our Irish members can also use our new website for Ireland which is

Autistic children dont give eye contact
while this may be true of SOME autistic people but it can be learnt but the same as every other myth AUTISTIC PEOPLE ARE INDIVIDUALS NOT ROBOTS MADE BY A MACHINE AND EVERY ONE IS DIFFERENT
sorry for the caps lol eye contact is a difficult one, matt did give eye contact when younger but i think that was because he was breast fed until he was three and babies do tend to look at your face while they feeding so this may have helped. he can give eye contact but i find i dont always give eye contact as i look at peoples mouth when they are talking instead of their eyes its not a must with autistic.
corinne
xx

its tru, i hate lookin directly into people eyes aswell hehe, i find it a little awkward, like maybe they think i'm trying to hard to get my point accross! so like you i tend to look at their mouths or i glance back and forth between people if i'm in a group!

xx

I don't think Rainman did Autism any favours tbh, I know I had a few people ask me what Jack was good at, and my own best friend for nearly 25 years said 'Oooh I wonder what he'll be brilliant at' and was most disappointed that he wasn't some sort of secret genius. She's never really got his Autism either she just thinks oh dear he can't talk.

I remember having a visit from autism outreach and Jack was cuddling me as usual as he's very tactile and she said to me 'Oh you know he's just stimming don't you, he doesn't feel real love like you and me as his autism get's in the way' I know different now but that comment hurt to the quick at the time. He doesn't stim off my hair and clothes now but he still sits on my knee and cuddles.

i know a few people that hated rainman because it was peoples only perception of autism and trying to explain that he was a savant was really hard, i watched a csi where there was someone said oh is he autistic and grissom said he is a savant its a rare type of autism or something like that and went on to explain the difference even mentioning rainman lol it was a while ago but it did help ppl to see the difference.

what does stimming mean?
autistic children do show love its just on their terms as a rule (friends son will only kiss on forehead lol) matt is very affectionate and will sit on our knee for hugs and kisses and loves group hug between me mark and him lol he a bit big and squashes us now though i wouldnt stop him as its a lovely feeling. if they are not touchy children they still show their love even if its just with a special smile or sharing a sweet and acknolowledging you are not just an object.