Autism: Strength Not Struggle

I often feel like there is far too much focus on everything that an autistic person struggles with and not enough information about the positives that come with being autistic. When I received my own diagnosis, I was very clear about everything that I found difficult but certainly didn’t know about any of the strengths that I had.

I have previously posted on Instagram (@emilyautism) about the positives of being autistic but wanted to be able to go into more detail on this blog post.

Autism Strengths

Loyal and Honest: I have often seen being rude or blunt listed as an autism trait. The reality is that we are not trying to be rude, and it is sometimes that the fact that we can be extremely honest that may come across as being rude.

Creative: A really common myth with autism is that we lack creativity. This can not be further from the truth; autistic people can be really creative and excel in various areas of the arts.

Empathy: Another myth that I have been told many times is that autistic people lack empathy. However, autistic people can be extremely empathetic and can often find that they over empathise with those around them. In some cases, autistic people can empathise more with animals than people, but they certainly don’t lack empathy.

Specialist Knowledge: Many autistic people will have a special interest and will often develop an encyclopaedic knowledge of that particular topic.

Accepting of difference: Autistic people are very accepting of difference. This is usually because we have a lot of experience with being treated poorly for being different ourselves and don’t want this to happen to others.

Direct Communication: A real strength I have found with autism with direct communication. Autistic people say what they mean and this makes their communication really clear and to the point.

Problem Solving: Autistic people often have a very methodical approach to approaching ideas and this means that they can often find ways of solving problems that others don’t.

Sense of humour: Yet another autism myth is that we lack a sense of humour. This is also not true as autistic people definitely have a sense of humour.

Fair and Just: Autistic people have a strong sense of right and wrong which means that they are highly likely to ensure that they are being fair with how they approach things.

There are so many strengths associated with being autistic that I couldn’t go into detail on all them on this blog but did still want to mention them so please see them listed below:

· Photographic memory

· Follows routine

· Punctual

· Compassionate

· Kindness

I really hope that sometime in the future the emphasis will be on strength not struggle when people are talking about autism.