What difference does it make?

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I don't care if some person I know, random stranger, celebrity, or historical figure is autistic or neurotypical or gay or straight.

Not only that, but "gender variant children" (feminine-acting boys and masculine-acting girls) were subjected to the same abusive applied behavioral analysis techniques that autistic children were. Ivar Lovaas, one of the early proponents of ABA, used it on both autistic children and "feminine boys". One of his early so-called successfully converted feminine boys committed suicide in adulthood.

I kinda agree that the Autistic pride has become ridiculous and comparing themselves to Einstein and Bill Gates to boost their credibility isn't necessarily an accurate description of ASD..

As far as gayness I don't know where the idea came from because they are completely different things.. If being gay is a disorder is being bisexual also a disorder? Or a milder form of it or worse?? Quite frankly, some people hate being gay and wish they were straight, I can't really relate to them b/c I've never been in their shoes..

I don't see autistic pride among real autistics as becoming a problem; we need it in order to attain equal rights among NTs, the majority of whom still hold stereotypical, outdated, or generally unhelpful views about us. I do have a problem with the new form of "autistic pride" that's been emerging, in which people try to claim they have ASD because they want to be "cool" or "trendy", as others have said, treating it like a fashion accessory. Not only does that derail our attempts at reaching equality, because soon everyone will assume that every person claiming to be an aspie is a fraud or delusional, but it's also annoying when you're dealing with real AS problems, like social rejection or hypersensitivity, and some aspie-wannabe says, "Oh yeah, I know what sensory sensitivities are like, screaming babies and train whistles sometimes kind of annoy me a little too." Not helpful.

^ I do also worry that I won't be taken seriously because ASD has become somewhat trendy. I've just been diagnosed, and not many people know. So what will they think if I tell them? "Oh, here's another faker trying to make excuses by claiming to have ASD."

It's not trendy to me. It doesn't make me cool or popular; I've been the opposite of popular almost my entire life. It's made my life really hard.

We're a wide spectrum and are all individuals: I don't think we can speak of a "typical" person on the autism spectrum.

Gays, too, are a diverse group. It would be difficult to find common ground between the cross dressers and drag queen types, the black leather gangs, and the ordinary ones in between whom no one could tell were gay unless they were told.

The bottom line is that everyone deserves to be accepted for who they are. In my personal experience, I've found it easier to be accepted since being diagnosed in late middle age because people generally accept what a medical professional has said and it gives them an "explanation".

We should not interest ourselves in trends, which, like silly fashion fads, have no depth to them and try to define what should be popular instead of allowing for individuality.

I have noticed people trying to claim famous people as Aspies/Autistics. To be honest I don't care, those people aren't me. Can we actually use people that have been diagnosed instead of speculating on people that are already dead or just happen to have 1 or 2 autistic traits.

I was reading an article on this but I can't seem to find the link