Steven Novella, neurologist and skeptic, has made an extensive post about the claims and why they are incorrect. I strongly encourage everyone to read his post.
In short, it comes down to the fact that there is no scientific evidence for a link between autism and vaccination.
Strange, but some people dare to claim this. It is true that people with autism often have problems expressing emotions or dealing with their emotions. But not having emotions is really not true. Usually autistic people even have profound emotions, but have problems expressing them. As a result, we sometimes come across as a bit harsh or cold, but we do indeed feel emotions. We are just like people.
Bluntly; No. Autism is not a disease. Autism is a part of you as a person. You are always autistic. I myself am also in favor of describing myself as an autist versus having autism. Autism is not a “phase”, it is there forever. Of course you can learn to deal with the interaction with people who do not have autism. With that it may seem to them that you become “less autistic”, but that does not change how things are going in yourself.
Many people with problems in their younger years learn to deal with this. They learn how to adapt so that they have fewer problems. I myself have learned this throughout the years. I also wrote about this before. However, this never means that my autism is “over” or “has decreased.” It means that I have learned how to hide my autism from the outside world.
And the “cure” of autism is definitely a ridiculous thing to think about. You cannot cure what is not a disease …
How high or low your IQ is, is not directly related to having autism. However, it is true that people with classic autism, for example, often have an intellectual disability. However, this is a comorbidity and not a characteristic of autism itself. The opposite is also quite possible; someone with autism can also be highly gifted.
With Asperger’s syndrome, an above-average IQ occurs more often than average. This is one of the characteristics of the syndrome. However, this does not mean that this is the case with all people with Asperger.
But the fact remains that there are many autists with a normal to high IQ, and that the fable of having a low IQ is incorrect.
Making friends is sometimes difficult. Not so strange, because the understanding of social rules and ways of making contact sometimes surpasses us. But we like to have friends, just like other people.
It often takes a while before I start seeing someone as a friend. In addition, I can be quite suspicious about someone’s intentions. But I have enough people in my area that I see as a friend. And no, I really don’t speak with them every day. I also warn people about this; I am a social ass and cannot talk to you for months, but you are still a friend to me! Now that I know how it works for myself, I can also adjust people’s expectations.
Autists may make contact in a different way and they may maintain contact in a different way, but we are certainly happy to make friends.
Did I miss anything about prejudice? Do you hear any other prejudices about autism? Let me know below in the comments or via Twitter