Hanging out with other autistic people

Post Reply New Topic

normally I really don't think its a good idea to hang out with autistic people because I fear the more I hang out with them because the more autistic I might become more so.. I sort of want to but that is my chief fear. Im really not the sort who likes embrace in my own autistic tendencies such as my tourette or nervous ticks.
I'd like to hear some input and some other perspectives on the subject

Hanging out with other autistics doesn't make someone more autistic, If it did then neurotypicals would be turning autistic.

Autism is not something you become or acquire for being in contact with other autistic people. If you fear of that, you don't have to worry.

I understand your concern. It seems pretty natural to expect that you might become more relaxed about the more obvious autistic characteristics you might want to suppress in the general world. Maybe you can look at it as two different worlds, and remind yourself that when you leave your autistic friends, you are leaving your safe world, and need to be more discreet.

But don't worry, there is no way you can become more autistic in any real sense, so I think you should going ahead and try it.

I can sympathise with OP.
I mimic those around me, so when I'm around autistics...I mimic them. I'm getting better at not doing it though.

I've hanged out with other autistics. They are my friends, we have things in common. It really depends on the person. I've known people more aspie then me, one from a special school i went to and one from world of warcraft. It really depends on the person and level of aspieness

I do not think OP thinks of AS as infectious, just that you automatically try to fit in with the people around you and are to different degrees influenced by their behavior. Therefor if you hang out a lot with other autistics you probably will be a little more autistic. I am married to one and more than once we have thought that something we do is perfectly normal, just to find out later that other people think it is totally weird

Everything you have said is entirely wrong, OP. Autism is not contagious, and cannot be directly acquired from others by any means. Most Autistics don't experience sumptoms of Tourette's Syndrome, and therefore, wouldn't cause yours to intensify.

As an Autistic person who spends a significant amount of time with other Autistic people, I can say that overall, I prefer the company of those on the spectrum to Neurotypicals. They are far less judgemental of me, share common interests, and don't fell the pervasive need to irritate me.

So, yes, your concerns are unfounded. If I were you, I'd try to find out if there are any ASC social groups in your area. Good luck!

I think the OP has a legitimate concern. when I was little, I was mimicking kids in my class when I was six and seven and they were all developmentally disabled. I was even screaming in school because a boy in my class did that. Some other kids copied him too. Mom found out I was copying other kids in my class and she and dad got me out of there.

I have heard that if you put an autistic kid with other autistic kids who are more severe, they act more autistic, put ret*d kids together, they act even more ret*d, put kids with behavior disorders together, they copy each other and they have even more behavior disorders.

NTs do this too, it's called peer pressure.

When I was 9 years old they wanted to send me to a school for kids with autism. I was kicking and screaming and fighting not to go to that school because I too feared at that age that I was going to mimic them. Since I already knew then that I was mimicking people. But as I got to read more threads on WrongPlanet, there are a lot of social tips and ways to deal with things in general. Even changing my perspective. I would say, they would be able to help you more than a NT do, because a NT seem to do these things instinctively without the need to explain it. I guess what I'm saying is the people with AS were taught skills (probably by trained NTs to recognise the deficiency)

I hardly ever hang out with people, may they be NTs or autistics.

I don't hang out much either.

I have been hanging out with a lot of Aspies recently having before hung out with a lot of NTs. It feels weird hanging out with Aspies now (no offence).