The Art of Autism is collecting favorite quotes about autism from some of our favorite bloggers. Please share your own in the comments below.
- “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” – Dr. Stephen Shore.
- “What would happen if the autism gene was eliminated from the gene pool? You would have a bunch of people standing around in a cave, chatting and socializing and not getting anything done.” – Dr. Temple Grandin
- “It takes a village to raise a child. It takes a child with autism to raise the consciousness of the village.” – Coach Elaine Hall
- “And now I know it is perfectly natural for me not to look at someone when I talk. Those of us with Asperger’s are just not comfortable doing it. In fact, I don’t really understand why it’s considered normal to stare at someone’s eyeballs.” -John Elder Robison
- “Autism . . . offers a chance for us to glimpse an awe-filled vision of the world that might otherwise pass us by.” – Dr. Colin Zimbleman, Ph.D.
- “I’ve listened enough. It’s time for me to speak, however it may sound. Through an electronic device, my hands, or my mouth. Now it’s your time to listen. Are you ready?” – Neal Katz, Self-advocate
- “The most interesting people you’ll find are ones that don’t fit into your average cardboard box. They’ll make what they need, they’ll make their own boxes.” -Dr. Temple Grandin
- “This is a FOREVER journey with this creative, funny, highly intelligent, aggressive, impulsive, nonsocial, behavioral, often times loving individual. The nurse said to me after 6 hours with him ‘He is a gift’ INDEED he is.” – Janet Frenchette Held, Parent
- “Behavior is communication. Change the environment and behaviors will change.” – Lana David
- “I think when one becomes identified with a label that’ll become all anyone sees; the expansiveness and breadth of the all of who you are suddenly hidden from view. I look to the entire history of the label and how it came to be. Our Western world likes to compartmentalize putting everything into simplistic categories. Now they have such terms as “neurotypical” and “neurodivergent,” separating the entire human population on the planet into two categories. I would say that “neurotypical” is a diversity as well,.” – Kurt Muzikar, Introduction to “Bozo to Bosons” (not yet published)
- “For autistic individuals to succeed in this world, they need to find their strengths and the people that will help them get to their hopes and dreams. In order to do so, ability to make and keep friends is a must. Among those friends, there must be mentors to show them the way. A supportive environment where they can learn from their mistakes is what we as a society needs to create for them.” – Bill Wong, Autistic Occupational Therapist
- “Our wounds and hurts and fears are in our eyes. Humans think they build ‘walls’ for internal privacy. They think eye contact is about honesty but they mostly lie because they think they can hide their intent. Eye contact is invasive.” – Carol Ann Edscorn
- “Although people with autism look like other people physically, we are in fact very different . . . We are more like travelers from the distant, distant past. And if, by our being here, we could help the people of the world remember what truly matters for the Earth, that might give us quiet pleasure.” – Naoki Higashida, The Reason I Jump
- “Negative words carry negative vibration. Positive words carry positive vibration. What do you want your child to reflect back to you, the label of disordered or the label of gifted in a new way?” – Suzy Miller, Awesomism
- “I want Elijah to know that he is loved just the way he is.” – Gee Vero
- “What makes a child gifted and talented may not always be good grades in school, but a different way of looking at the world and learning.” – Chuck Grassley
- “Parents have therapists come in their house and tell them what to do. They give their power away. Parents need to focus on healing and empowering themselves. They must shift their beliefs about autism. Once the parent knows who they are the child will respond.” – Lori Shayew.
- “Not everyone is perfect. There is always an imperfect side to everyone,” – Finn Christie, Age 10, on making Perfect Babies.
- “Life is . . . not about counting the losses and the lost expectations, but rather swimming, with as much grace as can be mustered, in the joy of all of it.” – Leisa Hammett
- “For every 3 years your child is in public school, you can expect one exceptional teacher, one mediocre teacher, and one teacher who makes your life miserable.” – Rick Seward, disability advocate for Alpha Resource Center in Santa Barbara, 2002
- “The labeling undermines us in so many levels! But people don’t know, they need to be reminded that we too are God’s children. People don’t mean harm because they too are God’s children. Love heals lots of wounds. Love is patient, love is kind; my motto in life. You are loving. Mom has healed her consciousness to allow me to truly reflect my real identity as God’s perfect child. Just don’t let your senses get you fooled, we are more than our bodies. Find the truth so you can reflect your real being.” – Nicole (13 years old, non-verbal, labeled autistic, typed independently on her iPad)
- “Music therapy, equine therapy, and art therapy are all ‘therapeutic’ because they are a vibrational match. They have elements to them that your child can use at his current level of high-vibrational function to make sense of this lower vibrating world.” – Suzy Miller, Awesomenism
- “Stop thinking about normal . . . You don’t have a big enough imagination for what your child can become.” – Johnny Seitz, autistic tightrope artists in the movie Loving Lamposts.
