Autism is NOT a Mental Illness! What IS Autism: Autistic People Without the Pathology
Being Autistic doesn't necessarily mean one will have a mental health condition; there are Autistic people with great mental health out there, but they are in the minority.
Content Warning: Suicidal Ideation, Behaviorism, NeuroDivergent Trauma
Thanks to a viral video of me and David sticking Googley eyes on things in Walmart, thousands of new people have recently joined us on our various social media platforms - which is excellent (except many of them don't know much about Autistic People or NeuroDivergence).
Lots of the newcomers didn't join for the educational content. They joined for a fun video of my AuDHD partner and me having a blast, making the most out of my least favorite store. As the educational content starts rolling in, they will either leave or learn (either is fine with me).
Even if people aren't here for education, they often come to this space with false information about NeuroDivergent People. They will need to be educated if they're going to stay in this space without harming my community members.
One piece of misinformation I've been seeing a lot of recently on this page is the misconception that "Autism is a mental illness" - which it's not.
Autism is NOT a mental illness.
Autism is a neurological and developmental difference where people experience differences in the following areas:
Differences in communication and language processing and usage - can cause people to land on the extreme ends of proficiency with language but may also cause struggles with communication and language processing.
Differences in the intensity of interests and focus - Autistic People often have specific or steadfast interests. We often become very captivated by our interests, so strongly that they can become all we think about - and sometimes we can't let things go (even if we want to).
Autistic People socialize differently than non-autistic people - we tend to be very direct communicators and often dislike small talk, favoring "deep conversations" on topics that may be "taboo" to non-autistic people. We also tend to do better in small group or one-to-one settings where we engage in activities around shared interests (or parallel play) vs. socializing in large groups or just for socializing with no activity or purpose (unless you're someone we know well already). It takes me a while (and lots of energy) to figure new people out. As a kid, I liked hanging out with adults more than other kids most of the time. I had one close friend at a time (and was always wrecked if they moved or left) because of how long it took me to get to know someone enough for them to be predictable enough that I felt safe around them. Also, I've always been VERY content to be left alone in a room to engage in one of my intensely focused hobbies and passions. I don't feel alone when engaged in an activity I love.
Sensory processing differences are common in Autistic People - Every human being, Austic or not, has a unique sensory profile. This can vary significantly from person to person, even from Autistic person to Autistic person. Autistic (and other sensory-sensitive humans) often have sensory profile ranges that usually tend to be on the extreme ends of things (being overly or under-sensitive in various areas of a person's sensory profile compared to those who are not sensory sensitive). For those of us who are sensory sensitive, the sensory atmosphere is always top of mind whenever we venture out into the world.
Need for routine - The world is frequently chaotic and hostile to Autistic and other NeuroDivergent People. This world wasn't designed with my needs taken into consideration, and my options are to flex myself (which I've tried, and it didn't go well) or to bend the chaotic systems to fit me. Predictability, routine, and having as much information as possible are ways I make sense of the chaos, and excerpting control over the world allows me to prevent it from hurting me. People on the outside see "restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior" - they feel my need for routine limits me. However, I experience comfort in predictability. I operate with some "insistence on sameness" that others interpret as having an "inflexible adherence to routines," but I benefit from having a routine that works for me. Allowing myself to give into my deep love for my familiar interests, safe foods, comfort shows, songs, and sensory things (that I know are good for me and won't cause me harm - when so many things in the world are bad for me) has been good for me.
Just like other humans, Autistic people can have good or poor mental health (though Autistic People have an increased likelihood of experiencing a mental illness because of how we are treated in the world).
Systemic problems, that exclude and isolate Autistic People, expecting us to assimilate into a society and system that isn’t designed for us exacerbate these issues.
Being Autistic doesn't necessarily mean one will have a mental health condition; there are Autistic people with great mental health out there, but they are in the minority.
Systemic problems and barriers are destroying the mental health of many NeuroDivergent People.
Systems and structures that favor the majority will often miss, exclude, and harm the outliers.
Unfortunately, many systems in society have been set up by and for the neuro-majority, NeuroTypical people (those who are considered to have an “average” or “typical” brain) at the expense of NeuroDivergent humans.
Over and over again, we are asked to try harder to fit into these broken, outdated systems instead of flexing the systems so that we may evolve and find solutions that work well for everyone.
I am Autistic, and I'm also one of the statistics above. I have both diagnosed and undiagnosed mental health problems.
Autism is a lifelong difference. Even though I didn't know it, I was Autistic for the first twenty-nine years of my life, even before I was diagnosed. My life experience is filtered through an Autistic lens.
My life and the moments in it all have been influenced by my Autistic brain.
Though my presentation and how I cope and interact with the world around me is still changing and evolving through the years, I will always be Autistic (my ADHD isn't going anywhere either).
I've always been Autistic, but I didn't always have an Anxiety disorder or struggle with depression or the side effects of long-term trauma starting when I was a small child (that I now live with and am trying to unravel).
Not knowing I was Autistic meant I was required to perform the same way everyone else did (without assistance, support, or tools to accommodate my differences).
Because nobody knew my needs were different from those of most people around me, I was expected to perform in an environment that wasn't made for me.
Because I wasn't diagnosed Autistic in childhood (and had no explanation for why I was the way I was), many of my visible Autistic traits (especially in school) were seen (and treated) as behavioral issues, causing me a lot of trauma and distress.
When you are an Autistic Person living in a world full of non-autistic people, even if you don’t have words for what makes you different, you KNOW you are different.
I felt myself struggling to do things other people don’t struggle with, and I didn't know why “simple tasks” (I put that in air quotes because simple is relative) were so hard for me.
My experience in school was not uplifting or empowering. It was traumatizing and disempowering.
Instead of modifying the system to include me, I was expected to alter myself to fit into the system.
My mental health struggles, anxiety, frustration, and confusion were treated as "bad" or "challenging behavior" that needed to be expunged.
Because I was seen as "the problem," I wasn't offered support.
Paid subscribers have access to the rest of this post.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to NeuroDivergent Rebel’s Substack to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.