Stereotypes

There are many stereotypes surrounding what autism is and isn't, many of them hurting the autistic community and individual autistics. These stereotypical views can lead to difficulties when trying to access certain mental health services or when accommodations are being withheld due to the autistic person not meeting them.

Origins of stereotypes

A lot of stereotypes stem from researchers, both in the present as well as in the past, being very bad at their jobs. Could talk abut it here, and maybe link to a separate page about Bad autism research

Media misrepresentation

Talk about how the media often portrays autistic people as caricatures

Autistic characters are often either also savants or intellectually disabled. The Good Doctor is an example of the former and Rain Man of the latter (I think... please fix this if I'm incorrect or remove this note if right)

Common stereotypes

• We are either savants or the complete opposite
• We all love trains
• We're good at math
• We lack empathy (some might, others are hyer-empathetic)
• We are antisocial (this is a medical diagnosis, and isn't what many people are even thinking about when they say it)
• We are asocial