Today, most of us know what autism is. But how many of us know what it isn’t? The question might be confusing, however, the fact is with increased awareness comes the risk of increased misconceptions and a bubble of myths.
While there are a lot of ideas, information, and comments about autism that are circulating all around the globe and are quite beneficial in some way or the other, on the other hand, we cannot ignore the circulation of a huge amount of myths and misconceptions that at times can even be very offensive and stigmatizing at times.
Therefore, we would like to provide you with some insight into the topic by making you aware of some common myths and misconceptions regarding autism.
Here we are busting 7 myths about autism.
Myth 1: Autism is a disease
Fact: One of the most common and biggest misconceptions about autism is that it is a disease and therefore like any other illness it can also be cured by medicines. The true fact is that Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental disorder that impairs an individual’s ability to communicate and interact with others therefore we should understand that autistic people are not ill or sick and can surely lead a completely independent, meaningful, healthy life with some professional intervention.
Myth 2: Autism can be caused by bad parenting
Fact: There had been an age-long theory that stated that autism is caused by mothers who are not emotionally warm toward their children, but this theory has been proved wrong decades ago. Therefore the myth that bad parenting is one of the causes of autism should not be spread at all as an autistic child is surely not a symbol of negligent parenting.
Myth 3: Autistic people are intellectually disabled
Fact: Another common myth is that Autistic people are intellectually disabled whereas the truth is that autism is a spectrum disorder and therefore its characteristics vary from person to person. So, if your autistic neighbor is good in maths and arts it does not specify that all autistic people would be good at it.
Myth 4: Autistic people cannot learn
Fact: A lot of people out there believe that autistic children suffer from learning whereas this statement is not true at all and the key to making an autistic person learn something is to educate yourself first and approach the child in the right way.
Myth 5: Autistic people cannot feel or understand emotions
Fact: There is no one in this world who is not able to feel emotions therefore the statement stating that autistic people are unable to feel or understand emotions is completely wrong. The fact that is true is that autistic people struggle with communication and therefore they may not understand your emotions through your body language but it does not mean that they do not feel. You just have to be direct about what you feel while communicating with a person who is autistic if you want them to understand you.
Myth 6: Autism can be caused by vaccines
Fact: There was once research that suggested that autism is caused by vaccines but it was found to be completely wrong and deceptive. Later on, it was found out that vaccines have nothing to do with autism and there is no link between these two.
Myth 7: Autism is becoming an epidemic
Fact: The myth that autism is becoming an epidemic is because one cannot deny that the number of people diagnosed with autism has indeed increased over the last two or three decades but this does not mean that there weren’t any cases of autism before this. All this means is that the awareness about autism is increasing day by day and the people who were earlier left undiagnosed are now diagnosed.