Autism Myths: Debunking the 4 Biggest Myths Surrounding Autistic Children by Joyce Knestrick, CRNP, FAANP

Autism awareness has soared in the last 10 years, but still, many misunderstand the condition and how it impacts people on the spectrum. Here are the top four myths, and the realities that many autistic kids (and their parents) wish the rest of us understood:

Myth: People with autism are all alike.
Fact: Autistic people are as unique as the rest of us. Often the only thing they share is unusual difficulty with social communication.

Myth: Autistic people don’t have feelings.
Fact: Most autistic people are very capable of experiencing love and empathy, they just may express it in different ways.

Myth: Autistic people can’t communicate.
Fact: The autism spectrum includes non-verbal people as well as very communicative people. Most autistic people fall somewhere in between.

Myth: It’s impossible to have a relationship with an autistic person.
Fact: People on the spectrum have close relationships with their family members, many build strong relationships with peers, and plenty go on to get married and have important adult connections.

We’ve come a long way in terms of generating autism awareness, but we still have a long way to go!