There are quite a few misconceptions in this comment. For example, “Well I guess everyone’s a little on the spectrum.” is a comment that frustrates many autistic people because it misunderstands what the “spectrum” in ASD means, and is usually said in a way that diminishes the lived reality of autistic people. I realise that you weren’t making that statement, merely pointing to the existence of people who make this argument. Nonetheless, I want to emphasise that this sentiment is not representative of autism.
I do think that with the increasing awareness of autism in the popular consciousness, there is a risk that our understanding of autism may be hampered by stereotypes. I have seen diagnosed autistic people feeling like their struggles were invalid because they didn’t nearly fit into the popular conception of what an autistic person looks like. I believe that autism is probably still a useful category, in terms of helping people find the support they need to live fulfilling lives, but that we need to be mindful of how category labels can cause harm if misunderstood or misapplied.
NocturnalMorning@lemmy.world 5 days ago
This is so wrong it almost wrapped around and became right again.
morrowind@lemmy.ml 5 days ago
Maybe it’s right but poorly articulated?
Taleya@aussie.zone 5 days ago
Iq tests get iffy in neurodivergence due to spikey skillsets, but neither my husband or i are “low IQ”, and i’m ASD while he’s got ADHD
papalonian@lemmy.world 5 days ago
I’m not defending their comment (because I’m not even really sure what its stance is), but I do want to clarify that they don’t seem to be arguing that we’re low-IQ rather than autistic; rather, I think the argument is that when low-IQ people see “normal” IQ activities, the low-IQ person will chalk it up to neurodivergence.
Like in their example, a low-IQ person would see a neurotypical person folding their laundry and think, “huh, they must be on the spectrum”.
possiblylinux127@lemmy.zip 5 days ago
IQ is bad in general since you are trying to measure “intelligence” with arbitrary test problems. Intelligence doesn’t have a clear definition so the IQ test is flawed.
saltesc@lemmy.world 5 days ago
I know, right?! Glad you agree.