Five Ways I'm Not An Autism Stereotype 

My son fits the stereotype. He is nonspeaking, toe walks, hand flaps, spins, constantly in motion and he's a child. I present very differently from him and I think that's why it took me until I was 30 to get diagnosed. Wonderful topic! ❤

you might not have "super" powers, but you do have at least one good "regular" power: explaining concepts in way that's approachable and easy! thanks🌈

The only stereotypes I fit are that I'm good at math and I have been identified through tests to be intellectually gifted. I think the only person to believe my autism is my therapist because she was the only one to be able to identify it, probably because I was at the point that I was unable to completely mask anymore.

My therapist told me I don't look autistic -- I am too empathetic. My emotions inside me are a fucking explosion waiting to get out on the wrong day. It's extremely hard to process these things. Some days I have to sit there in my bathroom crying and screaming with the door locked and the water on, because I cant handle them. I'm horrible at math, I have to count on my fingers. People in my family have never understood. None of my therapists have either. I just got diagnosed in March of 2021.

This was very interesting. I have felt for many years that my now 12 year old granddaughter had decidedly autistic traits. She stims a lot, mostly 'playing' with her hair but also exhibits hand flapping when stressed, she is incredibly invested and passionate about VERY specific activities, ( anime drawing and the performing arts ) often to the exclusion of everything else. These two interests is all she will talk about spontaneously, though when other subjects arise in conversation, she can contribute, even voluntarily, but only if the subject is directly related to her interests, current situation or needs. She takes everything said completely literally, constantly splitting hairs on what exactly is being said.(eg she recently got highly agitated when waiting for a postal delivery because I used the word parcel instead of padded envelope to describe the package....she wouldn't accept 'package' as an alternative word either.) This actually creates problems for her when people question her generally about something, her opinions, her hopes, her wishes etc. She almost always finds it extremely difficult to answer, other than in single words, because ' she's not sure what they are actually asking her, she doesn't really understand what they want her to say', yet two, three hours later, she can talk spontaneously about all of them, often with considerable insight. She becomes noticeably anxious at even small unexpected changes to her daily routine , and confined public places, especially if they are crowded. She never speaks up in class, but is pretty intelligent.....an 'A ' student outside of the maths. She sucks at that. Yet she has good eye contact (though not with strangers), is very empathetic, an expert problem solver, a really good performer on stage, kind and both thoughtful of and helping towards others. She has no problems making friends, nor keeping them. She appears to be a very popular student. BUT, she is almost invariably frustrated by the end of a day, because , it seems to me, she is constantly working hard to 'fit in '. She lets it all out on her mum later. When she was younger there were ALWAYS meltdowns and tears immediately she came out of school. She also would rather be alone in the playground than play what she called 'silly games' with the other kids. Now she waits until she's home, and is slowly gaining insight into why she feels that way. Her mum has not had her tested because my granddaughter, herself, while she is aware of her problems, still does not feel that any of them are impacting particularly badly on her life, and so she (her mum) does not feel that a label will currently help her deal with them, rather she might us it as an excuse to not even bother trying to deal with any kind of problem. Things may well change though, as she goes through puberty, and meets more challenging problems, and she may need expert advice then. So for now, it's wait and see.

Great video! I just got my autism diagnosis today and after the session I mentioned to the psychologist I was worried I wouldn't get the diagnosis because I don't fit many of the stereotypes for autistic people. The psychologist assured me regardless of the stereotypes out there that I was definitely autistic and he was very understanding about my concerns.

When I mention in passing that I’m autistic, people always think I’m joking because I don’t fit the stereotype. They also seem skeptical when I tell them I’m not yet formally diagnosed

The first time a therapist tried to point out I might be on the spectrum I rejected what she said because I compared myself with the stereotypes of Autism I'd seen on media at the time

Watching your videos really helps me understand myself!! Delayed emotions is definitely something I have always given myself a hard time over! In January, we had neighbours over for tea and I served some cheese and crackers that we received as a gift. One of those cheeses was a strong provolone. The neighbour tried it, looked at me and actually said in quite a quiet and disappointed voice: “I find this offensive. Smells like a rat infestation.” I didn’t know what to say and at the time felt absolutely nothing at all. A few days later, I felt such rage almost to the point of tears at the horrible and disrespectful way he basically said “This cheese isn’t for me”. In fact, months later and I still haven’t let it go. We haven’t had them over since and I know they’re kind of hurt and confused as to why I’ve become so cold. My husband tries over and over explaining to me why holding onto the rage isn’t good and the neighbour isn’t a monster, but as you’ve said, I cannot empathise with neurotypicals.

