Hi, my name is Stephanie and today I want to talk to you about saying the phrase,
"we're all a little bit autistic." Also, a quick merch shout out, I'm wearing my
hashtag actually autistic shirt. I have this shirt and other designs available
at my merch shop. That link is in the description below. So, when you hear that
phrase, you might have quite a variety of different reactions depending on who you
are. Most neurotypical people don't really see a problem with that. In fact,
they are like, hmm there's some logic to that statement. I think I agree with that. And
many autistic people are like, you're wrong. But me, personally, honestly, I don't
really care that much, but I feel like I, because I'm not on either side of the
scope with this particular "pressing issue," some of the things we're concerned
about is really sad, honestly. But I figured I would try to give you guys an
explanation on why some autistic people really dislike using that phrase
or hearing that phrase and why it actually doesn't make a whole lot of
sense. Now, a lot of the time, the person saying this phrase is being really
well-meaning they want to relate to the person who is autistic, and they're
basically trying to say, well, you know, we all have these things and so that makes
us all a little autistic, so I can relate to you. And there's a few issues with
this particular statement. One being the issue with accuracy. And a lot of, a lot
of autistics care about accuracy. As well meaning as this statement is, it simply
isn't true. It's kind of like when we say, oh, I'm a little OCD. Liking things to be
neat and in some sense of order is just a human kind of thing. It's a normal
trait all humans have a little bit of. We all feel overwhelmed sometimes. We all
get annoyed at sensory things sometimes. We all get overwhelmed sometimes. These
are human traits. But what makes the difference between being sad and being
depressed? What makes the difference from liking to have a clean house to
being OCD? What makes the difference between not really liking loud sounds to
having a meltdown at the grocery store? The amount and severity is really what
makes something go from a part of being human to being a difference. Now, I
believe that most people who use this term, again, are very well-meaning and are
just trying to relate and make an autistic person not feel so alone and
isolated and different. However, there are some people who use this in a way to
basically brush off the issues that an autistic person is experiencing. "We're
all a little autistic. We all have a little bit of irritation with sound. Just
deal with it. You'll be fine. We all get a little emotional sometimes.
You don't need to freak out, just power through it." This is when it becomes an
issue for me. This is when you're basically saying, like, oh, we all feel a
little something, that makes us all a little autistic, and that means that you
and the way you're experiencing things isn't really valid and you should just
get over it. Which that's probably where a lot of autistic people aren't real happy.
Don't be that person. Just don't be that person.
And if it helps you to understand that we aren't all a little autistic, we're
all human, that might help you put things in perspective. Just because you don't
like loud noises, I mean, most people don't,
that doesn't mean you're experiencing the same thing a person with sensory
processing disorder is or someone with autism is. And I get it. It's really hard
to understand something from someone else's perspective when you haven't
experienced it. So, for those of you who are well-meaning and just want to relate
without minimizing someone else's experience, maybe you can try just
relating on more of a specific level. So, someone really doesn't like that really
loud sound, say, like, "oh yeah, I totally understand. I hate it when I hear blah, blah,
blah. I totally get it." And you give them their space instead of being like, "get
over it. I hate that sound but I get over it." Just being like, "oh, hate loud sounds,
too," or, "I hate the the texture of applesauce, so I totally get why you
don't want to eat that because of the texture. I totally get having texture
things. It's chill." When it's like I totally get this pers- this specific
thing I can relate to and it's okay, it's very different from being like, "oh, we're
all a little autistic. Like, get over yourself." Very different things. So, again,
I'm sure there are people who are gonna be like, "well, you don't really understand
what it's like because you don't have this reaction to the sound or this
reaction to the texture." At that point, I don't know. Everybody's got to get over
themselves for real at some point. But I mean, being a little more thoughtful on
both sides I think is helpful to understand, like, people are just trying
to be nice and relate. And when you relate and give space instead of, like,
relating and then say, like, "but I'm fine," you know, those things are just very
different. So, that's what I wanted to talk about today. When people say, "we're
all a little bit autistic," they're really saying we're all human. We all feel
things. We all experience awkward moments. We all experience X, Y, & Z, but please
remember that that doesn't mean your experience is the same. Anyway, I hope
that I made sense. I hope that I'm not sounding like a jerk about this
particular topic because I really do know that most people mean really well
about this but I do know that it's one of those things around the autistic
community that's kind of a little bit irking because it's like one of those sayings
that people say a lot. It's like, mm, but, but you're not autistic.
You're kind of not, though. Anyway, thank you so much for watching this video. If
you enjoyed it, go ahead and give it a like and let me know your thoughts about
this whole issue in the comments below. If you've ever used this saying, what
your intentions were behind it and if you're autistic or not autistic, that
kind of thing. I'm interested in hearing different points of view in the
comments. And if you enjoy hearing autism related content from me, I do post to
this channel every Thursday at 4 p.m. Central Standard Time. So, if you're
interested in that, go ahead and hit that subscribe button. I hope that you're
having a wonderful week and I'll see you in my next video. Bye!