When people say "everyone's a little autistic"?

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I was talking to my advocate yesterday about my digital designs and showing her my "Shadow Work Journal" I just completed that I sell on Etsy. She makes her own designs and compared my art to hers, which I was like cool, but her aesthetic is more "boss babe earning money". So, I said her designs are beautiful but I casually mentioned that I'm autistic so for me and others like me, we might benefit more from a "Shadow Work Journal" than a productivity planner with "hustle culture" aesthetic. I cleaned up the words a little bit, I tried hard not to put her art down because I feel like we all can have a space to create and different people benefit from different aesthetics.

Her response was "I believe everyone is a little autistic and everyone is on the spectrum. If you're not, you're probably a narcissist". I just said "not really", chuckled, and left her office. Why do people say that? And also, if everyone is "a little autistic", why do they treat us like we're different, slow, and dumb by infantilizing us at the same time? If everyone has autism, what's the problem???

I had a woman who lives in the facility I'm at also insist on driving me to the gas station after I told her no because she said "you always have those things in your ears, so you don't know what's going on around you". She was referring to my JLab ear buds I wear to help with my sensory regulation of the world, and was implying that I'm oblivious and a danger to myself because I wear....ear buds???

Crazy.

I totally get you. I hear all the time that all people have autism. But when I'm unable to eat a burger at mcD, there is no understanding. "What do you mean? What noise? I don't even hear the other conversations. You just have to blend it out." Yeah .. that's exactly what I cannot do .. but ok .. we are all autistic

Yes, when people say this, it really minimizes our difficulties in life. I hate to admit it, but before I realized that I was ND, I actually thought that way. Upon examining my life and finding out the truth about myself, I have had to eat crow and admit that I was wrong.

So, no, everyone is NOT “a little bit autistic” or “on the spectrum”. Saying that invalidates, and belittles those of us who are.

I hate it too

If everyone is autistic, then why are autistic people still being treated like garbage and being forced to live in a world that won't accommodate our needs because *yawn*, it takes too much time and effort, and just blaming everything on our being autistic is much easier?

Well these days the spectrum has become so wide that I'm beginning to believe in that statement, although from a different perspective to how the statement is supposed to be perceived.

People who are highly sociable and popular are getting diagnosed with autism these days, so it makes me wonder, what if everyone is on the spectrum but some people are just brilliant at masking all their lives while others aren't so much or get burnt out quicker? I had no idea how much masking can fool people, especially when they're socially attractive and have people tripping over their own feet to be their friend, while I'm often left standing in the corner feeling rejected and excluded, despite my highly sociable and friendly approach, and the ability to show empathy and not having a special subject to monologue about. I'm quirky and a bit socially awkward but so are others on the spectrum who seemingly still manage to have normal social lives.

But no, I'm not trying to claim that everyone is on the spectrum, so please don't take it seriously and think that I'm actually trying to claim some sort of nonsense.
But it's just what it feels like to me these days. Autism used to be this thing where you had delayed speech as a child and have repetitive behaviours and visible social difficulties. Now it seems more common to be diagnosed with autism just for being quirky or a bit shy or anxious or mood swings. Although the answers to that is "everyone with autism are different from each other" and "they probably have as many symptoms as Johnny down the road with severe autism but have just managed to mask really really well".

I don't know. Just ignore this post lol, as I'm merely venting and being illogical.