What the gen public should know about people with ASD

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I'm in the process of pitching a video item on the subject of those with autism locally (which I am one of), and am trying to find my focus. I have my own ideas for this but am hoping to get a consensus from others as well.

What do you think are aspects of people living with autism the the general public should know, might not know, or that maybe people get wrong? If you had an opportunity to put certain knowledge about people living with autism out to educate, what would you deem most important for people to know?

Thanks!

That autism is a spectrum and that not all of us are like the kids in the Autism Speaks commercials. We're not an epidemic and we're not puzzles.

That "spectrum" is a misleading term insofar as it evokes the concept of a linear progression - our abilities can't be pinned down in a single dimension. We're complex individuals who differ, both from NTs and from one another, on many levels.

That we can best reply to questions that are specific in terms. Questions like "How are you?" or "How do you feel?" or "What's new?" should be baffling to everyone. And they can expect an honest answer over a socially acceptable one. Honestly, I'm not sure we are the ones with the problem.

That people with autism/Asperger's do not lack empathy, and don't sit around in their basements all day.

We don't always want to be alone. We want to have friends, but we aren't interested or able to handle the social games that people play.

That we don't want anything to do with you if you only ring us up when your other friends are busy.

We're not all bumholes like Sheldon or Snobs like Bones. We don't strive to stick out like a sore thumb.

How our traits show themselves is extremely variable between tasks, times and situations. Just because we could/couldn't do something yesterday, it doesn't always follow that we could/couldn't do it today.

If your kid is diagnosed with ASD do not assume they will "never will be able to_________"

Sans harming ourselves or others do not judge success or failure on what you think is success.

Your child has not been captured by the Autism devil and does not need to be "recovered".

Autistic people plenty of times have more insight into being autistic than the experts.

That we can have deep feelings and compassion for other people, even if it doesn't show and we have trouble acting on it appropriately - and that it's hurtful to claim we don't care.

Also, that autism is life-long and autistic children grow up into autistic adults, some of whom will need life-long assistance. But conversely, that over time some of us develop so many compensatory strategies that our autism may not be recognised in adulthood at all.

That meltdowns are not voluntary.
That our sensory issues are real. And that having them does not mean that we are weak. The fact that we have them and still try to go out and live our lives in this world means that we are more freaking hardcore than most people will EVER understand.
That I'm not shouting at you on purpose (unless I am, and you'd know if I was because I'd sound like I was in a metal band.)
That we don't choose to be this way, it is how we are born.
To listen to what we say instead of how we say it.
That trying to 'cure' anybody of being themselves is an act of violence.

That we have trouble relating to people sometimes, expressing or understanding emotions, or connecting, and it causes feelings of isolation and loneliness in some of us. Also, we're not TRYING to be confusing or annoying when we have to ask about everything to understand what you mean. We're also not looking for attention or TRYING to look like outcasts, as people frequently and wrongly assume about me.

Well everyone’s comments so far are spot on, I only have to add this. We are not a bunch of charity cases to be pitied and fixed. To often people treat us like we’ve climbed Mount Everest just because “I’m autistic and I learned to drive” or “I’m autistic and graduated highschool”. I know this has been mentioned before on WP but I’ll say it anyway, every time you hear that someone is dating an autistic person, the first thing that pops in your head shouldn’t be ‘oh you’re so selfless and generous’. We are still people each with our own limitations just like you, just because we don’t have the usual set limitations, doesn’t mean that we aren’t capable of doing anything. However, at the same time it needs to be made clear that autism is a real thing and not just some name they put on bad kids who didn’t behave.