I'm Autistic, And These Are Things I'd Like You To Know About Me

I want to clarify before you read any further that this is what I personally want people to know about me. I mention this later on, but I thought I'd put it here as well - autism is a spectrum, and every autistic person is different. Some may not relate to everything I have to say here, and that's okay! It doesn't make them any more or less autistic, all autistic voices and experiences are valid :)

Thank you very much for reading this, I hope it makes sense - I'm not much of a writer!

Alright, let's get started!

1. Faces are very hard to read. Tone of voice is very hard for me to pick out and decipher, unless you're shouting really loud and then I know you're angry with me. But please don't shout at me, I hate loud noises and I will probably completely shut down.

2. Please don't think me rude when I turn down your invitation to go out and get food, the noises the cafe makes really stress me out. Not to mention all the smells and the fact I probably won't be able to eat anything because my diet is so restrictive. My social battery is very small and limited, and leaving my house for even a short period of time can exhaust me and give me headaches.

3. Please don't tell me I'm not like your autistic brother, or niece, or someone you went to school with. Autism is a spectrum and it's different for everyone. Some autistic people require more support than others. I personally need to get people to help me fill in forms otherwise I nearly have a meltdown. Also, adding to this, please don't tell me I "don't look autistic." what does that even mean? I feel like you're trying to compliment me but I don't understand how? What do autistic people typically look like? It's an odd statement.

4. I'd appreciate it if you didn't make fun of me for the things I'm passionate about. I know I obsess over things! It's part of who I am. Just because you think it's childish or stupid doesn't mean you need to voice as such. Let me like my cartoons :D

5. I flap my hands when I'm excited, sometimes I rock back and forth as well. These are known as stims. Everybody stims! Bite your nails when you're nervous? That's stimming. Bounce your knee when you're anxious? Stimming. Playing with your hair? Stimming! I don't make fun of you for doing any of these more "socially acceptable" stims, so please don't make fun of me for mine! You get the urge to smile when you're happy, I get the urge to flap my hands. We just express ourselves differently.

6. If I'm not making eye contact, I'm still listening to you! I'm actually listening to you more than I would be if I was looking into your eyes, because my brain isn't going "look at their eyes, make sure they think you're polite. Okay, now look away for half a second, give yourself a tiny break, but not one big enough for the person to notice." A lot of autistic people can't make eye contact, please don't judge us for it. It's stressful. It's annoying. I don't listen with my eyes, I listen with my ears.

7. I'm sorry if I didn't respond to your message/comment/reply. It was a very lovely message/comment/reply, I just didn't really know what to say in response. I promise you I read it and appreciated it, I just had no idea what to say back! Talking to people is slightly easier over the internet for me, but I still find it intimidating.

These are just a few things I wanted to write about. Fellow autistic people feel free to comment anything you want the people in your life to know down below :)