Very helpful in helping me deal with the imposter syndrome (despite official diagnosis). Thank you!

i dislike the sterotypes but i fit some of them, however i only recently found out i had autism and i have lived my entire life just accepting that i was a "jerk" an "asshole" and a "loser" i know many people who do not have a diagnosis and refuse to get one and i am confused by this, it was a huge relief for me to know WHY everyone hated me my entire life why everyone abandoned me constantly , why every single human being who was supposed to love me or care for me left me or sent me away, finally knowing that it wasnt my fault really, it doesnt change much else but that though, my existence drains everyone around me who is forced to deal with me. i wish i new how to be happy but i dont think i do, i only feel negative emotions, with some bursts of happiness randomly mixed in but it dissipates quickly, how does one feel happy when they fully understand they need so much help it bothers the people around them so much that they eventually explode on you and say the most horrible things, and they are not bad people, i once made a teacher so upset when i was 8 she hit me in the head, she wasnt evil or terrible after she did it i'll never forget the look on her face, it was as if she had died and i understood even as an 8 year old that this was my fault that something i did made a normal person lash out when they would never do such a thing. it was profound because at that moment i understood how different i was and i understood how my existence affected (effected? i hate english honestly) other people who were not like me. but worst of all was i didnt know how to change it or fix it, i would try and i would make progress but i would eventually get more and more stressed out trying to behave like a normal person and then i would have an "episode" and be back at square one. (i never told anyone my teacher hit me, she shouldnt have obviously, but that is the common reaction my existence has on regular human beings over a long period of time, somehow i just understood it was her fault and i didnt want to cause her any more stress)

Hi PE! - I was diagnosed about 4 years ago (ASD age 59) and ADHD/Dyslexic when I was about 11. Since the ASD diagnosis I've struggled accepting the diagnosis because my traits are so different than other late diagnosed adults I've met. I was also in denial/avoidance I had any "problems" for 59 years so have a lifetime of dysfunctional coping skills to "unlearn". It is not easy taking down all the walls we've built and letting our true nature free. Autistic people can benefit so much, around other autistic people. Our differences become similarities when we are with others that share a similar neurological foundation. Thank you for what you share with us all.

Another great video, thanks. As someone with ADHD, may I recommend that when you're talking about a list, you write each list item on the screen while you're talking about them?

What I find most valuable about this video is that you are verbalising things that I find difficult to explain or express. By listening to you, and reading through the comments, I can see I'm not the only one with these challenges or traits, which helps me feel normal again, if that makes sense. My passion was initially personal development but this came from a desire to understand how other people work so that I could fit in and be a success. I was trying to fix myself and not be who I am. When my life to that point ultimately failed, I focused on my passion for the metaphysical, healing from trauma and self-love. I am 52 at the end of the week, and have only recognised my autism (and the extent of it) in November last year. What I've learned in the past week is that my autism is invisible to everyone else, but due to my ability to mask and cope in the moment, it is also invisible to me until after I've breached my own limitations. It's time for me to accept where my limits lie and draw a new line in the sand. Hearing you talk about your own challenges helps me to know that's okay. Thank you.

Thank you, delayed emotions and delayed understanding... most of the others also check... Most of my emotional masking are around people both expecting a different emotional response than my natural one and invalidating my emotional experience when I try to explain it either in explaining what I should have felt, or that the intensity are wrong. Or well this person has it worse so you know you shouldn't feel because it could always be even worse...

My challenge is when my husband or my manager and co workers think I am mad or miserable, when I am actually content with my job. I have learned to smile a lot so people won't think I am upset

Oh Ella I love you. "Autistic people are all humans and humans are all different from each other." In this day and age, you would think everyone would get this by now. Great video again, will be sharing with friends and family

I heard something the other day about Autistic emotions saying, it's not that we don't feel emotions, it's that we react honestly. I think a lot of NTs react the way their expected to react, whilst with some of us Autistic people, you get the genuine reaction. Although I do sometimes mask but trying not to mask as much now.

