goldfish21 wrote:
Um, yeah.. you're not going to get social acceptance for behaviour that is pretty much the definition of socially unacceptable. So, I completely disagree with you on that.
Many things autistics do that are 'socially unacceptable' are considered just fine in other cultures. For example, in many cultures, direct eye contact can be a sign of disrespect, while averting your eyes is respectful. Hans Asperger mentioned one of his kids using the same form of 'you' ('du') for all people, be they other children or adults, and getting in trouble for this because German requires different forms of 'you' depending on your relative status towards your social partner. In English, of course, using 'you' to refer to both children and adults is perfectly fine. Some cultures say things a lot more directly, too, while others use indirect phrasing. Some things are insulting to certain cultures and not others. My father's relatives, who came from Belgium, refer to a family member as 'dikke Marie' (fat Marie), and she is not in the least offended, because being fat isn't judged negatively in Belgian culture. In certain parts of Africa, it's considered normal to ululate when excited at a sports game. Here, that would get you some strange looks.
What makes a behaviour 'socially unacceptable' is the culture context, not the behaviour itself. Calling someone 'fat Marie' is only insulting if people think fat is something shameful.
Plus, even if it's behaviour that is abnormal in any culture, that doesn't make it bad. Flapping your hands hurts no one else. It's just unusual. I would only tell someone their behaviour was unacceptable if it had some potential to cause harm to themselves or others. Otherwise, I'd just say something like 'most people don't flap their hands, and might think you were strange if you did, but there's nothing wrong with it'. Or 'yes, she's fat, but she probably doesn't want to be fat and would rather you not point it out to her'.