Everyone isn’t ‘a little bit autistic’ – here’s why this notion is harmful

Aimee Grant, Swansea University

I recently had a medical appointment and explained that I’m autistic. It affects how I communicate and understand information, and sometimes I’m misinterpreted as being rude. The person nodded and replied: “Well, everyone’s a little bit autistic.” They then shared something they struggle with, sometimes, when they haven’t had enough sleep.

It wasn’t the first time I’ve heard that line, and I doubt it’ll be the last. It happens often – not only in doctors’ surgeries but in social situations, on social media and many other places besides. And it’s not just me. Online spaces are full of autistic adults and the parents of autistic children expressing frustration at this phrase.

So where does the idea come from, that autistic traits are merely universal human behaviour, just to an exaggerated degree in autistic people?

To answer that, we need to understand what autism is. Autism is a lifelong neurodevelopmental difference. You’re either born autistic, or you’re not. It’s not something you develop over time.

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Historically, autism has been underdiagnosed among many groups of people, although least affecting white boys. That isn’t because other people are less likely to be autistic.

It’s because diagnostic practices and clinical assumptions have been based on a narrow idea of what autism “looks like”. It fails to recognise that many autistic people – but especially girls and women – “mask” their autism. This means they suppress their natural autistic behaviour to reduce the chance of a negative response from those around them. Fortunately recognition of masking is changing, albeit slowly.

Challenges

The challenges an autistic person faces, and the distress we may experience, arise from our interactions with other people or the environment around us as a result of our neurological differences.

Autism affects how we experience the world, how we communicate and how we process sensory information. Communication can be challenging for us, especially in settings where social expectations aren’t clearly defined.

We may also struggle with certain lights, sounds or textures. These experiences can fluctuate depending on how many difficult things have already happened to us that day, our hormone levels, and consequently how overwhelmed we already are.

Autistic people often find comfort in familiarity and routine, and can become overwhelmed by unexpected change. To manage that, many autistic people “stim”, which is short for self-stimulatory behaviour, and can include doing things like rocking or tapping, or fidgeting with an object. These repetitive movements can help calm us down or regulate sensory overload.

When I teach about autism, I sometimes ask students to think about how they react to sensory discomfort or disruption. There’s usually a long list of things. For instance, being irritated by roadworks, bothered by scratchy clothes or stressed out by a house move. These are all human traits. But they don’t mean you’re autistic.

Life is often stressful, so cortisol levels rise accordingly. That doesn’t mean you’re autistic. It means your nervous system is working as it should. Likewise, noticing loud noises or being anxious about change is perfectly normal. But it doesn’t mean your brain is wired the same way as someone who is autistic.

There are clear differences between autistic and non-autistic people, not just in the kinds of challenges they experience, but in how often and how intensely those challenges occur. Research shows that autistic people have significantly higher rates of sensory sensitivity, communication differences, repetitive behaviour and social difficulties than non-autistic people. For most autistic people, these aren’t things that happen once in a while. They are constant features of life.

If you think this sounds like you, there is a chance that you could be autistic. While we expect around 3% of people to be autistic, only around 1% of adults are diagnosed.

So, when someone says “everyone is a little bit autistic”, they’re relying on a myth that flattens those differences. It suggests a spectrum from “not autistic” to “very autistic”, with everyone fitting somewhere on that line.

That’s understandable, because we don’t have a biological test for autism, to give a clear yes or no answer. Instead, questionnaires are often used to initially assess the likelihood of being autistic. But you can’t be a “little bit” autistic.

The term “autism spectrum disorder” was first used in 1994 in diagnostic manuals, to bring together people diagnosed with autism and Asperger’s syndrome, a contentious name linked to Nazi genocide.

Many autism researchers argue that we shouldn’t be dividing autistic people into different groups, as support needs can vary from day to day. Others dislike the term “autism spectrum” because it can be misleading. It’s too often misunderstood as a fixed linear scale. In reality, autism is multidimensional. Different people have different combinations of strengths, needs and experiences. Two autistic people may have little in common apart from their diagnosis.

The “everyone’s a bit autistic” myth can be actively harmful. It’s often used to dismiss the challenges we face or to argue that autistic people don’t really need support. It also contributes to a culture where autism becomes the punchline. Non-autistic people do something like parking in the same space each day, but attribute it to being “a little bit autistic”.

For decades, autistic people weren’t given a platform to share our experiences. The stories told about us, especially in the media, were often created by non-autistic people, and were full of stereotypes. That’s starting to change, but those outdated ideas persist.

Use empathy

So, the next time an autistic person tells you what they’re struggling with, please don’t respond by comparing it to your own mild discomfort. Try empathising instead: “I’m sorry” or “that sounds really hard”. And if you can, ask if there’s anything you could do to help. Even small accommodations can make a big difference to someone’s comfort and wellbeing.

Because no, not everyone is “a little bit autistic”. And saying that doesn’t help us – it makes it harder for us to be seen, heard and supported.

Aimee Grant, Senior Lecturer in Public Health and Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow, Swansea University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.