Below are some terms and
 
information that may help you to
 
better understand your own
 
autism or how to  become a
 
better ally.


Neurodivergence:
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“Neurodivergence” is a term developed by sociologist Judy Singer to describe conditions where the brain is fundamentally different from that of a typical person. The idea behind the use of the positively connotated term “neurodiversity” is that just because a brain is different doesn't mean it is wrong or needs to be fixed, it simply needs to be accommodated. For example, according to Singer “by autistic standards, the ‘normal’ brain is easily distractible, is obsessively social, and suffers from a deficit of attention to detail.” Just because a computer uses a different operating system does not mean it is broken.


neurotypical and allistic:
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A “neurotypical” person is simply someone who would not be considered neurodivergent and an “allistic” person is someone who just isn’t autistic.

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Stimming:
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“Stimming” is self regulatory behavior that autistics use either intentionally or often involuntarily to balance sensory input and self-regulate. To be clear, stimming helps people with autism for so many reasons. Though, it is understandable to think that these behaviors might look strange, it is so much more uncomfortable for those with autism to deny the need to stim. It can calm autistic people down, release their tension, help them communicate better, and even make them more focused.


Stimming examples can include:

  • Echopraxia: Repetitive movement like rocking, flapping the hands or arms, chewing or biting perhaps on a piece of “chewlery”, or clicking a pen repetitively
 
  • Echolalia: A form of stimming by repeating sounds, words, or phrases verbally either immediately after they are heard or later, it is sometimes called scripting
 
  • Echologia: A form of stimming by repeating sounds, words or phrases in one’s head either immediately after they are heard or later 
 
  • Echomimia: Involuntary repeating facial expressions of others (less common)
 
  • Echoplasia: Physically or mentally tracing the shape of an object
 
 



​Anxiety:
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Many autistic people often have anxiety disorders, however this is not necessarily a symptom of autism. Often anxiety can be a byproduct of needs being unmet and a world not designed around autistic people which can easily set off sensory issues. It can also be a byproduct of the bullying, gaslighting, and other social problems most autistic people experience.

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Autistic inertia:
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“Autistic inertia” is exactly what it sounds like. An autistic person not “in motion” may have trouble getting back on track.


Autistic inertia can lead to:
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  • Trouble transitioning or switching tasks: Autistic people may have issues with “switching gears” from the “headspace” or state of mind required to do one task to another.

  • Executive dysfunction: “Executive dysfunction” can be like a mental barrier that stops someone from starting or completing a task that takes great effort to break through. This can even happen with fun tasks such as starting a new tv show or engaging in hobbies. Another facet of executive dysfunction is that an autistic people may be limited in how many tasks an autistic person can perform in a day without getting exhausted. Some people measure executive functioning in units they call “spoons”.

  • Trouble with changing routines: Many autistic people find comfort in routines and sameness. Because of this, people with autism may become distressed when something is changed, such as a schedule or the route taken to work or school.

  • Trouble making decisions: Autistic people often struggle making decisions whether big or small. For example, anything from choosing a major to even shopping or ordering food can be extremely difficult and uncomfortable.

 



​Hyperempathy:
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While generally stereotyped as being unempathetic, autistic people can even experience abnormally high levels of empathy. A person with “hyperempathy” may be more sensitive to others’ emotions, real or fictional. Autistic people may also mirror the emotions of others either purposefully or unintentionally. However, many people with autism can also experience the exact opposite: “hypo-empathy” where they struggle to be in tune to the emotions of others. One person with autism can experience both of these things even at the same time.

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Object personification:
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Many autistic people may attribute human traits to inanimate objects, empathizing with them and growing attached. This is called “object personification”, and this may be a product of hyperempathy.

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Special interest vs hyperfixation:
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When autistic people latch onto a particular, often specific topic with intense long term interest and fascination, seeking out and retaining information about said topic like an excited sponge, it is called a “special interest”. But when an autistic person has an intense but short lived focus on a topic that may distract them from other tasks, that is called a “hyperfixation”. For example, a life long fascination with amphibians would be a special interest, spending the day doing extensive research on getting a pet frog instead of being productive and then moving on by the next day would be a hyperfixation. The terms, however, overlap and are often used interchangeably by autistic people.

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Trouble with theory of mind / mind blindness:
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“Theory of mind” refers to the ability to understand the mind states of others by ascribing emotions to them. A deficit in this area is sometimes called “mind blindness”. An autistic person may struggle to understand someone else’s point of view because they are distracted by their own. They must put their own point of view aside to understand another, and this process can be a bit challenging. People with autism may make the mistake of thinking others know what they know. For example, an autistic person may accidentally expect someone to know their birthday, when they have never actually shared that information with the other person.


