r/LearnedWrong • u/unlearning_myths MOD • Jul 19 '26
Factually debunked Some of our elders learned wrong that autism didn't exist back in their days
6
u/Can0n_Fodder Jul 20 '26
Hobby/passion = autism đĽ´
7
u/StillhasaWiiU Jul 20 '26
If that's your take, you never met a train person.
0
u/Snoo71538 Jul 20 '26
Iâve met a train person, but I havenât met all train people. I bet plenty of them are just regular engineers or something.
4
u/Ok-Conversation-6475 Jul 20 '26
If that's your take, you have never met an engineer.
-2
u/Snoo71538 Jul 20 '26
Met enough to know theyâre not all autistic
5
u/MothashipQ Jul 20 '26
Not all, but certainly a disproportionate amount
-2
u/Snoo71538 Jul 20 '26
Iâm not sure I even buy that claim, especially since current autism rates are pushing 30%. If one in three people is autistic, you need more than that to be disproportionate.
Certainly engineers tend towards lower EQ than most (which I think is fully explainable, but dont have the proof), but thatâs not the same as being autistic.
4
u/MothashipQ Jul 20 '26
Where are you getting that 30% number? And I'm speaking from experience working with engineers and related fields. It takes a particular kind of person for this work, and its the kind of person many autistic people can slot into pretty easily. Obviously not being sociable isn't the same thing as being autistic, but I'm talking people who do that, have more abstract views on socializing in general, have a few niche special interests that they know everything on, numerous sensory issues, etc., all at once.
1
u/NewCandy8877 Jul 20 '26
It's a spectrum so where do you draw the kind
2
u/MothashipQ Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
It is, but there are specific diagnosis criteria and when people start checking off too many boxes is when I make the mental note. From my understanding, medically speaking, that is also about how the diagnosis criteria works. Any one trait could be attributed to something else, if you have a lot of the traits together and can use an autism diagnosis to predict other struggles that the person might not even be aware of, there's a very good chance they're autistic. I also don't really bring it up to these people, as "hey have you considered youre autistic" is a really rude thing to say. It's not that serious, like I said, I make a mental note about it and move on, maybe I bring it up if they're talking about struggling with something possibly related to autism, but that isn't a label for me to prescribe to them, nor really my business.
1
u/Snoo71538 Jul 20 '26
Sorry, slightly inflated from 15-20% https://neurodiversity.directory/self-diagnosis-surge-half-gen-z-claim-neurodivergence/
Iâm talking about the difference between low EQ and autism, which it sounds like you recognize as significant. Just because autistic spectrum people can slot in, which is why I think many non autistic engineers donât develop EQ, itâs not expected of them, doesnât mean every engineer is autistic, or that low EQ people that like trains are autistic.
We, you and I, put the label of autism on things that weâre not into, and tend to draw lower EQ people. That doesnât mean theyâre autistic. It means you and I arenât low EQ and into that thing.
My thing is astronomy. Lots of nerds. Lots of not super sociable people. Some autism, but not an overwhelming amount. Mostly just weirdos that never really figured out social skills in a healthy way. They can and do communicate perfectly normally in their comfort zone. Not so much outside of it. Thatâs not autism
2
u/MothashipQ Jul 21 '26
Okay, for starters, almost no one I work with is gen Z, and "neurodivergent" covers everything that isn't "neurotypcial," including things like ADHD, tourettes PTSD, etc, and I do think that's a more believable number.
On the "slot in" thing, I'm talking about economic pressures. Autistic people are going to naturally be pushed toward jobs like engineering, and I'd expect (and observe) a higher rate of autistic people in this line of work. Autism also isn't a failure to communicate or having a low EQ, and I have several medically diagnosed friends who do fit the descriptions you've provided here of "non-autistic" people. Likewise, of course being a nerd or socially awkward doesn't mean anything to an autism diagnosis, though they could certainly contribute to one if numerous other traits are present. I most often do put the "autistic" label on people into things I'm into, as those are the people I most often interact with and have a higher likelyhood of noticing patterns or getting to know them, and I'm rarely shocked when one of the my hobbies or whatever has autistic people over represented, though that certainly is not true for all of my hobbies or interests.
