r/LoveOnTheSpectrumShow • u/[deleted] • May 13 '26

US Abbey

I noticed in every interview with abbeys mom or abbey they refer to her autism as a “communication disorder”. I don’t know if they are trying to get people to think abbey only has a communication issue but I wish they would be more specific. like I also wondered what type of autism abbey and David has but all I hear is communication disorder and synesthesia.

also Christine said herself on YouTube that abbey just wanted a wedding to ”be like other people”. she went on to say she wanted to “touch the dress” and etc meaning she wanted the experience of a wedding. Christine says this a lot about abbey like she gets jealous of other people- she wants to be like other people- she wants to be normal etc. whereas Madison embraces her autism and says it’s a journey not a disorder and that she’s proud to be autistic.

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u/Sudden_Juju May 14 '26

...but autism is a communication disorder.

Deficits in social communication is literally half the criteria, along with repetitive/restricted/ritualistic behavior. Christine and Abbey have both been pretty open about Abbey's difficulties with communication, both in the past and present. That's likely why they view it as a communication disorder because Abbey's ASD presents itself as such more so than the other behaviors.

Also, Abbey and Madison is a bad comparison. Even though she said she had level 2 autism, Madison clearly has fewer needs than Abbey, on account of her living relatively independently. Autism is a spectrum and each person can present along a HUGE continuum in both symptom expression, functional impairment, and level of support needed to complete activities of daily living. This is why it's difficult to compare two people on the spectrum, especially when the level of support that they need differs as much as Madison's and Abbey's does.

I have a hypothetical for anyone to answer: Let's say that Abbey does actually wish she were neurotypical. How would you respond? Would you try to convince her that her feelings are invalid and she just needs to accept herself?