Myths About Autism
Even if you haven't heard these before, there are a great many myths about people with ASD. Whether you yourself are concerned about them or hear them from others, I think it's important to clear them up now so you can develop your friendship without having to worry about them, and even be able to debunk these myths when other people say them to you. These are smaller scale myths - to read more about the Ultimate Myth about people with autism, click here.
Myth #1: People with autism don't have feelings.
While the myth is untrue, my guess as to where this myth comes from is the debate over autism and empathy, and the confusion about what empathy means. Empathy doesn't have anything to do with your own emotions. Empathy is the ability to 'read' what someone else is feeling, understand that feeling, and then feel it yourself - kind of like the ability to step into someone else's shoes. The link between autism and empathy is much debated, and while treated by many as a basic fact of autism, there are many case studies to the contrary. My sister, for one, would definitely say that she has empathy, and I would agree with her. Ultimately, I would caution you not to make assumptions on that point because the whole autism and empathy relationship seems to be very misunderstood - something even experts disagree on - and is probably better left alone until we can say more for sure. You can read more about autism and empathy off-site here.
That said, returning to the original problem, many people take this empathy debate to mean that people with autism are robots without feelings. Even assuming that people with autism have trouble with empathy, that does not mean that they do not experience emotions or care about things. You don't need to be able to step into someone else's shoes in order to be able to experience a feeling yourself. People with autism definitely have feelings.
Myth #2: People with autism are violent
I'd only heard this myth once before, but I'm going to be proactive after the Adam Lanza fiasco on the media and bust this myth before it even gets off the ground. In fact, there's so much on the subject that I can sit back and let reputable sources do the myth-busting for me:
The Atlantic
"Researchers have found no connection between autism and violence."
CNN
"There is absolutely no evidence or any reliable research that suggests a linkage between autism and planned violence," the Autism Society said in a statement. "To imply or suggest that some linkage exists is wrong and is harmful to more than 1.5 million law-abiding, nonviolent and wonderful individuals who live with autism each day."
CBS
"Asperger's syndrome not likely to make people violent, experts emphasize."
The New York Times
"And if study after study has definitively established that a person with autism is no more likely to be violent or engage in criminal behavior than a neurotypical person, it is just as clear that autistic people are far more likely to be the victims of bullying and emotional and physical abuse by parents and caregivers than other children."
Still don't believe me? Click on the name of the media outlets above and read the articles for yourself. If you haven't concluded it already, by the end you'll agree that there is no link between autism and violence towards others.
Myth #3: People with autism can't talk.
I'm sure your friend has already debunked this myth. It is true, not everyone with autism can talk. Asperger's Syndrome, a form of high functioning autism, is comorbid (often seen together) with selective mutism, and language delays are part of the diagnostic criteria for traditional autism. However, language delays are not the same as no language at all (although that is found in some), and those with Asperger's Syndrome do not have language delays and frequently have good language skills. In short, this myth just isn't true.
Myth #4: People with autism are mentally retarded.
The fact that you know your friend with ASD from college should serve as evidence enough to make you question this myth, but let's debunk it for good. Just as good language skills are associated with Asperger's Syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum, so is average to above average intelligence. And while people with classic autism are often seen, even by scientists, as being mentally retarded, this insightful article from Wired.com questions the tests given to people with ASD to measure their intelligence, calling it the same as giving "a blind person a test heavily dependent on vision and interpret[ing] their poor score as an accurate measure of intelligence." So, no, you cannot make a blanket statement that people with autism are retarded. It just isn't true.
Myth #5: People with autism are savants like Rain Man.
While autistic savants do exist, only about 1 in 10 people with autism fall under that category. In short, your friend is not likely to be one of them. One of the women quoted in Aspergirls, a book by Rudy Simone about women with autism, put her feelings about the matter this way. "...the myth that all AS people are super intelligent mathematician science savants...makes me feel, as an Aspie [person with Asperger's] who doesn't have any of that, I'm a double fail - I fail at being normal, and also fail at being AS." (p. 21)
Myth #6: People with autism can't have romantic relationships.
This myth is completely false. Just because someone has autism does not mean that they can't be in a successful romantic relationship. If you want to test this yourself, just do a check on Amazon. A search for autism and dating will produce results like, What Men With Asperger Syndrome Want to Know About Women, Dating and Relationships; 22 Things a Woman Must Know: If She Loves a Man With Asperger's Syndrome; Autistics' Guide to Dating: A Book by Autistics, for Autistics and Those Who Love Them or Who Are in Love with Them; and more. As you may have noticed from the titles, relationships for people with autism are not limited to other people on the autism spectrum. Many relationships are between people on the spectrum and neurotypicals who are not. Not everyone on the autism spectrum is interested in dating or relationships, and that choice is one that should be respected, but the claim that people with autism are incapable of having romantic relationships is utterly false.
Myth #7: The Ultimate Myth
The ultimate, and final, myth about autism is so large, and so pervasive, that it had to have its own page devoted to debunking it. Read up on the ultimate autism myth, if you haven't already, here.
Myth #1: People with autism don't have feelings.
