What to answer when asked about your "superpower"?

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Recently, a TV-show was aired in my country, called "The hidden talents". It was about Autism, and the people featured on the show also had savantism. Unfortunately, it was never mentioned that not all autistic people have that.
The show got really popular.
At work, I even overheard a group of ladies talking about that show, and about autism, as if they knew everything about it. "Yeah, they are like ret*d, but they're also like super gifted. Like that girl who taught herself to draw perfect portraits".

Now, as soon as I mention my autism to anyone, the response is often "So what's your superpower?".

What do you say if you don't have one? In a way, I want to educate them. But at the same time, it feels hard to take away their only positive perception of us. Because if we don't have that "superpower", it seems to leave us with only the disabilities in their eyes.

Do you get asked this question?
What do you answer if you do?

Memorization. It is the basis for all savantism-related talents, and most autism talents, too.

I'm not asked this question. Whenever I mention my Asperger's, people say: no way, you are normal, you are not mentally ill!
That much about autism awareness in my country

My actual superpower is ultra-focus.

I'd have to answer honestly...and say that I haven't any "superpower."

My memory is pretty good---but not as good as when I was younger.

I tend to want to take things down to the "simplest possible denominator." If I could express something in three words, rather than 30, I go with the three words, usually (unless the 30 words are somehow poetic in nature).

What those women said is disgusting, calling us the R word.

I've mentioned only a billion times about my talents for drawing cartoons, free-hand without tracing or copying, and that it's been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember.

I also learned to read and write at a very young age and was probably two or three grades ahead of other kids in my class when it came to those things.

I also practically taught myself how to swim, something I really can't remember not being able to do.

I'm also really good at remembering names and much of the dialogue from TV shows, movies, and books.

But I stink at math, and I can't naturally perform life-saving emergency medical procedures, although I seem to be more educated about it than the average non-medical person. But everyone knows the reason for that is that I'm a very typical woman.

Why don't you give them the 3rd degree:

"What do you mean by superpower?"
"Really? So why do you think I ought to have one?"
"Do you have a superpower?"

....and so on and so forth.

Sorry. Feeling a bit passive aggressive against people who think they know better than me how I feel.

Autism

I do not have a superpower. Some things I am more skilled at. It really sucks the common stereotypes about us are the opposite of one another, ret*d or genius/savant.

The Vulcan death grip.

I guess the autistic life is a pendulum oscillating between "you're ret*d but savant" and "you're a perfectly normal dickhead". I'm told I'm a perfectly normal dickhead more often than not, so I'm not expected to have superpowers, although I have one: putting up with so much from neurotypicals without exploding.

Also, I'm a pro at cognitive empathy regarding other people's unconscious mechanisms. This doesn't mean I know what to do with it, unfortunately.

Maybe your superpower is surviving in a world designed and dominated by neurotypical people who are ignorant about ASD and its many different presentations.

Thus far nobody has ever had the nerve to ask me that......

But if they did I would answer that I ain't got no"superpower". And many autistics do not



If I had a superpower, it would be passive aggressively tolerating big egoed precious lil "people"

It's hard for me to believe that folks commonly ask you a question THAT dumb!

But if they do ask you that I think that the proper response would be a dumb answer like "flying", "turning invisible", "ability to breath underwater", "to shapeshift", or "to do the Vulcan death grip". or "to do the Time Warp Dance".

Yes. Make sure to laugh as you say it.