- “The way we look at our children and their limitations is precisely the way they will feel about themselves. We set the examples, and they learn by taking our cue from us.” – Amalia Starr
- “English is my 2nd language. Autism is my first.” – Dani Bowman
- “We are the doorway into a New World Order that is based on love and heart. We have the heart key. We only need the respect of others to learn how to serve wisely and kindly.” – Lyrica, nonverbal, from the book Awetizm
- “Rome was not built on the first day. I need time to build the Eiffel Tower of my life.” – Jeremy Sicile-Kira
- “Within every living child exists the most precious bud of self-identity. To search this out and foster it with loving care; that is the essence of educating an autistic child.” – Dr. Kiyo Kitahara
- “We contain the shapes of trees and the movement of rivers and stars within us.” – Patrick Jasper Lee
- “When doctors, parents, teachers, therapists, even television describe typical spectrum kids, without meaning to, they’re describing typically male spectrum traits — patterns first noticed by observing boys. Only boys. And we aren’t boys. So they miss and mislabel us.” – Jennifer O’Toole, Asperkids
- “Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine.” – Alan Turing, creator of the first computer used to break codes during WW II.
- “My autism is the reason I’m in college and successful. It’s the reason I’m good in math and science. It’s the reason I care,” – Jacob Barnett, sixteen-year old math and physics prodigy
- “Think of it: a disability is usually defined in terms of what is missing . . . But autism . . . is as much about what is abundant as what is missing, an over-expression of the very traits that make our species unique.” – Paul Collins, Not Even Wrong: Adventures in Autism
- “The concept of neurodiversity provides a paradigm shift in how we think about mental functioning. Instead of regarding large portions of the American public as suffering from deficit, disease, or dysfunction in their mental processing, neurodiversity suggests that we instead speak about differences in cognitive functioning.” – Dr. Thomas Armstrong
- “My autism makes things shine. Sometimes I think it is amazing but sometimes it is sad when I want to be the same and talk the same and I fail. Playing the piano makes me very happy. Playing Beethoven is like your feelings – all of them – exploding.” – Mikey Allcock, 16-year old who was non-verbal until age 10
- “By holding the highest vision for your child when they can not see it for themselves, you are lifting them up, elevating them and helping them to soar.” – Megan Koufos
- “There is no cure for being human,” – Cheri Rauser, mom to Isabell
- “I know of nobody who is purely autistic or purely neurotypical. Even God had some autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin.” – Jerry Newport, Your Life is Not a Label
- “The good and bad in a person, their potential for success or failure, their aptitudes and deficits – they are mutually conditional, arising from the same source. Our therapeutic goal must be to teach the person how to bear their difficulties. Not to eliminate them for him, but to train the person to cope with special challenges with special strategies; to make the person aware not that they are ill, but that they are responsible for their lives.” – Hans Asperger
- “Autism is really more of a difference to be worked with rather than a monolithic enemy that needs to be slain or destroyed.” – Stephen Shore, PhD
- “I view ‘autistic’ as a word for a part of how my brain works, not for a narrow set of behaviors and certainly not for a set of boundaries of a stereotype that I have to stay inside.” – Amanda Baggs
- “My autism is like the taste of tepid saké, different but interesting.” – Sue Rubin
- “Like Asperger, I too would sometimes like to claim a dash of autism for myself. A dash of autism is not a bad way to characterize the apparent detachment and unworldliness of the scientist who is obsessed with one seemingly all-important problem and temporarily forgets the time of day, not to mention family and friends.” – Uta Frith
- “Even for parents of children who are not on the spectrum, there is no such thing as a normal child.” – Violet Stevens
- “Our duty in autism is not to cure but to relieve suffering and to maximize each person’s potential.” – John Elder Robison
- “Disability doesn’t make you exceptional, but questioning what you think you know about it does.” – Stella Young
- “Being autistic is not about living in a vacuum, sucking in everything around you, living in an existence shutout from your environment. If anything, the environment becomes more real, more painful, more evident.” – Jocelyn Eastman