I haven't been diagnosed (yet). But since age 5 my interest was nutrition. I used to "force" my mom to buy me certain fruits and vegetables to ensure I was getting certain nutrients I wanted to improve specific organ function.

My special interest is reading, imagine that. A little kid who "reads everything with letters" is a completely socially acceptable, and even praise-worthy. Don't mind said little kid annyoing everyone with random facts from various encyclopedias because we ran out of fairytale books 😅

Got diagnosed at 3 years old I'm female too which is rare diagnonsis sometimes it's so frustrating when someone thinks my disabillity is not valid because I dont "seem" autistic and see my case as mild when infact i really struggle even though I'm able to work.

I just subscribed! I think I got here through Facebook. Anyway, I only found out I was on the spectrum at 60 years old and it certainly answered a lot about my lifelong struggles. Keep up the good work you're doing. I'll be following you. Prayers and blessings!🙏❤

My special interest has changed over the years. It started as thomas the tank, then dinosaurs/jurassic park, then the lord of the rings, then i started masking and guitars became my special interest as they helped me fit in a little more, then last year i embraced my true interest in the lord of the rings again (i masked my interest in the lord of the rings when i started becoming interested in girls as a teenager)

Great video, I think myself having ADHD and Autism makes me differ from someone with just autism. For example my extreme interests are capped by the hyper mind and inability to focus for long periods. If I didn’t have ADHD there’s certain subjects I’d be a genius at. Also maths is a particular issue as it requires a level of concentration I couldn’t ever achieve.

I am highly empathetic and especially towards animals. But the same people who recognise just how caring and empathetic I am call me all sorts of things like cold/calculating/the b word in certain situations like in arguments because I break everything down into systems and approach it very efficiently. But the way I approach problems comes from my intent to be caring (figuring things out the best way possible to save everyone heartache

Thank you. So vibrant, inclusive and clear. And I resonated with a lot

LOVED this. So true. So funny how these stereotypes exist and develop. Thank you for dispelling the myths x

I sometimes think that, with emotions and loss, it can be a mix of not have control of that particular “volume control” and so either full on or full off, coupled with not really being able to quite understand the role someone played in your life, particularly a parent!

This video cheered me up. It's so true what you say about these universally hyped false attempts in society by neurotypicals to misrepresent autistic people. I have the Asperger-related trait called 'Obsessional Paranoia'. The consultant psychiatrist noted the intensity of my long-term obsession with my role model since childhood as very intense which made my life difficult. Now my interest has moved to intense research on things I am passionate about which keeps me shut out from the world.

I am on the spectrum. All the autistic people (diagnosed or not) seem to me to be *more* empathetic than neurotypical. Yes, delayed reactions, and also how to show «appropriate» emotions, and shutting down and more confuses this fact. I have also read that autistics are far more likely to be upset about unjustice. Great video!

I have autism and anxiety and I've started to have migranes

You would totally look great in a cape, for some reason I'm picturing something in the pastel rainbows or yellow. My "superpower" is what we call my "finding magic". I can sort of pick up where items are in the house almost unconsciously, if asked, I can picture the item in my head and a little bit of their surrounding. Because of my really great spacial awareness, I can even often find things in the dark. I'm also not very great at math classes, though I can usually figure out how to get the answer but won't be able to tell you how I did it. My husband is really into trains, though I don't think he's autistic, but my special interest is pretty much anything involved in textiles and textile arts.

Ooh I've not heard anyone mention the not being upset immediately when someone dies thing. My grandad died last year and I couldn't figure out why I was broken!! My other grandad died years earlier and I was upset, but I think because everyone around me was upset and all of my family got together. Whereas we couldn't do that in covid. It feels like I'm only sad for other people for how they must be feeling and I'd confused that as my own sadness my whole life. Maybe that part of me has actually always been broken.

Literally the only reason that I'm good at math is because of autism. But, only because it was my special interest for many years and I was hanging out on college campus doing a ton of work with it.

