Me doing art:

“But you don’t look Autistic!”

“I don’t think you have Autism.”

“But you’re so smart/funny/pretty/social!”

“Oh, I’m so sorry!”

“I read Autism can be cured by…”

“Oh, so you’re like [celebrity/fictional character]?”

“Are you Autistic-Autistic, or do you just have Aspergers?”

“My sibling/cousin/friend has Autism, and they’re nothing like you…”

“But you’re not one of those Autistics, right?”

“Isn’t that a kids thing?”

“But you seemed so nice!”

“Is it because of [insert thing here]?”

“I’ll pray for you.”

“Are you a high-functioning Autistic, or a low-functioning Autistic?”

“I’d never have guessed, you’re so inspirational to still be doing what you’re doing!”

Here is a comic idea I came up with and with the amazing artistic help of @friendlyforkliftart I get to have my idea out here for all of you amazing people! 

Okay, deep breaths. I know this is hard for you if you’ve always considered yourself neurotypical.

You might be thinking of the “Autistic screeching” jokes, that you’ve heard them used, that you’ve used them yourself.

You might be thinking “but I’m smart/social/normal!”

It’s okay. Unpack your defensiveness.

ESPECIALLY if you’re a girl. So many Autistic girls are never diagnosed, and I’m going to try to make sure you’re not one of them.

- If you are often “in fandoms” and you have hyperfixations with them - whether they change or not - that could be a Special Interest (SpIn for short), a term for an Autistic person’s fixation.

- If you consider yourself “smart but lazy” - Autistic people tend to be “smarter” than most neurotypicals, but often lack energy. This is sometimes dismissed as “a gifted person who just isn’t trying”.

- If you have “resting bitch face”, remember that Autistic people usually don’t express emotion in their face or body language, so it could be one of the key signs for Autism.

- If you are “sensitive towards light/sound/temperature” and often find yourself “overreacting” (and feel childish / have people tell you that you’re childish because of it), you could be experiencing sensory overload.

- If you “enjoy fidgeting” or just really like good smells/tastes/textures beyond normalcy, you could be stimming, which is extremely common in both people with ADHD and Autism.

- If you are “emotional because of other people’s feelings” or “unempathetic/unemotional when it comes to other people”, you could be experiencing hyperempathy/hypoempathy, especially if you tend to fluctuate between the two. Remember that being hypoempathetic doesn’t make you a bad person: you can still experience compassion/sympathy like anybody else!

- If you consider yourself “weird”, remember that Autistic minds work differently than Allistic minds, and that this could mean that you’re not just “quirky/odd/unusual”, you’re Autistic.

Don’t panic, the Autistic community is beautiful and a lovely place to be in. And remember that self-diagnosis is 100% okay, good, and valid.