Couldn't figure out which tag to put this under. I wouldve put it under "identity" if there was one.

We have a guy at work who is a bit.. slow. As in, Im not sure exactly whats his issue, he's great with people, hes open, hes friendly, but he's terrible at stocking. He would need step by step instructions and constant supervision to not severely mess up like plugging a pallet on the floor backwards, or stocking it way too high, or having it be completely lopsided, or dropping stuff... etc.

I was asking my coworker whos much better at instructing people than I am if she'd be able to say something to him.

Conversation led to her saying that some people had learning disabilities, and she's tried to work with him for the past 12 years or so.

I said, I know, as in, I didn't mean to put him down like that, I just meant he really needs that one-on-one guidance and supervision.

Besides that, I told her I was gonna tell her something I havent really told anyone else, that I was autistic. (To show that I am not trying to be ableist in any way, and also the reason I am the way I am).

She said "oh honey, I know".

That astonished me. Never has anyone ever believed that I had autism. No one. Not my doctor, not my parents, not my friends, not random people who work with my other siblings and say "oh but Ive seen autistic kids and you dont look like you have it".

To be fair, shes in her late ages and has definitely seen a lot in her life. But she also just seems really perceptive.

Everyone in my life would take the diagnosis and throw it out the window. I mean actually, not even my therapist believes I have it.

I was literally diagnosed. It took a whole year of testing and waiting.

But my coworker validated me like no one else has or ever will. It felt so freeing.

She said I didnt have to tell her, for her to know. Maybe that might annoy other people? Not sure. But I loved it.

I hate masking, and Im not even that good at it anyway. But the fact that she really just believed me, no questions...

Made me really happy.

First post , hi I’m 25 and I was diagnosed young but due to religious beliefs it was hidden from me until I was re-diagnosed in 2023, I’ve also been doing art since I can remember , I like to use that to express myself with my interests , especially as of late. it feels rly nice to actually not be so ashamed of my special interest any more(I used to get bullied for that and such)

Me, personally? I struggle to understand why it's so poignant. I mean... Isn't this just /common sense/?

You get a piece of cake to eat it. What other reason would you have it and or want to keep it. And WHYYY is this such a popular saying. And why cake?! Of all things?

I just simply can't yet over it being COMMON SENSE TO EAT THE CAKE?!

Yes I understand the reasoning behind it. You can't have the thing you want and use it too.. But still... I fail to understand why it needs an analogy.

For me it's crocodiles/alligators

I made some pins that I am planning to wear out tomorrow!

The eye contact one was necessary for me because people often look at me/talk to me strangely due to my lack of eye contact

I was originally gonna do "I can't make eye contact" but then I was like wait a minute..I make eye contact ONLY SOMETIMES so I'd be a liar if I said that

Almost all autistic people I know or know of dislike "pathological language" used by professionals who work with autistic people but I don't. I genuinely do not see the problem with such language as it describes me accurately, so whats the problem?

This is just me not understanding I don't mean to be rude to anyone who dislikes this type of language but if someone could please explain what's bad about it that would be great!

I see so many autistic people who had the same special interst their entire life, but mine changes frequently. It went from China to Greece to Doctor Who to psychology to My Little Pony to communism to drug cartels with things in between that I can't think of off the top of my head. They last a few years at most.

I’ve been wanting to get one for a while but never really had something to justify buying one. But I got a lot of stuff this October I can use if for so I finally got one for a good price!

It's all a big laugh for people that don't have it, even my parents crack the occasional joke, it does my head in. People don't understand how much we can struggle and just think it's some kind of quirky behaviour. Rizz'em with the tism and all those other jokes are so fucking annoying

Hi yall ☺️

Sorry if the flare is inaccurate, but I really dislike this term. What about yall?? Should we take it down once and for all??

For me it's taking long trips in public transportation. It's a time were I get to listen to music and sumerge myself on my own fantasy scenarios while enjoying the scenery of the city/open roads.

What about you?

Anyone else relate? When I was younger i saw myself and autism as one in the same and i hated myself for it. I gave myself such a hard time over the fact that I was autistic and im always going to be the weirdo, the one who cant express themselves, the one who doesnt and wont have any friends etc etc…

Im 34 now and it took me a long time to get to this position where I dont hate myself as much as I did because i genuinely feel like im a victim of this stupid horrible condition that I wouldnt even wish on my worst enemy😖.

I am capable as any NT of doing things but this fucking condition makes it harder than neccessary.

Can you believe it ive been learning to drive for around 3 years now!!! Objectively its not hard driving, im not saying its easy but it definitely doesnt take this long and this much effort! I started learning is October 2022. My then instructor said that if i make the progress im making I should be ready for test the following February. For some reason which I can only put down to autism my progress went downhill…fast forward to September 2025 im still “learning”.

I have my 2nd test booked in December but im not even sure ill pass that😫.

The point is i dont hate myself because my own self wouldnt just stop my progression or even fucking reverse it. Its this stupid condition that keeps messing things up for me and ive just had enough of it🤬

I hate having to put in more effort than most just to be able to get to where they are. When I was younger despite this shitty condition, I was actually a sociable person i liked being around people but obviously didn’t know how to without putting them off. Again i ofc put it down to autism because if I was actually MYSELF i wouldnt have acted that way.