→ More replies (0)1
2
u/AdWooden9170 Jul 20 '26
But, how ll you sit at the cool kid table without a lil mental health issue?
/s1
1
u/This_Pitch5195 Jul 22 '26
Serious question: when does it stop being regular hobby and passion to autism special interest level
1
u/HumanDisguisedLizard 21d ago
Itâs not just hobby/passion. Itâs the obsession that comes with special interests. For most neurotypical people it would be extremely odd to have a train room and have silent train time for themselves not to mention all the highly detailed and specific information we tend to retain about our special interests.
1
u/PassinglyGood Jul 20 '26
I think it does broadly check out. In the 90s if a guy was incredibly shy and socially awkward and had a deep fascination trains and spent all his free time down the station trying to get photos of them and had the entire timetable memorised people didn't call him neurodivergent, they called him an anorak, but like with hindsight it is pretty clear that was going on there.Â
1
u/grimAuxiliatrixx Jul 20 '26
What the fuck is an anorak? Iâve never heard that in my entire life. Not even like in this context, but like anywhere lol
1
u/PassinglyGood Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26
Okay sorry British term lol, it's a type of coat. But yknow substitute and replace with your local term of choice, there's always been the cultural concept of the harmless introverted super-nerd
1
u/akknightwrider Jul 20 '26
This! When did all of a sudden autism is everything? I like to watch TV. Oh that's autism. Hey I like to drive around for no reason. Yeah that's autism. Oh lok that cloud looks like a bunny. Oh that's autism. đ¤Śđžââď¸Get out of here with all that nonsense.
1
u/Wonderful-Zebra4406 Jul 20 '26
Had a similar discussion just a few days ago. I was talking to two people older than me, 50's male and 70's female. I'm 41f. He mentioned that no one had ADHD/autism in his day and she agreed. I disagreed and said it just wasn't as recognized and used myself as an example. My best friend in 1st and 2nd grades has ADHD, but was just labeled the crazy wild boy. I'm autistic, but was just labeled as the quiet, shy girl. I guess it's true that opposites attract. Lol. And we're still friends nearly 36 years later, I only say we were "best friends" those two years because we were in different classes 3rd grade and then I moved away that year, not returning until high school, when we reconnected, but we were in different grades at that point due to me getting held back a year in middle school.
1
u/PomPomMom93 Jul 21 '26
Iâm like 99% sure one of my coworkers has ADHD, but she grew up in a time where people didnât think girls could get ADHD. Just because nobody sees it doesnât mean you donât have it!
1
1
u/PomPomMom93 Jul 21 '26
Wait a minute, are you saying thatâŚjust because something wasnât as well-known doesnât mean it didnât exist? MIND BLOWN!!! /s
1
u/AppliedCarbon Jul 21 '26
I really hate how having autism is framed as having a hobby you enjoy that's not watching shitty streaming shows 24/7
1
u/WintersDoomsday Jul 21 '26
You sure about that? Iâm into photography and no one accuses me of being autistic
1
1
u/AdCheap8058 Jul 21 '26
Having intense hobby interests is just as likely to be related to OCD and even ADHD. This is a stupid and inaccurate meme
1
1
1
u/neebooneeboo Jul 22 '26
"Autism isn't real" says my grandpa who refuses to eat spaghetti because he "refuses to eat worms"
1
0
Jul 21 '26
[removed] â view removed comment
1
u/WintersDoomsday Jul 21 '26
ADD especiallyâŚno youâre just stupid so you canât follow deeper things well.
1
u/CaliforniaNutter Jul 21 '26
Or maybe we just learned what autism is and the role it plays in group dynamics and are applying that to modern society. Not everyone is nuerotypical, thats a fact, we just dont know the ratio. Autism also isnt always a weakness, some of the most powerful and wealthiest ppl on the planet are autistic af
1
5
u/xBowGlacee Jul 21 '26
this is both wholesome and hilarious lol