That's not "autism"
Actual autists, including those with what we used to call (and should still) Aspergers, do not spend all day on social media:
Telling millions of people how their autism makes them have a hard time communicating with others but in the most interesting way
Telling millions of people about how put upon they are in a world of “neurotypicals”
Posting pictures of them doing doing Quirky Activities Like Being A Girl Who Skateboards and how their autism makes them Super Good At It
Telling millions of people the intimate details of arguments with friends, family, and girlfriends and how it’s all because the neurotypicals don’t have theory of mind for spergs
Rewriting their entire biographical history in light of their newly discovered autism diagnosis so that everything they ever did was the most autistic thing ever
Recasting every area of interest-storm chasing, steam trains, ocean liners, whatever, as “autistic” and insisting that every other person who likes that subject area is Also Autistic Just Like Me
If you can, stop and clear the palette of your mind. Try to see this fresh, not primed by what you’ve been told is the right way to see “autism” for these past 10 years.
Ask yourself this question:
-Do these behaviors truly seem “autistic” to you? Do they sound like the behaviors that would be done by a person with a profound neurological impairment that makes socializing difficult?
-Or, do they sound like narcissistic behaviors to you?
In childhood, it's mostly boys who are diagnosed with autism spectrum discorders. In adulthood, it's mostly adult women who are diagnosed. Does that seem suspicious to anyone else?
Yes, yes, yes 1,000,000 times yes! I work in mental health and people are positively obsessed with diagnosing themselves with autism, ADHD, OCD, GAD, you name it. Everyone is "neurodivergent." The newest absurdity is pathological demand avoidance (PDA). It's true, look it up. I would pay good money to see Josh Slocum do a deep dive into this newest pathology. Why are we insisting that every single human proclivity, eccentricity, or personality trait is a disorder requiring accommodations? I think we all know the answer.
The only disorder they do NOT see to want to diagnose themselves with is borderline personality disorder, which is actually what they have.
Keep telling the truth, Josh! You're a gem!