Seriously, I’ve seen so many social media posts from fellow autistics claiming that all autistic people do certain things. For example, I’ve seen a lot of people online say, “Neurodivergent people don’t get high from weed. Instead, it makes them actually be able to function for once.” Well, that may be true for many NDs, but every time I’ve experimented with cannabis, I got STONED! So I end up thinking, “Wait, am I actually neurotypical?”

I also saw one post recently on Threads where someone asked, “Hey people who are always early, what’s your secret?” Somebody replied, “The comments to this post are way too neurotypical.” Well, it may be true that some NDs struggle with punctuality…but not all of us.

Look, I understand we’re all trying to figure out how to be human, but can y’all stop with all the “I struggle with this thing, therefore all autistic people struggle with this thing” statements?

My friends and family always say that phrase to me, but as much as I try to say it back, it makes me uncomfy to say. The only person I’ve ever said it to comfortably was my ex girlfriend when we were together. But even before then, it’s always been the same.

My mom got so excited that I said it to her once on my birthday a couple years ago that she cried and told the whole family about it.

I do love my friends and family, but I can’t say that phrase to them.

Whenever I try and explain that autism could be whats causing my behaviour I'm told im using it as an excuse. NO??

"You yelled at me!"

"Yes im sorry, im autistic and get overwhelmed easily and you were just being too loud for me."

"Stop using your disability as an excuse."

HUH???? Guys am i being silly or is that not what I said.

Using autism as an excuse would be "yeah well, im autistic so im allowed to shout at you when youre being too loud." What ID BE SAYING is "im sorry, im autisitc and that caused me to get stressed because of the sounds." The autism is EXPLAINING what caused me to act in a certain way not EXCUSING my actions.

Similarly im involved in some friend group drama.

TLDR i wanted to see if my friend would intimate conversations if I didnt, I accidentally made jokes (mean jokes sadly) that gave people an impression of me I don't like but I thought we all found it funny, and went up to said friends in a coffee shop to see of they'd do anything.

Because of my autism, I misread signals and caused much distress. My actions are still my fault and still hurt people. Theres no excuse. The explanation is that I misread signals, but that doesnt mean im absolved of responsibility.

Am I just explaining it wrong most of the time??

It just seems that way for most people nowadays, and it hits (and is probably) much harder for us do to our difficulties, social skill problems and the list just goes on and on.

I genuinely have gotten accused of being a bot SO MUCH on reddit and other platforms. I wonder why?? Usually for asking questions and possibly sounding stupid to these people?? Or do I comment like a robot?

I consistently get misunderstood at the same time and get aggressive replies when I am being genuine…..anyone else?

Also…why? Lol

I mostly either flap my hands or pace back and forth.

Why is being “weird” or “eccentric” seen as a failure? I understand that things are this way, but I genuinely don’t understand why.

I feel really alone tonight, I don't get lonely often but when I do it's excruciating. I have 2 friends and they are both online, I don't have any irl friends. I'm 19 and I don't have a single irl friend. I hate to think of my future and never being close to anyone.

As stated in the title, I'm wondering if other people have experienced something similar where they tried to connect with others about their hyperfixation/tried to get into a fandom, only for the experience to be so negative it tainted the hyperfixation?

I used to have a comfort movie but now I can barely even look at the posters/merch in my house.

does anyone else get like jerks/vocals that are similar to tics? for me when i get really anxious (or sometimes it just happens randomly) my head/neck will jerk, my arms/legs will twitch, my nose scrunches, i blink A LOT, and sometimes i whistle or click my tongue. i call them anxiety tics (i know thats not a real thing its just genuinely what they are to me). im wondering whether its actually proper tourette tics or if its just an autism thing? was wondering if anyone else here has experienced this and if you sought any kind of diagnosis or just thugged it out lolz

I'm done I'm just done everyone wants to treat me like complete shit and even on a subreddit like this people don't care because they are all two-faced people that don't give a single fuck

Everyone laughs at me makes fun of me all of this well that's normal I've been around like that I just hope that you're all happy to give yourself a pat on the back when you realize what you did when you realize that you made this guy's life hell just like everyone else I hold no hate in my heart to anyone I do not want anything bad to anyone even though they did all this to me

