To tell or not to tell?

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I often tell people that I have autism as a way of explaining my odd behavior, but I don't think this is actually a good idea. I have a tendency to be extremely blunt and too-truthful. I view this as a weakness of mine.

Don't tell people you have autism. Most people have not seen Rain Man, and therefore don't understand that we're mega geniuses. Autism is still associated with intellectual disability within the minds of most neurotypicals. Neurotypical people think emotionally, in generalizations, and without detail. They will not be able to understand that different types of autism come with different intellectual gifts and handicaps.

Do you tell people that you have autism?

I don't tell people I'm autistic, but I hope to get to a place where I can be comfortable doing so.

I dont tell people im autistic.

I'm not a mega genius.

That was sarcasm. Probably the wrong forum for it.

The only person I would tell would be my lawyer, and only after being caught in the commission of a crime.

If, after being asked to sit in a chair and be still for 5 hours, you need to get up to pace back and forth and flap your arms, what do you say to your co-workers when they ask "Are you ok?"

do you just say "Oh yeah I'm fine this is my normal arm-flapping" or do you tell them that you have autism

I think it was the way you worded it. Never mind.

I tell them, "I have been sitting in that chair for 5 hours without a break, so I need to get up and move around."

There is no need to tell anyone any more than that.  No one asks any further questions about it, and some even suggest going for a walk around the building or across the street for a Starbucks with me.

I don't go around telling people I got autism.

And I don't go around fishing for a fight, either.....

I tell, but not to everyone.
I tell my boss, the team leader, my closest colleagues, and people I've in one way or another gotten close to.
I tell my friends, my ex girlfriends, and my relatives.
In effect that means I tell people with a reasonable amount of IQ and/or EQ ;P

/Mats

I wouldn't tell my boss; he thinks I'm weird enough as it is LOL

I'm retiring in 1 year, 9 months.....so it's all cool.

Last edited by kraftiekortie on 29 Mar 2021, 1:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The last time I revealed anything so personal, it ended up costing me a marriage and 20 years of child-support.

Never again.

Never, ever again.

I don't find that it has to be something to "tell," anyway. This reads like sort of a "confession."

It's not like an autistic person did anything wrong by being autistic. That person doesn't have to "confess" to anything.

True, autistic people do nothing wrong by being born autistic; but even among autistic people, there is blaming and shaming for acting autistic, as if "passing" for NT was the only acceptable form of behavior (This is sort of like the idea among some overseas communities that the more "American" you are, the better you are.)  Such people often seem to ignore their own autistic behavior, as well.

Well for me it's a way to be able to change the work environment. To get a better understanding of the problems for me with the ventilation buzzing. To get a better understanding for why large meetings are difficult. To get a better understanding over all.
Some things can be changed, and if it's not clear to the people in charge how important it is for me, they won't.

/Mats