05/02/2025
Autism isn’t always that different …
So often people (including professionals!) think Autism is a clearly observable difference- and while sometimes it IS clearly observable and different, sometimes it’s not
Autism IS a pattern of differences in social communication, interests and routines, and sensory processing. It is NOT limited to an absence of skills or behaviors (I.e. “Autistic kids CAN’T make eye contact”, “Autistic kids WON’T interact with others” “Autistic kids DON’T play with toys” - these are so super FALSE and most Autistic kids WILL demonstrate these skills occasionally to frequently.
For example, I am Autistic and I make eye contact frequently. It does not make me uncomfortable and I understand the social nuances (at least mostly) of using NT eye contact. I interact with others all the time- I get along best with other neurodivergent people and in one on one interactions, but I can do groups as long as I have recovery time after. I played with Barbie’s and dolls and toys frequently, even when I was “too old” to play with toys.
And since I know I will get comments, and I will be redirecting people to the caption: this is one example of one Autistic girl. Neurotypical girls will have things in common with this girl, such as loving princesses, making eye contact, thriving in school, collecting items, etc. Her Autism traits are: having an ice cream play routine, anxiety, echolalia/scripting, hand flapping, talking to strangers, needing a routine/dysregulation with changes, and a *strong* preference/need to direct play. If a child has patterns of these Autism traits, then an eval is needed 🌈♾️