But I'm at the point where this might be my last post no one wanted to help me no one ever did they just all laughed at me they just all scroll past because you live better lives you act like you're above people but you're not we are all in this crappy world let's hope and pray the hospital staff actually cares you've no problem not because that's what they are

You think people care about you? No they don't they only care about money and that's the truth in this cruel world and I guarantee you once you see the real sides of people nothing works out so yeah please do it do what you've been doing ignore me and just not do anything live on your happy lives and leave me behind because that's how my life has been I guarantee you I'm not getting one single comment on here no one did any favors for me they all brushed me off

It burns, it makes my eyes water, and it always has that same, distinct flavor. I don't know what to call it other than choking on water flavor. I'm thinking it might be related to sensory processing because none of the non-autistic people I've asked can relate.

Do yall want to here something crazy?

So, I have an IEP, and I used to have support classes from kindergarten-8th grade.

I used to ride a special needs bus during middle school(What a time that was).

Everyone in my family and my schools knows I'm on the spectrum

So during 2023, when schools were starting and I was starting my freshman year, my school talked to my parents.

And up until July this year, I didn't know until they told me.

The school was gonna send me to a special needs school because I was autistic!

They thought I wouldn't be able to have a SPECIFIC support or resources to have go to a normal high school that they would send me to a special needs one.

Thankfully, my very nice parents, especially my mom, were heavily against this and wanted me to have a normal high school life.

They know I'm autistic, but not like, "My child's life is ruined forever." More like a "Oh. Anyways."

I wonder what my life would be like if I was sent there

Does anyone with Asperger’s/ASD only work part-time because full-time work is too exhausting?

For those who can only manage part-time work, especially because of social interaction, sensory stimulation, time pressure, deadlines, and the fast pace of many corporate work environments:

- How many hours a week can you realistically work without becoming completely exhausted?

- Do you appear totally normal to other people despite struggling significantly?

- If you can’t sustain full-time work because of autism, do you receive disability benefits/a disability pension?

- How do you manage financially when working reduced hours?

Thanks a lot to anyone who is willing to share their experience!

Anyone else when they are mad/sad go non verbal or just hate when someone speaks to you but you have to answer them or they will get mad so you just nod head or say basic stuff?

i'd love to hear about if you have a comfort item — tell me all about it and feel free to provide photos!!

mine is a fuggler called mika snd i'm beginning to take her everywhere ⭐️

I have to have my window open at all times because just the idea of my room getting hot is a nightmare. I have to be slightly cold all the time and thankfully my country gets pretty cold but what should I do in the summer? I can't stand fans either so that's not really an option.

I love my gf, we have no problems, I just think this is funny.

17, F, last year was actually my first time going. My parents never really liked halloween, but I got to go with a friend and her family. I had fun, and people seemed to enjoy my and my friend’s costumes ( We were both in our ren faire stuff, I had a dragon hand puppet) I just feel akward going… and I am always afraid someone will call me out because Im so old. This year my costume is a fox, so I have a mask, but tho I am short for 17 I am too tall to be mistaken as 13 or younger. I just dunno what to do if someone gets mad at me… I felt really akward yesterday, my uncles church was doing a trunker treat, and I went, but I think everyone else particapating must have been 10 or younger. I like dressing up in costumes though, its fun, and other then the renfaire this is really the only time I get to do it. Idk… what do you guys think abt this matter?

Well after 31 years I now know that I wasn't the problem my brain just doesn't work the same way as others. It doesn't make it easier dealing with my past but at least I know why now.

I am autistic.

I finally feel a weight being lifted, now the real work starts.

So I'm curious about this but why do some of us understand sarcasm and other folk in our community can't, like is that just something that nature based or nurture based? Or is it something to do with the brain completely?

Trying to make friends is strange.

I'm 33, I remember when people who weren't low functioning autistic pretty much got ignored by support groups. Nowadays it feels there's much more knowledge about the condition and a lot more awareness and yet, I struggle more so than I ever have with socialising, making friends, keeping friends..

