Things You Shouldn’t Say to Someone With Autism

Fun Fact: You favorite Midday girl? (Chynna) Has Asperger's! That's right. I am on the autism spectrum. Here are some FAQ I get about Asperger's and autism in general...

Let me first start off by saying that not everyone with autism is the same. It affects all people differently. For me, my Asperger's affects me socially and emotionally. What I mean by that is that I have trouble sometimes understanding social cues, and respond (or don't respond) emotionally to situations in different ways than you might.

For example: When you're talking to someone and they look bored, what do you do? You stop talking about that thing. Maybe steer the conversation in a different direction.

I don't do that. Why? Because I don't notice the persons bored expression. I don't register in my mind that that face = bored and that I should stop talking now. Nope. I just keep on talking as if nothing is wrong. Also, I may talk way more than I should because I am just so invested in this topic and I really want you to know about it because if you know about it then I can talk to you more about it and maybe you'll get as excited about it as I am and...(etc, etc, for far too long)

Emotionally, I understand emotions...I understand why and how people feel and express emotions. I had to have flash cards growing up to show me what facially expression mean what emotions, but I get it now. When it comes to myself, however, I feel emotions...I just don't know how to express them sometimes. I might feel happy, but I don't know how to make my face show 'happy'. I have to consciously think of making my face do certain things sometimes.

I often get asked "Why are you sad?" And I think "I'm sad? I don't feel sad....Is my face doing a "sad" thing???" Sometimes my 'resting face' shows micro expressions that I'm not aware of. I'm not sad. I may just be deep in thought. This actually happened to me yesterday. I was watching Wonder Woman with my cousin and she looked over at me and said "What's wrong?" "What? Nothing." "You look mad." I wasn't mad. I was actually really excited to see Wonder Woman again. But apparently, sitting in my seat trying not to spoil the movie for my cousin, my face thought "mad" was a good 'neutral' expression to go with.

There's a lot more to it than just social and emotional difficulties, but that is my Asperger's in a nut shell. A very...tiny...compact...nutshell...That I would elaborate on, but quite frankly do not have the time and neither do you.

The most frequently asked question/statement I get when people find out I have Asperger's is "Really? I couldn't even tell!"

Thank...you...? I'm a human being, not an alien trying to adjust to life on Earth... Am I supposed to have some sort of physical deformation that signifies that I have Asperger's? Like a wart on my face, or an extra toe or something? Am I supposed to wear a scarlet A on me at all times?

Here are some more FAQ that people with autism get...and are quite frankly tired of hearing.