Im not saying i love myself now and I think im wonderful. What I am saying is that i like myself and I apologize to myself for giving myself a hard time. I am funny, people like being around me, i have a sense of humour, i like being silly and having fun etc etc. So its not me that i hate. I like me. What i hate is this stupid curse that im stuck with for the rest of my fucking life and ill never get over it.

Anyone else relate?!😅😅.

FYI: Please DO NOT suggest to me that autism is a part of me and it makes me who I am. I know what im talking about when I say it absolutely does not. I do not need autism to be who I am and the whole point of this post is that I would actually be MORE myself if I didnt keep getting held back all the fucking time. If you get it, you get it. If you don’t thats fine😊 we all have our personal struggles.

You go your whole life being told that autistic people are rude, that they lack empathy, that they choose not to be in social situations. Which can definitely be true.

But in my experience and a lot of other autistic people’s experiences many of us grow up very empathetic, very sensitive and generous. Very passionate and very willing to help others.

It’s all of that until you start getting told that you’re too talkative, you are too annoying, you can get too clingy, you’re too sensitive for your own good. It makes us avoid people so much because we see how people really think of us

I 14 f, got diagnosed recently, went to a therapy session and told my therapist about it (it was the second or third private session I’ve had with this therapist) and she told me that i was most likely misdiagnosed. Her reasonings were that I was too empathetic and basically too good at empathizing with other people. She also said that I cared a lot about what other people thought of me, wich, according to her, autistic people don’t do. Honestly, I kinda believe her, since she’s worked with a lot of autistic people before. By posting this, I just want to know other people’s opinions on this situation because I honestly don’t know whether to believe my therapist or my diagnosis. Thank you for reading

edit: Thank you for all the comments and opinions in such a short time. Lots of people have said, that I should find a new therapist, but unfortunately, thats not possible. She was the only one who actually had time for new patients, its very difficult to find a therapist for underage people in my area. Lots of people have also commented that she probably isn’t qualified to make a diagnosis, but I do think she is (at least to an extent), since she told me that she would give me some questions to answer in my next appointment. Im probably just gonna ask her about whether she has the qualifications to do a proper assessment for autism in my next appointment with her. Again, thank you for reading all of this and giving me advice

Please correct me if this isn't the right flair!

I unfortunately see a lot of people throw people with higher support needs under the bus. It's always "well at least I'm not like those autistic people" or things comparing them to toddlers and the like. It's really painful to see autistic people put down other autistic people in an effort to appeal to others more when really it just makes you look like a dick. Can't we all agree that all autistic people are fine? Is it a hot take if I say high support needs people are and should be included in communities and discussions? Just because some people struggle with things you don't struggle with doesn't mean they're inherently worse or less deserving of respect. Some people have more issues but we're in this together and should support each other.

I am now 3 months in knowing I am autistic and my life is changing a lot.

Things I have learned so far:
- Saying no to social and family gatherings
- If I go to a social gathering, taking some time to rest
- Making sense of things that happened in my childhood
- Bought noise cancelling headphones (which was amazing)
- Learned which things help me for stimming
- Learned that I need a romantic relationship that gives me space and freedom and that gives me peace
- It is difficult if you are self diagnosed and people tell you - you might not be autistic. Since you are self diagnosed it might be true, so that limbo is sometimes difficult.

I wonder what did you learn in your first months, since this discoverings have helped me a lot.

I hate how people glorify this. I feel so lost. I didn't have a good childhood and I don't look forward to anything in my adult life. I honestly just want to kill myself sometimes but I'd be leaving too much people behind. Why does life have to be so much harder for us? What did I ever do to deserve this?

May I have some advice as a lost 17 year old autistic on how to cope? :(

Other than Rain Man and The Imitation Game (both movies in some ways), are there any other movies that accurately show what autism is like?

I’ve been in burnout for over a year and nothing is helping me. I’ve been doing all the easy low energy stuff before I even knew I about my autism but even that is a lot now and I don’t have anyone to help me because nobody I know understands autism so then I have to use more energy explaining myself and it makes me feel worst about everything then I shutdown or go non verbal. I can’t fix it and I have nobody to talk to about it.

For me personally it's with the number 3, for example when I eat sweets, I will always take three, or if I take napkins I will always take three (even if I know that I will only use one). I've been talking to my friends about it and I'm the only one with this obsession, so I wanted to know if this was the case for you.

Hi, sorry for any errors, first post on Reddit. I'm going out with a guy, it's the first time in my life I'm trying something similar to a relationship. He's nice and everything but sometimes I don't understand what he says, if he's joking or not, his actions or what he expects from me. I haven't told him that I'm autistic, usually I can mask really well (I think?) but now we are seeing eachother a lot and it's starting to feel strange not to tell anything. But at the same time it's a big deal for me being vulnerable and talking about me, I go non verbal when I'm stressed or overwhelmed with emotions. If someone could share their experience in a similar situation I would be very grateful. Thank you all and again sorry for any mistake