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Before casting judgment on something you know little about, take a moment to reflect. Ask yourself; will this thought or these actions cause harm to others? Taking responsibility of the impact you have on the world is a huge step in the right direction.

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A lot of people assume that people with autism are alone so often as a result of lacking interpersonal skills. While this can sometimes be true, a lot of people with autism simply prefer being alone. Interacting with people and engaging in settings with high sensory input can be overwhelming for us. If you see us by ourselves, feel free to offer your company but don't be offended if we respectfully decline.

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You'll Never Fully Understand It Unless You Have It

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You'll Never Fully Understand It Unless You Have It

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A lot of what people assume about individuals with autism couldn't be further from the truth. These assumptions are creating a negative narrative around what it means to be on the autism spectrum.

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What Women With Autism Want You to Know | Iris

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Others have always seen me as different, but I'm just—me. I wish you would understand that I'm a person with feelings. I know I can come off as intimidating; learning to control my emotions is a constant battle. So for now, all I ask for is patience.

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This is a post by Autism Speaks staff member John Taylor. For more personal stories and information from experts about an autism diagnosis as an adult, view our tool kit here.
Sometime when I was in my early 20s, my father showed my mother a magazine feature he read about Asperger syndrome and said something like, "Doesn't this remind you of John?" She agreed and took me to see some professionals at the Seaver Autism Center at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New York.

After a series of tests, they diagnosed me with autism at the age of 24.

Growing up, I often excelled in about every subject other than math and for a few years was reading well above my grade level. However, I also had an IEP which included being placed in a Special Ed class for 1 year in elementary school and extra time on tests until I graduated high school. Depending on what age, I had intense interests: trains, basketball, linguistics, etc.

I also struggled to find a job even after graduating college. These are some of the reasons that my mother brought me in to be diagnosed. I was in denial at first.

To this day, I haven't seen the movie Rain Man, but my perception of autism was mainly shaped by what others had told me about the movie. Basically autism made you some sort of socially inept mute (or almost mute) savant. I was intellectually gifted and often struggled socially (a nerd you could say), but certainly not like Dustin Hoffman's character.

As they say, "If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism". I slowly came to accept my diagnosis by connecting with others on the spectrum. I started attending social skills and support groups. On the Internet, I discovered the autism blogosphere and YouTube videos by people with Autism. I found their personal experiences about life on the autism spectrum to be a lot more relatable than what someone off the spectrum, however educated about the facts, could tell me.

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From denial to acceptance: Diagnosed with autism at 24 | Autism Speaks

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This is a post by Autism Speaks staff member John Taylor. For more personal stories and information from experts about an autism diagnosis as an adult, view our tool kit here. Sometime when I was in my early 20s, my father showed my mother a magazine feature he read about Asperger syndrome and said something like, "Doesn't this remind you of John?"