While the myth is untrue, my guess as to where this myth comes from is the debate over autism and empathy, and the confusion about what empathy means. Empathy doesn't have anything to do with your own emotions. Empathy is the ability to 'read' what someone else is feeling, understand that feeling, and then feel it yourself - kind of like the ability to step into someone else's shoes. The link between autism and empathy is much debated, and while treated by many as a basic fact of autism, there are many case studies to the contrary. My sister, for one, would definitely say that she has empathy, and I would agree with her. Ultimately, I would caution you not to make assumptions on that point because the whole autism and empathy relationship seems to be very misunderstood - something even experts disagree on - and is probably better left alone until we can say more for sure. You can read more about autism and empathy off-site here.
That said, returning to the original problem, many people take this empathy debate to mean that people with autism are robots without feelings. Even assuming that people with autism have trouble with empathy, that does not mean that they do not experience emotions or care about things. You don't need to be able to step into someone else's shoes in order to be able to experience a feeling yourself. People with autism definitely have feelings.
Myth #2: People with autism are violent
I'd only heard this myth once before, but I'm going to be proactive after the Adam Lanza fiasco on the media and bust this myth before it even gets off the ground. In fact, there's so much on the subject that I can sit back and let reputable sources do the myth-busting for me:
The Atlantic
"Researchers have found no connection between autism and violence."
CNN
"There is absolutely no evidence or any reliable research that suggests a linkage between autism and planned violence," the Autism Society said in a statement. "To imply or suggest that some linkage exists is wrong and is harmful to more than 1.5 million law-abiding, nonviolent and wonderful individuals who live with autism each day."
CBS
"Asperger's syndrome not likely to make people violent, experts emphasize."
The New York Times
"And if study after study has definitively established that a person with autism is no more likely to be violent or engage in criminal behavior than a neurotypical person, it is just as clear that autistic people are far more likely to be the victims of bullying and emotional and physical abuse by parents and caregivers than other children."
Still don't believe me? Click on the name of the media outlets above and read the articles for yourself. If you haven't concluded it already, by the end you'll agree that there is no link between autism and violence towards others.
Myth #3: People with autism can't talk.
I'm sure your friend has already debunked this myth. It is true, not everyone with autism can talk. Asperger's Syndrome, a form of high functioning autism, is comorbid (often seen together) with selective mutism, and language delays are part of the diagnostic criteria for traditional autism. However, language delays are not the same as no language at all (although that is found in some), and those with Asperger's Syndrome do not have language delays and frequently have good language skills. In short, this myth just isn't true.
Myth #4: People with autism are mentally retarded.
The fact that you know your friend with ASD from college should serve as evidence enough to make you question this myth, but let's debunk it for good. Just as good language skills are associated with Asperger's Syndrome, which is on the autism spectrum, so is average to above average intelligence. And while people with classic autism are often seen, even by scientists, as being mentally retarded, this insightful article from Wired.com questions the tests given to people with ASD to measure their intelligence, calling it the same as giving "a blind person a test heavily dependent on vision and interpret[ing] their poor score as an accurate measure of intelligence." So, no, you cannot make a blanket statement that people with autism are retarded. It just isn't true.
Myth #5: People with autism are savants like Rain Man.
While autistic savants do exist, only about 1 in 10 people with autism fall under that category. In short, your friend is not likely to be one of them. One of the women quoted in Aspergirls, a book by Rudy Simone about women with autism, put her feelings about the matter this way. "...the myth that all AS people are super intelligent mathematician science savants...makes me feel, as an Aspie [person with Asperger's] who doesn't have any of that, I'm a double fail - I fail at being normal, and also fail at being AS." (p. 21)
Myth #6: People with autism can't have romantic relationships.
This myth is completely false. Just because someone has autism does not mean that they can't be in a successful romantic relationship. If you want to test this yourself, just do a check on Amazon. A search for autism and dating will produce results like, What Men With Asperger Syndrome Want to Know About Women, Dating and Relationships; 22 Things a Woman Must Know: If She Loves a Man With Asperger's Syndrome; Autistics' Guide to Dating: A Book by Autistics, for Autistics and Those Who Love Them or Who Are in Love with Them; and more. As you may have noticed from the titles, relationships for people with autism are not limited to other people on the autism spectrum. Many relationships are between people on the spectrum and neurotypicals who are not. Not everyone on the autism spectrum is interested in dating or relationships, and that choice is one that should be respected, but the claim that people with autism are incapable of having romantic relationships is utterly false.
Myth #7: The Ultimate Myth
The ultimate, and final, myth about autism is so large, and so pervasive, that it had to have its own page devoted to debunking it. Read up on the ultimate autism myth, if you haven't already, here.
The Facts
Now that we've debunked the myths about autism, you might be more interested in learning the facts as we currently know them. You can learn more about them by reading the Autism Explained page on this website, or by going off-website for a more detailed, scientific explanation:
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm
Now that we've debunked the myths about autism, you might be more interested in learning the facts as we currently know them. You can learn more about them by reading the Autism Explained page on this website, or by going off-website for a more detailed, scientific explanation:
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/autism/detail_autism.htm