Would be interesting if you are actually bad at maths or if it were just the teachers and/or learning material that were bad. I nearly failed math one year, but the next year I was among the best three of 2 classes. I loved this teacher and he did nothing else the whole year but telling us what examples we should work through and answering questions when we got stuck.

I appreciate this video so much. 50 and just finding out this had been my life long issue after many diagnoses. I'm sooooo bad at math!!!

This happened to my character. He had all these stereotypes of how love should feel in his mind and when his feelings didn't feet them he felt guilty for not returning his boyfriend's feelings. Also many characters thought of him as emotionless but it turns out he was actually an empath. When I was working on the plot I didn't think I was experiencing alexithymia but his character made me learn so much about myself. I even sometimes try his prefered stim to control my own skin picking stims.

I can relate to so many things you said to describe yourself that I wish we were friends in real life. Except that I would never text you or ask you out because I've always struggled to keep friends. Anyway, great video!

Have stereotypes happened bc it's NT's deciding what is ASC rather than- now revolutionary idea- letting ASC folx be their own expert. Great video, especially the part regarding emotions. Thank you

Lovely presentation. Really appreciate it. Thanks, Ella.

I am intellectually gifted with a talent for math. I am pursuing math grad school. Before encountering math, I was somewhat talented at writing and art. But I was extremely stressed out by the culture where all judgement is based on the subjective feelings and opinion of whoever is in power. It was mostly social games instead of liters try merit. So I quit, and switched over to science. I have never been happier!! I discovered I am autistic, and now I’m surrounded by other autistics day in and day out. I fit the stereotype like a glove, but it works for me perfectly, and I am so grateful.

Wow I had an obsession with trains when I was a kid. And then I moved onto castles. I recently realised that I have adhd but now I'm also beginning to realise I have some autism in there too.

Im 64 and on the low end of the spectrum. I lack some social skills and I definitely speak at the wrong time. My routine is important to me and I have no friends.

I love computes/tech and the video game Warframe. I call myself Autistic Tenno because I love the game Warframe. Tenno is the human character we play in the game. I chose my name to pay tribute to my current favorite game. I am open about my autism because I can show people there are many different kinds of autistic people. My math skill is strange. I’m not good at getting the answer right but I can do the step procedures right. I’m also Asian so I get hit with the stereotype of being good at math. I like how someone who is autistic that doesn’t talk was given a computer or something and was able to communicate their thoughts. It shows to neurotypical people that autistic people who don’t talk have thoughts to. I hate masking but it’s sometime that’s become kind of second nature to me so I can survive in a neurotypical world. I’m guessing that’s why I get hit with comments saying that I don’t seem autistic or they never would have guessed I was. It hurts. I hate it. I also hate it when people say I should take those comments as a compliment. Masking is exhausting and probable does me harm for me it’s what I have to do to survive in real life. Blah. Sorry for the vomit of information. I liked your video and wanted to share stuff with you. There is a lot of stuff I can relate to. Thank you for sharing.

I had no idea that anyone thought autistic people looked a certain way. I thought it was all about behaviours.

I absolutely love your videos. You explain things so well and I feel so comforted by this corner of the Internet. Much love!

Excellent video, thanks Ella :-) Thinking of showing this to my family as it's short & clear and makes good points.

Great video - you’re so good at explaining things in an interesting and accessible way 😊

Thank you for this video, I really identified especially with the last part regarding emotion processing. I m questioning myself a lot about either I am on the spectrum or not and your videos are helping a lot with my feeling of always being an imposter and trying to find "excuses" to my issues.

It’s great u have honest face and saying it honestly

Thanks so much for this, Ella!

I am so glad that you are doing these videos. I recently got an ASD/ADHD diagnosis and listening to you talk and explain about "all the things" is incredibly helpful.

I have liked your video at the first sentence!! This is so absolutely true! Such a brilliant topic! You always inspire me to get a diagnosis, please say fashion as one of the extreme interests, oh gosh you just did. You are amazing!

