The "I do that... and I'm not Autistic" or "everyone does that" to "I just found out I'm Autistic" Pipeline
#ActuallyAutistic #AskingAutistics: have you ever heard anyone say, "I do that (or everyone does that)... and I'm not Autistic"?
#ActuallyAutistic #AskingAutistics: have you ever heard anyone say, "I do that (or everyone does that)... and I'm not Autistic"?
Now… how many of those people later went on to discover that they are Autistic (or do you suspect themselves are Autistic and just don't know it)?
![3-panel comic: first panel - one year ago, a person with short hair in a yellow shirt with blue pants tries to explain what being autistic is like. Panel 2 - a person with long hair, a tan shirt, and a pale pink skirt says, “I do that, and I’m not Autistic” - panel 3 - TODAY: same person from panel 2 says, “ I found out I am Autistic this week!” 3-panel comic: first panel - one year ago, a person with short hair in a yellow shirt with blue pants tries to explain what being autistic is like. Panel 2 - a person with long hair, a tan shirt, and a pale pink skirt says, “I do that, and I’m not Autistic” - panel 3 - TODAY: same person from panel 2 says, “ I found out I am Autistic this week!”](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7b6c13c3-b865-4dff-9833-e18e797f08cb_1750x1400.jpeg)
I'm not afraid to admit that I've been this person (though, luckily, I kept my thoughts to myself and didn't speak them out loud when the opportunity to talk arose).
I was in my early to mid-twenties (over fifteen years ago now) the first time I met an openly Autistic Person at one of our cirque meetups, where that day, we had gathered in a park to practice AcroYoga.
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