Yesterday I found myself staring at my PC contemplating that splendid waste of time and human effort called Twitter. (I love it don’t you?) During my saunter into the world of the half-crazed (have you seen the kinds of political opinions you get on Twitter?) and utterly obsessed (needlepoint as a treatment for fibromyalgia?) I actually came across something very interesting.

Yes, I know, odd isn’t it?

So what was this amazing thing? Well the excellent Tweep (I know the lingo you see) Autism on the Hill was taking part in a hashtag camapaign called #AutismMyth. Please do follow them to check out their brilliant series of tweets on the subject.

Anyhow I prompted me to ask the question both of myself and of the AutismTalk page on Facebook which was “What Autism Myth irritates you the most?”.

The results were fascinating. So I though I would share just a few with you.

The most “popular” if that is the right word was Kerrii’s share “They don’t look autistic!!!!!”.

Christina said “They will grow out of it!”

” Your Son will struggle socially & wont have any Friends!!!. He wont be very good at ball sports!!!! & he will struggle with day to day life!! BULLSHIT!!!! My Son is amazing! He has a best Friend who isn’t Autistic! They look out for each other. He tries his hardest at everything, just like any other child does! Anyone that thinks they can’t… Or gives a dirty look in the middle of a melt down…… That irritates me the most!!!! These kids are completely Amazing!!! xx” was Kellys comment.

Bobbie commented “A woman at church told me that she knew someone whose child was autistic, and the parents put him/her on a specific diet, and he/she was “cured,” and I should put my son on it.”

Sarah dislikes “He’s not autistic just naughty!”.

“”oh well he’ll grow out of it.” And “well they didn’t have stuff like that when I was young, it’s just an excuse.” Im just like well they didn’t have the chemicals and pesticides and cleaners and toxins that we do now. We are poisoning ourselves and the population is growing. I personally believe that is the reason autism and downs syndrome and other genetic mutations are on the rise.” was mentioned by Ashley.

“That people with autism need pity. They do not need you to feel sorry for them. All kids struggle with certain things in life, my son is no different. It doesn’t mean he isn’t smart and that he isn’t a great person or that he is not going to live a happy and fulfilled life!” was from Stacey.

Adam brought up “Vaccines can cause Autism”.

“That it’s bad parenting and my child just needs a firm hand!!! ” was from becky but echoed by many others.

And from Amanda “That they will out grow it. And I shouldn’t let him get away with his meltdowns. Eerrrr. I love my son and wouldn’t trade him for anything but I wish the people that say these things could walk a mile in my shoes just for even one day.”

Jenna picked up on one of my hates ” That autistic children aren’t affectionate”.

There were many more but these are just some representative examples. Can I thank everyone who took part it was a very useful exercise.

I’d now like to turn it over to you. Please use the comments section below to share the Aetism Myth which irritates you the most and why.

Many thanks in advance.