1. Yeah I've never been all that interested in trains either, but I do have a lot of other special interests. 2. I also go against the stereotype there as math was actually my worst subject in school and I've failed some math classes too. 3. Yeah I agree with you about the empathy thing I don't think it's a matter of not having empathy it's a matter of neurotypical and non-neurotypical people not being able to understand each other. 4. I've become a good musician/singer but I wouldn't really attribute it to any sort of "savant syndrome" sort of thing since it took years of training to get as good as I am. 5. Yeah I never really understood the "don't have emotions" myth but I think that makes sense that it originated from people not being able to identify it.

This video is so didatic and necessary! You are awesome ❤

Brilliant, mrs purple. Well done. Well said. All very relatable a nd necessary to have talked about. Thank you. Love from Australia.

My cousin who I suspect is also on the spectrum told me I talk too much to be autistic. Later he told me I am shy instead of autistic. I guess he can't make up his mind but knows deep inside.

Thank you! I was aware that all those were myths, but what I found most interesting was your descriptions of what you are like instead. Those were almost all the same as my own experiences with myself. Your videos have helped me finish connecting various pieces of my own puzzle...in this case, empathy. I knew I was capable of feeling empathy, but only recently realized that the reason communication with others often goes poorly is that I assume that what I feel (or don't) about a given situation is what others are feeling, and it generally isn't. This is why the responses I get confuse and frustrate me. I think it's also one reason I did not pick up on my own neurodivergences for a long time...I just assumed that what I did or felt must be what others do too. Having two parents with the same traits probably added to this (one of your videos, with your sister, helped me figure that out too).

I can't lie, but that's only because my dad lectured me when I told a white lie to my mom because I didn't want to ruin her surprise that we were getting. Since then I've had this rule that lying is never acceptable. Instead I just won't say any thing. I also don't behave different from everyone else. When my brother died years ago, I don't think I cried at all. Mostly I was helping his daughters (who were around 8 or 9) to deal with their grief. Over the next few days they would come in and watch shows with me. I gave them a place they could relax and do whatever they needed to do as they grieved for their dad. When my mom died at the begging of 2021, I again didn't cry. & sot of went numb. At the same time I let my nieces cling to me as they cried. I knew I probably had covid and covid problem killed my mom. But I was not going to push my nieces away from the comfort they needed just because I might give them covid. I wound up being admitted to the hospital for about a week and brought home an oxygen tank because I wasn't getting enough oxygen on my own. At one point I shocked my dad when I needed my own hug.

Okay firstly: I love your videos. You have such a great way of explaining things. Also: I actually really love math and science, I always have since I was in grade school. I realized later on though that I'm not bad at it, it's just that no one taught it to me in a way that I could understand. I think that's probably a good way of thinking of most abilities as an autistic person. We're probably really good at a lot more than we realize, it's just that no one took the time to explain it differently or accommodate us.

Never clicked a video so fast! Thanks for this 🥰

Love it! One of my special interests is psychology/neuroscience so I can often identify and explain why people behave a certain way. That made me really doubt my autism but now I accept it.

I’m 22, autistic and recently I had 2 people tell me that I don’t seem like I have autism even though I actually do

Ok, now this one! Not being a Savant is why I masked my “issues” almost until it killed me for many, many years. I tried to keep it hidden (yeah, that worked…) because I took things people said literally and came to believe one couldn’t be autistic without being a savant! Or, at least that one could be non verbal autistic with comorbid brain damage (my brothers diagnosis) or one could be an Asperger’s Savant…

I keep getting compared to Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory. I wish I had a genies level IQ

Another excellent video! Thanks for sharing! 👍

The Autism stereotypes I meet is fixation on fictiois things..I fixate on collecting a type of animated toys..it used to be those pop dolls know I fixate on these gothic creepture figures..my house is covered with them also I have the creativity thing

I just found your channel and your videos are really helpful thank you!

This was a super interesting video Ella

Arithmetic is not mathematics, you can be horrible with arithmetic and still be a savant with mathematics... the two are not really connected in any way at all.

Thank you Purple Ella👍🏼🌱

I really like your lego bonzai, I have the same and it's my favorite lego set!