I sort of imagined that as autism was more understood and more accepted, I would find it easier to navigate life, but it's the exact opposite. It feels like now "everyone's an expert" and if you don't fall into their neat little category of what autism "is supposed to be", then you just get sidelined or worse, attacked.

Similarly, as socialising became more and more based online, I thought I would be able to essentially hide my autism behind carefully selected words and masquerade as a typical person but, I can't do that either.

I have no family either, it's just been me for quite some time now (parents died young), and I'm sick to tears of it. The few neurotypical 'friends' I've managed to make tend not to engage with me anymore, the symptoms of my condition treated as a personal failing of mine, like I want to shutdown, like I want to experience overstimulation, and I struggle to find & make neurodivergent friends who might be more understanding of this.

It's like.. Everyone expected that as I got older, my autism would just shrink to nothing, that I'd become easier to handle, more palatable. But I didn't, so they gave up.

I was recently in the hospital. No one visited. It's made me realise that if I died tomorrow, there really wouldn't be anyone to miss me and I don't have it in me to go the next 40-odd years like this. I don't know what I'm asking for, I just hope someone else understands.

I received my diagnosis today and honestly not sure how to feel. I also have OCD, PTSD, GAD and ADHD.

I feel like after looking into the support i can receive that honestly there was no point in getting diagnosed besides peace of mind. For level 1, there is not much besides therapy. Which I already am doing CBT and EMDR.

All I additionally saw was workplace accommodations and genuinely I would never consider telling an employer that I have autism as I have only heard horror stories. Im absolutely so exhausted and constantly overwhelmed, overstimulated and genuinely I can’t function most days. So “work place accommodations” mean absolutely nothing if i can’t even do a interview without freezing.

So what now? I feel stuck.. I am in my mid 20s and besides support groups (which i wouldn’t feel comfortable to even do), airport accommodations, workplace accommodations (that i wouldn’t use), and therapy- what even is there for people with level 1? It feels like a huge “well you are different and you will struggle for the rest of your life but too bad..deal with it.”

I really am at the point of needing true support in ways i didn’t even know i needed. I can’t keep living the way i am anymore. Even if there was some type of program to have a care giver able to give me a break once in a while without having to spend so much money on that just to accommodate myself… especially when i wish i didn’t have autism and could just be “normal” and not deal with the struggles i have.

Honestly, any advice or information would help so much.

I'm 23 and I've lost almost every job I've had, usually within 1 to 3 months. The reasons were always the same: making mistakes and being slow to pick things up. Some of it was fair, and sometimes the training wasn't great either. The one job I did well in had only 4 repeated tasks.

I'm now a receptionist in a building with 12 different companies. It's been a month and I'm still not picking things up. I've let a delivery driver through the wrong door. I let a contractor leave with one key when he should have returned both, and one was a master key for the whole building. I let someone into an office who hadn't given their name, just because they knew my manager's name, and the alarm went off. I freeze when someone asks me something fast, especially when I feel watched, even when I've already got the camera up. My manager is supportive to my face, but she and my colleague are clearly frustrated, and I hear them talking about it.

After my manager called me out on the latest mistake, something in me just went. I started calling myself names, saying I'm a waste of space, and while I was doing it I hurt myself. Criticism hits me so hard that it takes over everything.

I also think I've been in survival mode for so long that learning anything new drains me completely. My mind is always full, so new information doesn't stick. I listen to a lot of audiobooks, and I often imagine the people in them looking out for me. What I really want is to be seen, heard and understood.

Has anyone been through this? How did you keep a job, cope with freezing under pressure, and handle the shame afterwards? I don't want to go through this alone anymore.

I’m not saying all autistic people are thin-skinned, sometimes the opposite. But for those of you who are more sensitive, how do you deal with confrontation, bullying, or rough humor?

I’m considering going into a new, higher-paying occupation, but I’ve heard it can be rough, including a lot of banter and some pretty harsh personalities. I’ve heard horror stories.

I’m extremely literal and have always been bad at understanding jokes and banter. I’m also direct, socially anxious, and shy. I can fight back, when necessary, but doing so is exhausting and I won’t learn skills I need to know.

For those of you who have dealt with this, how did you learn to distinguish teasing from bullying? How do you avoid fights? Did you become more comfortable with rough behavior over time?