RogerKulp	That autism is not a disease or disability,but a “difference” and “diversity” we need to accept.This is every bit as much of a lie,as the belief vaccines cause autism.This myth belittles and ignores the suffering and struggles of those with autism and intellectual disability,or those,like myself,who have regressive autism,and many medical problems,and other disabilities,related to inborn metabolic and/or immune disorders.
JenniHart	I’m sick of people thinking my son is really good at computers because “thise type of kids are really good at one particular thing”.
seasonalmagic	My son does not react to a lot of stuff.  In the past, he has gotten hurt and not really reacted to it.  One day, he hit his teacher, who was trying to sit him down for classroom treat.  It was ice cream.  So I watched him.  He stopped eating, so I took him to the doctor, who told me to take him to a dentist.  I did.  The doctor ask me if my son was reacting to pain.  I say ‘NO, my son is autistic.  He has never really reacted to pain.  My pet pea is that people, especially medical people always asks is your son in pain.  I have to tell them the same thing.  I finally ended up taking my son to another dentist.  The Lady looked into his mouth, about 45 seconds and told me, He has six cavities.  I was floored and a little relieved because we had found the cause.  The day after we got his teeth taken care of, he started eating a lot.
mckinj	RogerKulp You mention mitochondrial disease and ‘the cocktail’, I’m interested in this because I have seen articles where autism, CFS and Fibromyalgia are all mentioned in connection to mitochondrial disease. I have tried buying all the elements mentioned in this cocktail and unfortunately some seem to disagree with my stomach. Was wondering if any company has put all these elements together into one capsule so you don’t have to swallow about 6 capsules.
ElizabethDuPree	I hate the myth that vaccinations cause autism.  There is not only no valid scientific evidence to support this claim, but also they have proven time and time again that there is no correlative link between any vaccines and autism.  Also, thimerisol, the preservative they say causes the autism, hasn’t been used in those vaccines since the 90’s, so what explains my son’s case?  He wasn’t even born until 2003.  Vaccinations are vital to the health of your children and the children of others.  Please do the research before believing anything you read on the internet or hear from a celebrity.
AmberStidam	“He doesn’t like look autistic”,” all he needs is more discipline”, “its just lazy parenting”, ” well you shouldn’t have vacinated” , “people are just labeling their kids to make excuses for bad behaviors”, ” autistic kids always end up locked away”, “autism can be cured by good discipline and diet changes”…. I could go on and on with things that bug me in regards to autism comments and things people actually believe and say.
MichelleBarger	I always get irritated by people saying he don’t look autistic. Ive also been told when he was younger he wouldn’t make friends, my son has friends normal and autistic like he is.
kaykay18	When people talk to those of us who are higher functioning and tell is we just haven’t tried hard enough to “ignore” our tactile sensitivity.
RogerKulp	SeniaCastenada,I am not surprised.I was diagnosed with autism way back in 1971,back when autism was blamed on bad parents,and “refrigerator mothers” in particular.Little has changed.A lot of it is still “blame the mother”.If they can’t do that,they will say the medical problems are just a part of autism,because they don’t know what they are.Too few doctors keep up with the advances in either autoimmune or metabolic diseases that can present as autism.I have lived my whole life with all sorts of unexplained medical problems.I have nearly died a number of times from either acute infection or episodes I now know were undiagnosed metabolic crises.My mother and I spent decades fighting apathy and abuse from doctors.More recently,it’s been another long,hard struggle for me to go from one doctor to another in the last five years,to accumulate abnormal test results,that no doctor could interpret.I have just seen two doctors who are probably the top experts in the world,as far as metabolic and mitochondrial autism is concerned.From them,I now have a diagnosis of a genetic disorder of folate metabolism,as well as a probable diagnosis of mitochondrial disease.I need some more mito tests,but there is enough evidence to start me on the cocktail.
SeniaCastaneda	My worst comment came from a developmental pediatrician and he said that my daughter wants attention and leave her alone in a room when she had a tantrum even after I told him she inflicts self pain during her tantrums. He was stuck on the fact that i was a first time mom even though I have raised my brother’s children. He sent me to his nutritionist that gave her a diet of nuts and fish without an allergy test. My daughter is extremely allergic to all nuts and peanuts as well as shellfish. I never went back again. My daughter was 3 at the time. She’s 7 now.
lele49	I agree and until they have one or know someone who is and has spent with them and gotten to know about it, they need to either read a book or shut the hell up
lele49	Don’t pay any attention to those ignorant people. Your age didn’t have anything to do with it either there are plenty of women in their 30s that have children. It’s just happens. I had my son at 22 and he was a healthy 8 lbs 4oz.. He was diagnosed later in life until then,I thought he was just delayed I got him into every program I could think of and he’s better for it. He now has a job and he has friends.
lele49	My most hated “myth” is, “they’re not employable.” I beg to differ. My son is 26 and he has a job, he’s very affectionate, he will not grow out of it and no, he doesn’t need discipline. Until these people have a child of their own, they will never understand
FaithVelmaAlkire	the one I hate is that i his mother did something to cause this.  I’ve heard it is because I didn’t get early prenatal care for my forth child while in the middle of changing ob/gyn’s after loosing previous child to a still birth.  uhm sorry I followed proper med procedures even if our first ob/gyn apt didn’t happen till the 4th month because of them not having an opening.  My gp was quite capable of listening to heartbeats and measuring and giving me an approximate due date and prescribing all the right vitamins till they could see me.  thank you.  it is not because I didn’t breast feed (I physical can not do so)  it is not because we are not 100% organic or eat ______ (fill in the blank on the food I here several all the time) and it is not because of vaccines.  It may be because I was 33 years old when I got pregnant but still more a roll of the dice then anyone’s fault and I’m tired of people trying to assign blame.
RachelDawnNorris	Hes not the full ticket! Is my autism myth hate, my son is fine not crazy, stop telling children rubbish like that! some people need to read a book maybe! Or at least ask a question before being so stupid.
RogerKulp	That autism is a difference to be celebrated,not a disability.