I'm mostly good at math with a few exceptions. When I was in high school, I ran into my math teacher from the year before. I told him I was switching to his class. He responded with a "We know what grade you'll be getting". He said this because the previous year I had gotten 100% on the final. As I said I'm normally good at math and can help my classmates understand it too. While I'm good with math , I do have some glaring holes in my math abilities. I think math I struggle with are all math you will do as an adult. I'm not the best with fractions and percentages. I always use an app to figure out how much tip I should. I'm also really bad at loans and interest. I know the basics, but anytime someone tries to explain it in detail, my mind goes "Nope. Not going to remember this. It's confusing me."

Watching your videos is like a visit with a friend. Thank you.

Truly wonderful. So glad I clicked in.

I love Helen Hoang! I’ve read her books as well, and have really enjoyed them. 😊

Haha, my superpower is forgetting, give me 10 years, and I forget who was the main killer in the crime book, and forget all the details within a few years. I also wanted to say how good you've became as a presenter in the video. Before I used to only listen and fidget with something while I'm doing so, but now it's a pleasure to watch as well.

Ah, yes, being unappreciative. I learned to tear up on cue just to mask that. Like, I've been told when I was around 10 that I will get a film camera from my godmother at Christmas, and then they told me to act surprised when I actually get it. I've put on such a good performance, everyone who was in on it was totally surprised. Then I've got an electric wheelchair from my own elementary school when I graduated and I teared up - again, on cue - in front of the whole assembly, hundreds of people. Fast forward 20 years, and I face resistance from professionals getting a diagnosis, because I'm so good at masking, I'm just not appearing autistic enough. And masking became so second nature, I don't know how to drop the act, which, by the way, is still exhausting to do, I'm not magically cured of autism just like that...

The is a form of empathic mathemtics that deals with alignment and shapes and folding and so on - called topology. It is the highest form of maths - expressed most beautifully by Roger Penrose with his Penrose Tiles - he needed extra time in maths exams because he thought in shapes. Modern maths education does not suit us. The last part about having struggles with the mask personality - oh man that is hard. I'm just starting. Thanks for the video. I thought I was going mad.

All autistic people are different. Lets take me for example, I get humor, sarcasm, kind of good social cognition, I can read body language, keep eye contact. I can sense days when im more intuned with other peoples emotions and days when im not, then ill mask because I feel disconnected in myself and in others. I usually tell my close ones when im having a bad day. Process disorder. Fradgile nervous system. Thats about it. A guy in my school was also autistic, he told me he had to learn how to laugh, dident understand ironi nor sarcasm. He took evetything litteral and was good at math. Also met a girl with autism, she often cried out of the blue, i always wondered why she behaved like that, now later when I myself got diagnosed i read about alexithymia which means no words for emotion. She had trouble knowing what she was feeling, i noticed she masked alot, perhaps masking is due to emotional disconnection

I think the interest itself could be autistic. For example a little girl becoming fascinated with canals or sidewalk cracks. Or phone number exchanges. Being fascinated with a Barbie doll is normal; that's what the doll is for: to enthrall a little girl. It's a pretty, miniature lady, and it makes sense for a child to love her Barbie. But...canals? Airplane runways? Sidewalk cracks? Phone number exchanges? Those are all odd; indicative of autism! I have a formal diagnosis of ASD by the way.

i am autistic and i love technologies like tiktok, minecraft but what I love most is teaching nero typical people about autism

Thanks for the great info!

I told someone i have autism (diagnosed by a psychologist) and they told me that i probably was wrong because his son has autism and he lived with someone with autism for 10 years so he knows what autism is so i must have a very rare sort of autism then like kinda like he was mocking me

And, yes, this entire list!!!!

I also don't fit a lot of autism stereotypes, I've only just now been referred for my formal diagnosis at age 40. My doctor was incredibly reluctant to refer me, asking why? What 'difficulties' was I having? The impact on my mental health has been profound but I'm only just unpicking why.

This really resonated with me.

I’m autistic and I suck at maths to but I’m great at Lego my special interest .

The weird thing about maths is that it's not just a systematic problem solving approach but it's explicitly a specific kind of logical thinking presented in this very specific and abstract way. To be good at maths is therefore a specific cognitive skill but not a problem solving preference. I don't understand how many studies this man has done in the name of bad premises and small sample sizes just to prove that autistics lack empathy. He singlehandedly contributed to the Sheldon Cooper stereotype especially since Baron-Cohen also thinks that autistics are more typically male regardless of gender.

