There's a lot of speculation and misinformation about what life is like for autistic individuals like myself. Not to mention the mention the many myths regarding Autism Spectrum Disorder. I want to give you a little insight into my life as an autistic person, and also help to answer some of the questions and misconceptions that some people have.
A lot of people tend to have a very negative view of autism, and see it as a tragedy or a disease. It's neither. In fact, I, along with what I believe is the majority of autistic people, have had a positive opinion of autism. Most autistic people don't see it as a tragedy, and aren't waiting around for some kind of cure that will make us neurotypical. To paraphrase Ari Ne’eman, we don't wake up each and every morning pitying ourselves and wishing that we were never born.
Neither are we perpetual children. Some people have this notion, which is false, and rather insulting to those of us who are adults. Folks, autistic children grow up to be autistic adults, and infantilizing autistic people is actually very harmful.
Autistic people vote, work, date, marry, have children, etc. We sometimes need help with daily tasks, some more than others, but we do have our own personalities and interests. We have brains.
There are some who think that, even with the evidence against the belief, that autistic people can't form personal relationships, make friends, date, etc, or even that we have no desire to. That also is bullcrap. The fact is that we do desire personal contact and relationships, the matter is that with the communication deficits that comes along with autism spectrum disorder, it's more challenging for us.
Yes, there are challenges to being autistic, it's not a cakewalk, and can be a very hard life. I for one would much rather not have to deal with the periodic depression and anxiety. I enjoy learning about my certain interests, which can be very rewarding. Mine include history and civics. However, overall, it's been a positive experience, and I would not to be anyone else.