- “Vibrant waves of sequenced patterns emerged in my head whenever I looked at musical notes and scores. Like pieces of a mysterious puzzle solved, it was natural for me to see music and its many facets as pictures in my head. It never occurred to me that others couldn’t see what I saw.” – Dr. Stephen Shore
- “We need to embrace those who are different and the bullies need to be the ones who get off the bus,.” Caren Zucker, co-author of “In a Different Key”
- “I don’t want my thoughts to die with me, I want to have done something. I’m not interested in power, or piles of money. I want to leave something behind. I want to make a positive contribution – to know that my life has meaning.” – Temple Grandin
- “Autists are the ultimate square pegs, and the problem with pounding a square peg into a round hole is not that the hammering is hard work. It’s that you’re destroying the peg.” – Paul Collins
- “Don’t think that there’s a different, better child ‘hiding’ behind the autism. This is your child. Love the child in front of you. Encourage his strengths, celebrate his quirks, and improve his weaknesses, the way you would with any child. You may have to work harder on some of this, but that’s the goal.” – Claire Scovell LaZebnik
- Do not fear people with Autism, embrace them. Do not spite people with Autism, unite them. Do not deny people with Autism, accept them, for then their abilities will shine.” – Paul Isaacs
- “I see people with Asperger’s syndrome as a bright thread in the rich tapestry of life.” – Tony Attwood
- “Autism is as much a part of humanity as is the capacity to dream.” – Kathleen Seidel
- “I looked up to the stars and wondered which one I was from.” – James McCue
- “I see everything in color. I have synesthesia, which means that the part of my brain – that controls the senses – sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste – are wired differently.” – Jeremy Sicile-Kira
- “Connection is what moves this world forward. Connection is a profound human experience.” – Jenny Palmiotto, The Therapist Shift
- “By separating the autism from the person, are we encouraging our patients’ family members to love an imagined non-autistic child that was never born, forgetting about the real person who exists in front of us?” – Christina Nicolaidis, A Physician Speaks
- “Blue sky may be beautiful but lighting the tall buildings blue is autism-awareness.” – Tito Mukhopadhyay
- “Autism makes you listen louder. It makes you pay attention on an emotional level as well as an intellectual level.” – Jace King, brother to Taylor Cross, Normal People Scare Me Too
- “Presume intelligence with all children with autism. Presume all of them are hearing you.” – Lori Shayew, The Gifts of Autism
- “Autism is about having a pure heart and being very sensitive. It is about finding a way to survive in an overwhelming, confusing world . . . It is about developing differently, in a different pace and with different leaps.” – Trisha Van Berkel
- “Until we create a nation that regularly wants to employ a person with autism, assure for a quality education for each person with autism, and eliminates the far too many unnecessary obstacles placed in the way of success for a person with autism, we really won’t be as successful as we must. We need to get all in our nation to embrace the belief that each person with autism is valued, respected and held to the highest level of dignity and must be provided every opportunity for the highest quality of life each and every day.” – ASA President Scott Badesch
- “Showing kindness towards those who are different and embracing our imperfections as proof of our humanness is the remedy for fear.” – Emma Zurcher-Long of Emma’s Hope Book
- “Nowhere am I so desperately needed as among a shipload of illogical humans.” – Mr.Spock
- ” . . . I don’t need to apologize for Reid as much as interpret his behavior for the uninitiated. His actions aren’t immoral or wrong; they just get misconstrued or misinterpreted.” – Andrea Moriarity, One Track Mind: 15 Ways to Amplify Your Child’s Special Interest
- ” . . . Autistic people are people: they’re not puzzle pieces or baffling enigmas or medical mysteries to be solved, or ‘normal’ people ‘trapped’ in the bodies of autistics or any of that crap that infects so many portrayals of autistic people in both the clinical literature and the popular media. At the same time, I think it’s equally important to celebrate the differences between autistic people and typical people, and to recognize the need for accommodating autism as a significant disability . . . ” Steve Silberman, an Interview with Steve Silberman author of Neurotribes.