It takes one to know one, i think. I can usually tell when someone is "one of mine". : ) I love us! Am also adhd.

Regarding math(s)-I don't think I believe even that there is a clear distinction between "systematic" and "empathetic" approaches, or that, if so, one would be necessarily associated with ability in math(s).

I admittedly fall under the trains stereotype, but other than that, none of the other stereotypes you mentioned in this video apply to me personally. Definitely not a maths genius (got a B on my GCSE back in 2014 and didn't have any interest in pursuing maths any further), not a savant (not especially good at anything in a superhuman way) and definitely feel emotions, albeit in a different way that can sometimes overwhelm me.

Thank you for this video. I remember when I was diagnosed, I was confused. To me, there were two kinds of autism, Sheldon Cooper and Rain Man, and I fit neither. I'm decent but not genius level at maths, my big interest is lakes (I have always loved lakes), and I am the opposite of the non-empathy stereotype as I have so much empathy I even feel sad when inanimate objects are hurt and I can't enjoy a lot of comedies because I feel sad for the person we're expected to laugh at (unless it's so over the top that I can't really immerse myself in it and just distance myself from it). Another autistic stereotype that I don't fit, gender specific, is that autistic girls mask and are introverted. I'm extroverted and have never been good at "fitting in". Two words I would hear a lot from my peers is "nobody cares" when I would start talking about something I was currently fascinated with. Unless I happened to have interest in something mainstream at the time, then I'd be much more tolerated. My speech has always been a little "different", I've been compared to a text to speech program before. I also don't fit the nonverbal stereotype at all, as I am extremely verbose. In fact, I talk so much that I don't pause to swallow my saliva until I'm foaming at the mouth and talking like I have a hot potato in my mouth. It's a bad habit, I know, but I just want to keep talking! I have so many words to say! As you can tell from my comment, I do indeed use a lot of words. And I am the worst at flirting. Whenever I have a crush on a man, I "flirt" by turning my normal personality up to full power, and I don't mean to, it just happens. I always want to cry when someone who was initially interested in me no longer is after just a few minutes. I think it's that I like something and I want to share that joy with someone else so they can experience the same kind of joy that I did, and I'm terrible at doing that.

you know you can wear a cape without being a superhero, right?

Trains and dinosaurs. LOL I love them both. My interests can range very widely but when I'm into something I definitely delve in deeply. It can take away from more important things. Oops. My child (also autistic) could care less about trains and dinosaurs for the most part. It also bothers me that people don't understand SPD much, even when in the field of special education or similar. SPD can be a part of ASD or independent. I've too often heard people lumped into "sensory seekers" or "sensory avoiders" . But again it seems to be more about the compulsive and intense feelings and sensations whether rejecting or seeking. Yes it can lean one way or the other but everyone I have met has a range. My child has severe ASD but actually copes with sensory processing very well. I have less severe ASD but my SPD is one of the main criteria of my dx. But I have very strong reactions to audio; if I like a song/sound I can listen to it repeatedly beyond what most people will tolerate. BUT if I don't like a sound I can quickly feel very disturbed, unable to think about anything else, and even physical symptoms such as nausea and strong frustration and exhaustion. I mostly seek tactile experiences but there are some that I CANNOT tolerate like a normal adult. As a child I actually used to cry and be off-put form my hands being dirty.

I see stitch in the background!! 😁. My cute little big-eyed boy is autistic... His interests are constantly changing. My daughter who seems neurotypical (but probably isn't because no one in our family is lol) is the one who loves choo choo trains 🚂

Well, I do enjoy train stuff but I failed calculus 3 times in a row! And algebra was quite a struggle. Geometry turned out to be both relatable and enjoyable.

No one is a stereotype....❣...NO ONE!

Wow! Watching your channel, so much of your content feels like looking into a mirror.

I think stereotypes are why I never even considered my self autistic until it was pointed out and got diagnosed, for example I had thoughts like oh I can't be autistic I don't have those super powers or I'm not good at maths