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​Strong sense of justice:
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A "strong sense of justice" is a common trait among people with autism. Autistic people may stick to their morals strictly and become very upset by what they perceive as injustice or unfairness. Because the world is inherently not always fair, this can add extra stress to autistic people and cause potentially conflicts. However, there seems to be a misconception that people with autism are incapable of lying or twisting the truth to get what they want. Society sometimes view those with autism to be "too innocent" and incapable of manipulation. This is not true. Autistic people are just as capable of lying as everybody else. Just like humans in general, people with autism can be jerks too.

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introvert vs extrovert:
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An “introvert” is defined as a typically reserved or quiet person who tends to be introspective and enjoys spending time alone. Introverts often need time to recharge after social situations, as interactions can be extremely draining. An “extrovert” is defined as a typically gregarious and unreserved person who enjoys and seeks out social interaction. A question to ask yourself to help figure out which term you identify more with could be, “does spending time with others drain me or energize me?” To be clear though, one can exhibit qualities of both introvert and extrovert. Someone who identifies as a mix is sometimes known as an “ambivert”. Most people might understandably assume that all autistic people are introverts because a feature of autism can be issues with social situations. However, actually, there are both autistic introverts, autistic extroverts, and everything in between.
 
 

Social problems:
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​Autistic people may struggle socially in ways such as:
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  • Being overly trusting: Many autistic people, especially at a young age, may have issues with how easily they trust others. For example, they may think someone is their friend when in reality the person is just actually making fun of them.
 
  • Social anxiety and awkwardness: Social interaction may not come as naturally to autistic people. Some people with autism describe it as if they did not receive the same figurative “manual” for interaction that their peers did. Because of this, they often behave in ways others may interpret as strange and awkward. This often results in bullying and even unemployment. Because of the backlash they may receive, many autistic people are increasingly anxious in social situations as the interactions may seem precarious and scary. Many autistic people may stress over getting a “good grade” in a social interaction.
 
  • Rejection sensitivity dysphoria: While this condition is generally more associated with ADHD, “rejection sensitivity dysphoria” is also common among autistic people. It is defined as extreme distress and sensitivity over the though of being rejected or criticized by important people in one’s life or not measuring up to their expectations.
 
  • Trouble with social hierarchies: Autistic people often have problems navigating social hierarchies. Contrary to popular belief this is often not due to the autistic person not understanding the hierarchy, but because they see it as arbitrary and fail to see the importance of why someone should be treated as more important simply because of man-made titles.
 
 



​“Uneven” intelligence:
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Because autistic brains are structurally and chemically different from allistic brains, their intelligence is different too, as such IQ tests often do not measure autistic people accurately. One reason for this is that most autistic people have an “uneven” ability profile. Where allistic people may have strengths and weaknesses usually spanning around 7 points on an IQ test, the discrepancy for autistic people can span more than 50 points. For this reason an autistic person may be gifted in one subject, but barely scraping by in another.

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Savant syndrome:
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“Savant syndrome” is a phenomenon where someone with a cognitive disability is extremely talented or gifted in a certain area. However, this is not universally present in all autistic people. To be clear, autistic people who are considered savants are actually in the minority. Most people with autism do not have savant syndrome, although many can be considered highly gifted.

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Intellectual disability:
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While many autistic people may be intellectually gifted, others may have an intellectual disability. In the past this was referred to by what we now call “the r slur” as it is no longer appropriate language. These autistic people have high support needs and likely will not ever be able to succeed in traditional school, let alone join the workforce or become independent. Even still, they deserve just as much respect as a highly gifted person.

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Trouble making eye contact:
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Eye contact is not something that comes naturally to autistic people and can be very uncomfortable. Autistic people may fake eye contact by looking at the other person's nose, entire face, or by looking over their shoulder.

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Sensory processing disorder:
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One of the most common and well known struggles of autism can be “sensory processing disorder”, where the brain has a hard time processing sensation and controlling its intensity.
 
Sensory processing disorder can include:
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  • Vestibular problems and problems with fine and gross motor skills: Autistic people may have problems with their vestibular systems. “Vestibular systems” control balance and spatial awareness. As such, those with autism may struggle with gross motor function like running, jumping, and avoiding obstacles. They may also struggle with fine motor functions like holding a writing or eating utensil, buttoning clothes, or tying shoes.
 
  • Hypersensitivity: Autistic people often have heightened senses and may be extremely sensitive to touch, texture, taste, sound, or light. This is called “hypersensitivity”. Because of this, certain sensations like loud noise or uncomfortable clothes may be absolutely unbearable depending on the autistic person. A person who experiences hypersensitivity may be extremely particular about things like food or clothes to avoid intense discomfort. These specific things can sometimes cause what is called a “sensory issue” or “sensory pain”.
 