- “Without deviation from the norm, progress is not possible.” – Frank Zappa
- “The teacher must have to become autistic.” – Hans Asperger
- “We have to do away with this nonsense that there is a window of opportunity for a person with autism.” – Barry Prizant, author Uniquely Human at the 2016 Love and Autism Conference
- “I believe everyone on the planet has their thing and, especially in my experience, autistic people all have a tremendous gift. It’s a matter of finding that gift and nurturing it.” Edie Brannigan, Mother to runner, Mikey Brannigan
- “As an autistic I can readily see environmental phenomena of sun particles interacting with moisture in the air and rising up from the ground. I thought of these things I could see as sun sparkles and world tails.” – Judy Endow, Painted Words: Aspects of Autism Translated
- “When I did stims such as dribbling sand through my fingers, it calmed me down. When I stimmed, sounds that hurt my ears stopped. Most kids with autism do these repetitive behaviors because it feels good in some way. It may counteract an overwhelming sensory environment . . .” – Temple Grandin, Autism Asperger’s Digest, 2011
- “The experience of many of us is not that ‘insistence on sameness’ jumps out unbidden and unwanted and makes our lives hard, but that ‘insistence on sameness’ is actually a way of adapting to a confusing and chaotic environment . . . ” Dora Raymaker
- “Autism is here to stay and may be considered a part of the diversity of the human gene pool.” – Dr. Stephen Shore
- “As soon as a child is capable of understanding, they will know they are different. Just as a diabetic needs insulin, an autistic child needs accommodations . . . The label gave me knowledge and self-awareness.” – Steve Andrews
- “A person with autism hears every sound intensely magnified. Thus, if the tone of voice is harsh or strict, they will feel scared and threatened and, consequently, may inadvertently scream or even attack. Aggressive behavior is brought on by fear.” – Joao Carlos Costa, 21, non-verbal, autistic
- “Therapists and educators have traditionally tried to suppress or modulate a child’s special interest, or use it as a tool for behavior modification: Keep your hands still and stop flapping, and you will get to watch a Star Wars clip; complete your homework or no Harry Potter. But what if these obsessions themselves can be turned into pathways to growth? What if these intellectual cul-de-sacs can open up worlds?” – Scientific American article talking about the documentary Life, Animated
- “To measure the success of our societies, we should examine how well those with different abilities, including persons with autism, are integrated as full and valued members.” – Ban Ki-Moon, Former United Nations Secretary-General
- “I need to see something to learn it, because spoken words are like steam to me; they evaporate in an instant, before I have a chance to make sense of them. I don’t have instant-processing skills. Instructions and information presented to me visually can stay in front of me for as long as I need, and will be just the same when I come back to them later. Without this, I live the constant frustration of knowing that I’m missing big blocks of information and expectations, and am helpless to do anything about it.” – Ellen Notbohm, Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew
- “[So-called] Mild autism doesn’t mean one experiences autism mildly . . . It means YOU experience their autism mildy. You may not know how hard they’ve had to work to get to the level they are.” – Adam Walton
- “Are your eyes listening? That’s what needs to happen to hear my writing voice. Because of autism, the thief of politeness and friendship, I have no sounding voice. By typing words I can play with my life and stretch from my world to yours. I become a real person when my words try to reach out to you without my weird body scaring you away. Then I am alive.” – Sarah Stup, Excerpted from “Are your eyes listening? Collected Works” by Sarah Stup
- “When a family focuses on ability instead of disability, all things are possible . . . Love and acceptance is key. We need to interact with those with autism by taking an interest in their interests.” – Amanda Rae Ross
- “Art can permeate the very deepest part of us, where no words exist.” – Eileen Miller, The Girl Who Spoke with Pictures: Autism Through Art
- “Why should I cry for not being an apple, when I was born an orange, I’d be crying for an illusion, I may as well cry for not being a horse.” – Donna Williams
- “Just one step in front of each other, each day. In the end, that is all, we’re expected to take.” – Donna Williams (1963-2017), Footsteps of a Nobody
- “The difference between high-functioning autism and low-functioning is that high-functioning means your deficits are ignored, and low-functioning means your assets are ignored.” – Laura Tisoncik
- “Humane storytelling is the way to advance society’s understanding of #Autism as it has the potential to change people’s hearts and minds.” – Tom Clements
- “Let’s give people with autism more opportunities to demonstrate what they feel, what they imagine, what comes naturally to them through humor and the language of sensory experience. As we learn more about autism, let’s not forget to learn from those with autism. There are poets walking among you and they have much to teach.” – Chris Martin, Unrestricted Interest
