396 Quotes About Autism

Rather than lacking a theory of mind, it is argued here that due to differences in the way autistic people process info, they are not socialised into the same shared ethno as neurotypical people, and thus breaches in understanding happen all the time, leaving both in a state of confusion. The difference is that the neurotypical person can repair the breach, by the reassuring belief that ~99 out of 100 people still think and act like they do, and remind themselves that they are the normal ones.

The people who are trying to be on our side have reduced us to a mere calculation

Behind the disability, we have a heart and a mind.

Presuming that a nonspeaking child has nothing to say is like presuming that an adult without a car has nowhere to go.

I calculate the breadth of Steven's shoulders, now wider than mine;watch him tear open the Blokus game he likes to play with me after school;count the hours between now and Dad coming home to take overand I am only a little afraidof the night.

Could some of the challenging behaviours that often partner autism begin as experiements on measuring human reactions? Are these children exploring boundaries - seeing what makes the toy squeak or the adult shriek?

I had observed that neurotypicals criticised autistic people for lacking empathy… but seldom made any effort to improve their own empathy towards autistic people. Pg 318

כשאני מוזג מים לכוס ונשפך לי קצת, אפילו טיפה, אני לא מסוגל לסבול את זה.בטח קשה לכם להבין למה דבר כזה מאמלל אותי כל כך. ואפילו אני יודע שזה לא באמת עניין כזה חשוב. אבל קשה לי לשלוט ברגשות שלי.

Wearing a cloak is on Rose's list of the thousand things she hates most. The problem is that each of the thousand problems is ranked number one.'But Dr. Rannigan says you must and anyway, it hardly weighs a thing, it's so full of holes.' I swung mine round my shoulders. Rose hates any bit of clothing that constricts, but I say Chin up and bear it. Life is just one great constriction.'Ventilated,' I said, 'that's the word. Our cloaks are terrifically ventilated.