  • Auditory processing disorder: “Auditory processing disorder” may cause difficulties such as separating background noise from someone talking, understanding speech, and distinguishing between sounds and tones that sound similar.
 
  • Sensory pain: “Sensory pain” is when sensory input is so intense that it is physically painful.
 
  • Sensory overload: Because many autistic people are hypersensitive, the sensations are often too much for the brain to process. This can lead to distress, discomfort, anxiety and sometimes ear or eye pain. This is called “sensory overload”.
 
  • Meltdowns: Sensory overload as well as intense frustration or anxiety can lead to a “meltdown”. These may look like tantrums as they may involve screaming or lashing out but they are NOT the same thing. During a meltdown the autistic person is not in control of their emotions and is melting down because of extreme distress. To be clear, people with autism are not doing this for attention or to get their way.
 
 

Catatonia:
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Sometimes during periods of extreme stress some autistic people may have a freeze response that causes trouble sending the signal to their body to move. This is a form of “catatonia”.

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Nonverbal or nonspeaking:
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“Nonverbal” or “nonspeaking” is when an autistic person cannot speak. This is not a form of nervousness, shyness or stubbornness, but in fact more like a form of catatonia that prevents the autistic person’s mouth from being able to articulate the thoughts in their head. An autistic person can be partially, fully or not at all nonverbal. There is also selective mutism, in which someone loses the ability to speak as a response to stressful stimuli. Because selective mutism is involuntary, despite the name, some people prefer to call it “situational mutism”.

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Gastrointestinal problems:
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Studies show that gastro-intestinal problems are disproportionately common among autistic people. Many people with autism may benefit from a daily over the counter probiotic.

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Masking:
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“Masking” is a survival technique that people with autism use to hide their autistic traits in ways such as repressing their stims or forcing themselves to make eye contact. Masking may make autistic people appear more “normal”. People with autism are often taught or trained to mask by parents, teachers, or applied behavioral analysis (ABA) specialists. The process of masking is so extremely draining and can send an autistic people into burnout. While most self-advocates argue masking should not be necessary (or should not have to be necessary) many self-advocates of color point out it can be a matter of safety such as when avoiding police brutality as people often feel threatened by autistic behavior.

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​Burnout:
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“Burnout” is a state of mental exhaustion that can affect all people who have pushed themselves too hard. In autistic people burnout can often be caused by things like using too many “spoons” or by masking for too long.

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Trauma and depression:
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While trauma and depression are not inherent symptoms of autism they are extremely common within the community due to the bullying and abuse that most autistic people face at some point in their lives.

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Why many autistic people dislike the term "Asperger’s":

(trigger warning: disturbing content)

First of all, “Asperger's” is no longer used by the medical community when diagnosing or discussing those with autism. The terms “Asperger’s” and “autism” have been officially combined into the umbrella term that is “autism spectrum disorder”. While many autistic people still are comfortable self-identifying as having Asperger’s syndrome, many autistic people have rejected the now defunct term. This is because many do not feel the need to separate themselves from other autistic people because autism is not a dirty word and because of the dark history behind the term “Asperger’s”. Hans Asperger is well known for “saving” “high-functioning” autistic children from extermination during the Holocaust by creating a diagnosis to highlight their intelligence and potential use to society. He deemed those he called “high-functioning”  as a “life worthy of life” as opposed to other autistic people who were deemed “life unworthy of life.” The Asperger’s diagnosis, at the time, was actually called “autistic psychopathy”. According to him, autistic psychopathy was characterized by “a lack of empathy, little ability to form friendships, one-sided conversations, intense absorption in a special interest, and clumsy movements.” He then called the autistic people he observed “sadistic, cruel, violent, lacking in empathy, [and] intelligent machines.” Being “one of the good ones,” and being charactized by unfeelingness, cruelty, and being clumsy is unsettling enough, but recent research has brought to light that Asperger according to Edith Sheffer’s book, Asperger's Children: The Origins of Autism in Nazi Vienna, was involved with eugenics and extermination himself by sending children to the Am Spiegelgrun clinic. This clinic specialized in euthanasia, experimentation, and torture. Herwig Czech, another scholar, states that “Asperger managed to accommodate himself to the Nazi regime and was rewarded for his affirmations of loyalty with career opportunities. He joined several organizations affiliated with the NSDAP [the National-Socialist German Party] (although not the Nazi party itself), publicly legitimized 'race hygiene' policies including forced sterilizations and, on several occasions, actively cooperated with the child ‘euthanasia' program.”

 

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