In 2365, the United Federation of Planets had a trial to determine if starfleet Lt. Commander Data was a conscious sentient being or just an automaton. A similar thing is happening to autistics today.
A common misconception about autism is that there is no "person" inside. There is a belief that there is just a body, that does repetitive automatic stuff but nobody inside the body thinking and feeling. This misconception comes from communication differences in autism: autistic people don't always give the verbal and non-verbal responses neurotypical people give to indicate that they think, feel, and are aware. Since autistic people don't give these responses, some people assume autistic people don't think, feel, and are not aware. Since people cannot directly see that the autistic person thinks, feels, and is aware, it is assumed the autistic person does not do these things.
I have seen people regard me in this way. People assume that they can say anything right in front of me--false, insulting, and prejudicial things--and I won't know what they are saying. People act like I cannot hear them when they are only three feet away. The truth is I can hear them and I do know what they are saying about me. I know when they claim that I am retarded or that I have no perception on reality.
I believe the reason why people assume I am "super high functioning" is because on my website I have demonstrated that I am self-aware and aware of my abilities and the way I think and perceive the world. The truth is consciousness and self-awareness does not mean non-autistic, and the truth is that I have poor social skills, unpleasant obsessive thoughts, difficulty communicating, and high amounts of stress. One thing I am not though, is an automaton.
This is probably the worst misconception about autism. Some people even have the conception that a lack of consciousness is the very definition of what autism is. However, that is certainly not what autism is. We may have poor social skills, we may not communicate very well, we may have odd behavior, and some of us cannot speak at all, but we are conscious. From the highest functioning to the lowest functioning autistic person, there is indeed a person inside. Always remember that.
Page Created: 2004 July 9 (age 22)
Page Updated: 2004 July 9 (age 22)
Version 1.1
