What’s one misconception people have about you?

[Midoriya]

one of my favorite misconceptions that so many people have about me is that they assume bc I'm "high functioning" autistic that I don't actually have any kind of disabilities and that I don't struggle like "low functioning" autistic people do. that's why I hate using functioning labels. just because I appear to be somewhat normal doesn't mean that I don't struggle day in and day out.

a while back I was talking to someone who has literally known me for over a decade, and when I brought up that I can't work full time they said "oh im sure you could". that's like if a person in crutches says they can't walk up 35 stairs and someone says "yeah you can", like I guess technically yeah they could but it would be extremely difficult and the cost of pain greatly outweighs the benefit of having made it up the stairs.

I'm sorry this turned into a rant, but it really does make me angry and I wish people wouldn't assume things about how my autism affects me.

I also have Aspergers and can relate to this really well. I'm not as affected as others, but it still limits me. People look at me and just because I'm tall and look strong, they think I can do anything. There are a lot of things I can do, but my Aspergers limits me in ways other people aren't limited.

See, that's the thing. These are the sorts of people who take one look at you and make assumptions about who you are and what you can and cannot do. They don't bother to look at what's inside of you, at what's inside of your heart. I've had to deal with that feeling a lot growing up. It's the worst feeling in the world...

The few people who do, however, are the most special people in the world, and you should treasure them well.

 

[Rabirin]

i’d say that it’s always that i’m being sarcastic and that i seem like a very confident person. a lot of people irl read my tone wrong as i just have a very sarcastic sounding voice naturally lol, so people think i’m being rude. a lot of the time i have to tell people that i’m not being sarcastic and that i’m being genuine.

a lot of people at work also have this misconception that i must be a very confident person bc of the stuff i wear being a lil out there, which is simply not true lol!! i just wear what makes me feel good. i still see myself as that low self-esteem teenager from school lmao

 

[-Raven-]

If we’re talking about the autism spectrum- I was misdiagnosed with ASD and my family have treated me pretty badly since. My current psychologist who has actually known me much longer and didn’t physically force me to take a multi-page quiz in the corner of the room like my old one has said it was probably misdiagnosed PTSD. People really don’t get what I mean when I say that I have PTSD. I’ve gotten it from my parents, from bad experiences in classes, and from bad relationships, but unless I’ve had it people seem to really underestimate what it’s like. The thousand-yard stare and stuff about nightmares are real, it has a more visceral physical effect than other trauma.

 

[Croconaw]

-snip-

I was misdiagnosed with autism as well. I didn’t find out until a week ago. I actually have BPD (borderline) and it makes a lot more sense. Unfortunately, it was a bit confusing for me growing up thinking I had autism but didn’t really resonate with it at all? I don’t know. I know there’s some overlap between BPD and autism, but they’re definitely not the same. After getting this all sorted out, things do make a lot more sense to me. I feel better. Not that there’s anything wrong with autism, because there definitely isn’t, but finding something like this out is just a huge weight off your shoulders. BPD sounds a lot more like me…