- “Years before doctors informed me of my high-functioning autism and the disconnect it causes between person and language, I had to figure out the world as best I could. I was a misfit. The world was made up of words. But I thought and felt and sometimes dreamed in a private language of numbers.” – Daniel Tammett
- “Within every child is a connection to one form or another and a potential waiting to be fulfilled.” – Dr. Stephen Mark Shore
- “Truly I dreamt that my beautiful mom told others my secret about life. Nicely the secret was very easy to say but harder to do. The secret is: believe in your child and believe in yourself.” – Jeremy Sicile-Kira
- “I draw my inspiration from people and the world. I see the world full of bold colors, and I am fascinated by our differences that make us all special and unique human beings. My inspiration also comes from the fact that everyone in the world has something special to offer, no matter their race, color, religion, or disability. There is beauty in everything I see, and my hope is that the world can see beauty and acceptance through my eyes.” – Ronaldo Byrd, who participated in Created on Ipad gallery
- “Be thankful for autism. God shines brightest in weakness, and it comes with strengths that enable us to fill certain job roles better than others would (a talent, if you will).” – Peter Lantz
- “Low pitched notes really make me feel like love might be truly possible. High pitched notes make me feel like I could go crazy with pain and sadness. Great rhythms can make me feel like life is freedom.” – Jeremy Sicile-Kira
- “Rather than healing our child of his developmental disability, God healed me of my spiritual disability.” – Diane Dokko
- “Since understanding and accommodation are outside of our locus of control, we can focus on our own coping mechanisms. This allows us to experience and process much more information and see patterns before others.” – Joe Biel
- “We can use Asperger’s as a super power if we focus.” – Daniel M. Jones
- “Empowering your young person is the key to giving them the skills they need to live an independent life. If you do things for them that they could learn or even do for themselves by themselves, then you are DISEMPOWERING your young person.” – Tom Iland
- “Rigid academic and social expectations could wind up stifling a mind that, while it might struggle to conjugate a verb, could one day take us to distant stars.” – Temple Grandin
- ” . . . when experts speak of social deficits in autism they can neither imagine accompanying benefits nor critically examine their own neurologies. How about a new slogan? Feel globally. Perceive locally.” – Ralph James Savarese, See It Feelingly
- “It took a while to recognize my freedom from cultural conditioning as a high value benefit that supports my up spiral of independent sovereignty.” – Steve Staniek
- “Using the term “high-functioning” discounts or dismisses the person’s needs or struggles . . . Using the term “low-functioning” discounts or dismisses a person’s strengths and capabilities.” Tom Iland, The Fallacy of High and Low Functioning Autism
- “Small talk is our kryptonite. There are few things in this world more disconcerting to my autistic body than loud spaces and small talk – even worse when you combine the two with fluorescent lights.” ” Said Shaiye
- “I am equal, loved, unique, purposed, and worthy just because I am me.” Kris McElroy
Thanks Mike – I’m adding to it.
You don’t outgrow autism. You grow into it.
Dena Gassner.
Love it CarolAnn!
Thanks Janice
After a couple of years of severe cyber bullying and misery, I have today, aged 50, been diagnosed as AS/HFA. The label has helped me already to understand that behaviours, which hitherto have been just weird, are actually normal for me.
My quotation would therefore be, “Being diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome has made me normal. It’s the best thing that has happened in a long time!”
Aged 50, I have today been diagnosed with HFA / AS. Behaviours which have hitherto been plain weird are now normal.
So my quotation, “Being diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome has made me normal again.”
Hello mates, its wonderful article concerning cultureand completely defined,
keep it up all the time.
Some say that autism is a genetic mistake, an abnormality. I say autism is the next step in human evolution. People with autism and Asperger’s live and think and experience the world from a higher plane. They are unburdened with the trivial and superficial needs that most of us have come to accept as “normal”. They are themselves in such an earnest way with such purity of mind and spirit that I find absolutely fascinating.
Hi Beth Moerschel,
Is this quote your own? I love it and wondered if i can quote you on my facebook page?
some people are intelligent, creative, intuitive, autistic, playful, sincere, loyal – some are not
I don’t know who said it originally, but I have seen a Meme on social media that says, “God doesn’t make mistakes.” It was supposed to be encouraging for teens who feel out of place, but I think it is just as relevant for autistics of any age.
Nice article !! Many people with Asperger’s seem to be fascinated with technology, and a common career choice is engineering. But scientific careers are by no means the only areas where people with Asperger’s excel.
Lovely one!
Jeremy has a ton! I could send you a document. Here’s one off the bat:
Rome was not built on the first day. I need time to build the Eiffel Tower of my life.
Autism is one of those diseases which have the ability to cause neural disorders in the brains of those diagnosed by it.
autism isn’t a disease.
Message God Does Not Make Garbage!
