For #AutismAcceptanceMonth I’d like to share a common experience I’ve had:
“I had no idea you were autistic - It’s impossible to tell!”

I don’t show many stereotypical symptoms (No need to stim, understanding sarcasm, etc) and I’ve learned a lot of social skills over time. (1/5)

(Eye contact, vocal tone, etc)

People saying this gives me a HUGE euphoria boost. It shouldn’t.

I shouldn’t have a negative connotation, or be embarrassed by something which afflicts me like this.

I’ve even had acting professionals and a college lecturer say this to me. (2)

Like, that’s how little I present at times.

But that doesn’t mean it isn’t there. I still get excited and accidentally talk over people, I still misunderstand things, get stressed filling in documents, overthink, get sensory overload, I could go on. It very much impacts me (3)

In my day to day life.

One way we can learn to accept those of us who deal with autism is to remove any kind of stigma around us being “different” around it, and stop pushing stereotypes which don’t apply to everyone.

After all, it’s a different experience for all of us.
(4)

And nobody should really have a “Wow, I couldn’t tell” moment because of that. It’s not something you can just tell based on surface level knowledge of a person.
(5/5)