Ignorant Comments About Autism?

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What was the most ignorant thing you've heard someone say about autism? A comment that I've heard was that autistics are only smart in a specific area and are "ret*d" when it comes to everything else. And of course, there are people who don't know what autism is at all and assume that it's a form of mental retardation.

Maybe a year ago or so, I had no idea that people on the spectrum could communicate much at all.
I know, I know... I'm a little embarrassed to even post this.
I came across another forum somewhere with people with Asperger's and was like, "Oh, wow, I didn't know they could talk so well."
Please nobody take offense to my past stupidity.
But I looked more into Asperger's then, so I guess it was a good learning opportunity.

To clarify, I had never met anyone with Asperger's in person (knowingly at least).

I've heard people confuse down syndrome and autism a couple times. I didn't like that...

Genuine conversation I overheard once
Girl: sir, what's autism?
Teacher: well.... Well... It's very hard to describe. People with it can't talk, and they're usually good at maths.
Girl: have you ever taught anyone with it?
Teacher: no

I try to keep my aspergers diagnosis to myself at school, so I kept quiet. The teacher in question had never taught me, and I think I'm glad because he clearly wouldn't be too helpful if I needed some space or something. (oh and he's a maths teacher, so of course he thinks they're good at maths, it's the only "fact" he would be interested in)

My mother has varied between thinking:
1) My aspergers is a result of demonic possession
2) I am faking it
3) I have psychological issues brought about by high school and the internet which have resulted in Aspergian behavior

But probably the worst,
There was an article I once read about a boy with Autism that they denied a heart transplant because they were "afraid he would pull out the wires after the surgery."

"Is there a pill I can take to fix my problem."

My ignorance on autism when I first heard of it:

None of them can talk and when they can, they are not autistic anymore.

I also thought being mute meant autism.

I asked what was autistic and my dad said they don't communicate so I thought oh so if they don't communicate, they are autistic.

I also thought they could crack codes like Simon did in Mercury Rising.


I don't feel bad about it because everyone is ignorant about it when they are new to it, even us.

"People with autism are just trying to cover his laziness"
"People with autism are just trying to cover his shyness"
"People with autism are psycopaths, they dont have feelings"
"People with autism are mentally ret*d like those with down syndrome"
"People with autism have a disease and need to be cure"
"People with autism are so damn idiots than sometimes cant even be sure what are his attractions(male,female,asexual)", this is one of the worse i have heard.
"Autism is just something people made up to throw all his misbehavior at, but they just need to try harder and it will be gone"
"Autistic persons are useless, they cant even achieve in life"
"Getting an autistic kid is one of the worse thing can happen to you"
They often tell me, the ones that dont know me well, and found that about my asperger.
"You dont have asperger, because asperger is autism and if you had autism, you would be like that man from rainman"


The one that really bothered me back and still right now, is one that my school teacher said to me, and then call my fathers and told them in front of my whole class, they bothered me with that until i got a change of school, but in college i encountered with some of my old school mates, and they started with that for a time, until a friend of mine that is kinda rude, and i explained math, told them to stop or he was going to beat the s**t out of them.

She just called me crazy,ret*d,weird,and because of her, i needed to do an IQ test when i was a kid, and even that i got 168 in my iq test, she didnt change her mind, she just tell that it was luck, that i was a crazy kid, a ret*d one, a useless, even right now, i dont know what the heck did i do to make her that mad at me.

She just said that because i was constantly playing in the corner of the class with my pencils, talking alone, stimming, drawing, not putting attention on classes, and because sometimes when she was talking to me i corrected her.

I dont really see where is the crazy things in doing this.


So for me, the worse ignorant comments i could hear in my entire life is, You are ret*d, You are crazy, You are useless,You are weird, and this one are the most common.

A lot of people have the misconception that autistic people can't evar learn anything, and if they can, then they are autistic.

That autism is just the result of bad parenting.

And I get annoyed when I hear people make sweeping statements assuming the kids I work with can't do anything for themselves or don't understand what you're saying. One of the most intelligent, funny people I know is a little boy who is non verbal and has autism.

A girl in my psychology program who I was doing data entry with (because we were working on our undergraduate theses in the same lab) said when I disclosed to her (because she asked about a routine I did) that she read about Asperger's in abnormal psychology but she didn't think that people with it could "really go to university or anything".

An ignorant comment about disability, not ASD: when I told my dentist I was applying for disability (because he asked about my life and what I was doing) he said I "didn't look very disabled".

One of them I have read online is that autism is made up and it's just an excuse for kids being brats.

I was once told by my dad's cousin that I be a better person if my parents were better parents. Basically a refrigerator mother.