Autism:
often misunderstood as poor behavior
I took him to emergency
his body bruised and battered
He had fallen from the bathroom sink
toothpaste, and the mouthwash
had been scattered
I told them he was listless
not really his active self
I was very terribly worried
he had also poisoned himself
“We really must investigate
His condition speaks abuse
We’ll take him to be monitored
You talk with special help”
I waited for an hour
my heart felt torn in half
where had they taken my baby boy
I’d said please watch him carefully
and handed them his toy
From somewhere in the back room
I heard a mournful scream
a doctor came
then took my hand
He looked like he could cry
I don’t know how you do it
can we offer you some help
We know you didn’t hurt him
and please don’t hurt yourself
Nurse only looked away a sec
but then when she looked back
he had opened up the
storage door and hid behind
a stack
It only took a minute
but the damage was untold
He’d opened every sterile pad
and ointment tube we had
Please take these pills
to help you deal
and anything else you need
The nurse will bring him
out to you
don’t worry he’s not hurt
Then you can take him home
with you,
his clothes are in a sack
yes… yes
You can take him home with you
… and please… don’t bring him back
true story in memory of my sweet Jamie
I am glad to see at least one other adult on the spectrum represented here in the comments as well as in a couple of the quotations cited above. We need to be allowed to play a greater role in defining ourselves and supporting each other. Not everyone (especially in my age group) is fortunate enough to have had parents willing and able to implant within us the kernel of deep love and self-confidence needed to prevail against the many painful obstacles we face in a neurotypical world.
Great quotes, but number 7 has a spelling error! Their, not they’re.
7. “The the most interesting people you’ll find are ones that don’t fit into your average cardboard box. They’ll make what they need, they’ll make THEIR own boxes” Dr. Temple Grandin
thank you. I’ll correct.
didn’t know there are grammar police for heartfelt sharing about Autism
perhaps I need to find a group more centered on reality, comfort and understanding
or perhaps the good Dr. needs to be less rude…
and yes these children and caretakers mean more to me than such responses
my heart aches – as many Autistic people couldn’t spell to save THEIR lives sir
Anne, I don’t know what you are referring to. Can you please explain?
sure… I don’t understand well how people communicate with each other
I feel blogs like this are for sharing – not correcting spelling or grammar errors
I feel uncomfortable with people in that way, and think it is insensitive to correct in this case
as it is for someone who speaks broken English to be corrected in pronunciation, this is not a classroom – I have worked over 40 years helping autistic children to learn – in both private and public
sectors – I designed programs for special education – have fought tooth and nail for these children –
just thought this site was for them, and those who care and encourage – not diminish anyone in any way
perhaps I just need to mind my own business, as I realize you didn’t feel the correction was inappropriate
thanks for asking me to explain [what I thought was very clear] in my comment, but perhaps it was not clear to others
Valuable information. Lucky me I discovered your website by
chance, and I am shocked why this accident didn’t happened in advance!
I bookmarked it.
I was diagnosed with Apsergers at age 11, and here’s how I best describe it.
“Aspergers, the more high functioning form of autism is like having a short, ugly kid in a striped shirt sit on the back of your head, sticking syringes into your brain, injecting you with what he wants you to obsess over, whether it be positive or negative. At first, you try to live with it, then you learn quickly that that kid is going to make you obsess over these things for a long time, and eventually, that kid gets annoying. I guess that’s why people with the more intense autism freak out easily, cause that kid’s been driving them nuts.”
Many aspie parents carry the ANK3 gene, but aren’t affected. Yet, sometimes their children can be affected by this gene via de novo mutations that cause epilepsy and problems with PSD (post synaptic density) and LTP (long term potentiiation) causing constant neuronal dysregulation. This is very hard for the aspie parent to embrace, as they carry the same gene, but are high functioning on spectrum and aren’t affected in the same way. However, the advantage of this is the aspie people often have deeper insight into what can and will help the severely autistic person. There is a way to genetically alter the lower functioning autistic people with epilepsy and aberrant behaviors. Researcher just haven’t found the exact formula yet.
Wow this is a bad take as well as being wrong. Yes I’m autistic and a neurophysiologist
As I have lived with Asbergers my entire life, I have learned several truths. One is, no matter how many people there are on this earth and no matter how different they are:
“Everyone is normal. It’s when my normal comes
into contact with your normal that things get “weird”.
Darrell Tousley
I have learnt that to strive to be normal is to fail, and who wants to be normal when I can be special, unique, I strive to be the best me I can, quirks, differences and all. Being autistic means I can let go of some issues, I will never understand some things but now I can stop worrying about it and just go with what I do know! I am not disabled but different!
Making friends is real easy. Keeping them, though, is much difficult once your money has run out.
One has a very interesting quotation which you may, or may not, like:
“The mind of an is a veritable buffet of nuances, since art, literature and music are expressions of the same psyche, then so is the dynamic and algebraic perception of that which animates our senses.”
Karl Houghton, 2011
I was also searching quotes, here is what i’ve found interessting so far, don’t know who said them or if they’re all autstic, but some are from Einstein and co.
so have fun
“when you teach a Person with autism, they will teach you”
“autism isn’t a disability, it’s a diffrent ability”
“why fit in, when you’re born to stand out”
“adventures begin, where plans end”
“everyone is a genius, but if you judge a fish on it’s ability to climb a tree, it will live his whole live beliefing it’s stupid”
“the strongest people are not those who show strenght in front of us, but those who win battles we know nothing about”
“first they ignore you, then they laught at you, then they fight you, then you win”
“failing is not always failure, it always seems impossible until it’s done”
“I know more than I say, I think more than I speak, I notice more than you realize”
“we do not see things as they are, we see things as we are”
“hurt me with the truth, but never cofort me with a lie”
“same but diffrent, diffrent not less”
“diffrent but interessting”
“Stay weird, stay diffrent”
“understand, embrace and enjoy the autistic experiance”
“expect the unexpected / impossible with autism”
“I’m autistic, I’m capable of things noone can predict”
“out of fear to do wrong, many autistics do nothing, whitch is exactly the wrong thing to do”
“I don’t know if it’s going to be better when it’s diffrent, but it has to get diffrent to become better”
“in the cave you fear to enter lies the treasure you seek, follow your bliss, when you do the universe will open doors, where there were only walls”
These are great quotes. Can you email me at the artofautism@gmail.com if you know who said some of these quotes.
Diagnosed HFA/Aspergers at age 67. Imagination is the key to understanding, and rote its enemy. Names are not definitions.
This, when I was 57; http://forums.delphiforums.com/callahan/messages/?msg=14927.10
Delphiforums was a very good place to share. Here’s a thread on autism and similar problems.
http://forums.delphiforums.com/callahan/messages/?msg=26824.1
This was a great post / article.
I love quotes, aphorisms, thoughts, and especially from people with a different state of mind and sight. It was insightful and a pleasure to read.
Love from France to You guys, and thanks for your amazing work for awareness*
Does anyone know where #7 was actually said or written (Temple Grandin’s quote about the most interesting people…)?? I love the quote and am trying to cite it in an academic paper, but am having a hard time finding the original source. Thanks!
91. What would have happened if humanity had never evolved the mutant strain autistic/asperger homo sapien erectus? The taxon would still be a devolved species sporting hairy armpits and butts throwing stones at each other while grunting obscenities. Uncle Juny.
I can’t really speak for all autistics, since each of us has different interests, but surely I’m not the only one who, like an elephant, never forgets a wrong done or an insult thrown. I think that would be a good idea for a quote though: Autistics, like elephants, never forget.
The greatest conclusion I’ve come to is that all folks with Asperger’s are different. We all seem to react differently to having AS, we all seem to have different problems with it, we all seem to cope with the problems in different ways, we all seem to be so different that I sometimes wonder if we are all talking about the same thing! I have written a free ebook, titled ‘Aspie!’, which you can download free over at obooko.com
Here’s the link: http://www.obooko.com/obooko_memoir/bookpages/mem0037-aspie!-aspergers-pitcher.php
Superb site you have here but I was wanting to know if you knew of any community forums that cover the same topics talked about here?
I’d really like to be a part of community where I can get feed-back from other experienced
individuals that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know.
Thanks!
My aspergers is the reason im adventurerous long cycle challenges, misson to help others, tock climb. no ASPIE alike we are different.its just like living in prison if u have it-its till u die
I’ve become a little bit addicted to making photos quotes. Just a little bit. It’s such a fun way to combine my interest in photography with my interest in autism. And since it is still Autism Awareness Month, I thought it would be appropriate to share more inspirational quotes about autism.
thanks for that testimony
Normal people have no idea as to the extent of our gifts …. if they did they would be nervous.
We all have been taught from the childhood that we should greet everyone with autism as it totally depends on our behavior that how we treat others, we will be getting the same from them. So, treating others with autism is as important because it reflects your character and builds your image in front of others which will help you in building your long-term reputation.
I want to some points related to this Article, At the end of our life, we do not dream our life. We live in them. There are so many quotes you shared which is I really liked.
I am in desperate need of help to get my 23 yr old autistic son Hayden Nicholas Fuchs home with me (MOM) I dont know how to do this. I live in Phoenix, AZ and my son is with his non caring father and step mother in West winfield, NY. I say this because I havent spoke to my son in over 7 yrs. I have been wronged with the court system due to one of my other childrens grandparents work with the Federal and State Government. Which means nothing but power and money. If anyone will find it in there heart to email me, text me or phone me help with getting my Son home I am willing to hear anything and everything someone has to say, inform, suggest, call, text, or write me on email. God Bless Autisum is the best!! Thank you, Noelle Fuchs (602)2914209
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about autism. Regards
I have decided to remove the label of autism from my title and add it to my credit.
I don’t see an author listed for this article. I see Temple Grandin’s photo at the top of the article – is she the author?
It’s compiled by Debra Muzikar, co-founder of the Art of Autism.
thanks for sharing about autism
Undeniably consider that which you said. Your favourite reason seemed to be on the internet the simplest thing to understand of.
I say to you, I certainly get irked at the same time
as people consider issues that they plainly don’t recognise about.
You controlled to hit the nail upon the top and outlined
out the whole thing with no need side-effects , other people can take a signal.
Will probably be back to get more. Thanks
I am brought to a warm spiritual place whilst watching the autistic twins staring at the sky. The gental knowing something more than us, smile on their faces is just magical. I’m trully blessed to have this opportunity to see this and blessed to have them in my life.
small this can is a big deal like just a little kindness can make a big change
When all is said and done, we are all just human beings – All trying our best, all living our lives, all surviving. Neuro-typical, neuro-diverse? Are we supposed to be the same? Do the labels truly make a difference? I liken it to learning a new culture and language in a new country. It is a challenge. It is hard and it can take your confidence away. Are you up for the challenge? We are all different but when it comes down to it, all need the same basic things- food, shelter and clothing. Some want a village, some want to be left alone and some want love and support. We can do it alone, we can do it together but in the end, it’s what matters to you. If you find your spouse is neuro-diverse, is he or she supportive of you, faithful, caring and kind? Or is he or she abusive, mean, moody and angry? I think with any relationship there are pros and cons and we need to pick our battles. I have not quite yet figured out what to do with mine but I will say, he has supported me though really hard times, has been reliable and a great father and has never abused me. He has also been the hardest person to live with and never seems to find the positive in life but I am starting to remove myself from that as I realize that is his problem not mine.
Are you familiar with Deaf people who have autism? I heard Dr. Stephen H. McCullough who is functioning as a researcher in San Diego Research Lab has autism. I would like to speak to Deaf adults with autism
Hi, I am from Pakistan and I met a guy who can answer complex sums in a second and now i read this article this is great to know
One college instructor told me that I was a very curious student… asking lots of questions. I, of course, wondered which way she meant it.
Since my mind wanders so much it can be difficult for me to have a conversation. But if I HAVE to listen to someone else the least they can do is give ME equal time! If not, then I’m done with them.
Ori lit our world with original expressions of humor, unique shortcuts of logic and growing wisdom about people without Aspergers. Although his life spanned only 17 years, he became an important teacher of something neurotypicals cannot teach: Creativity… and he still is.
Gesa (UCF-CARD team member)
proud parent of Ori Barto 1990 – 2008.
A-awesome
U-unconditional
T-talented
I- impressive
S-silent
Memorable
My life was touched by autism angel, my son .It was a unique awesome experience when I had a my son who shared unconditional love. He is talented and impressive. His love was silent he gave me memories of life which unforgettable. After all he tough me patience and politeness
WOW! For long time I have been searching on autism. because as teacher I have to deal with different type of kids. And I also working on special education and SEN child. But today that I have found that really amazing.
The child says to me “I know I am different. How, I ask. He says because “I have autism.” No child, that makes you the same as everyone else in the world, not one of us is the same, we are all different so you are normal.
There is only one common finding in children with severe autism and that is a screen. They always want a screen to look at, a video to watch, something to entertain. I believe the biggest thing that is lacking is education to parents to not be afraid to discipline. Autistic children do seem to respond to firm discipline. Just like everyone is different so will discipline be. It saddens me to see parents just give up and into the children. Do what you say, take that computer, take the playtime, TV, etc. when they misbehave. This helps the child in the long run. Also, please, please find your child a one-on-one play date; they already feel different so let them be loved.
I love the second part of your response Deb, can you be quoted? If yes, please reply to my email @dtr.isiolo@gmail.com
Thanks in advance.
Thank you for compiling all of these! My favorite is #55 “Autism is as much a part of humanity as is the capacity to dream.” – Kathleen Seidel
I never knew I had so many biases and prejudices until my son was diagnosed with autism. Suddenly immersed in a world of people – who until now had been invisible to me – I saw myself, the past me and I was ashamed. Today I am a better person, grateful Autism opened my eyes.
Any copyrights to the acronym?