What If We Were All Autistic?

Okay, the reason I’m not good at talking and getting along with people (just to sum up) is because they say things I don’t understand (the reading between the lines thing), and I find it difficult to know how people are feeling (the social imagination thing). Also people misunderstand me; this happens when they read something into what I’ve said that wasn‘t there (I’m very poor at innuendo) or I don’t convey my emotions convincingly.

I don’t know what it’s like to be around just autistic people. But I sometimes wonder what if I was in a room of autistic people, and everyone said what they thought, no hinting or trying to fool each other with their social and emotional skills. And we’d just be talking about the things that interest us or sharing anecdotes. What would be lacking? What could go wrong?

I think there could still be disagreement and uncomfortableness. Autistic people can still be offended by something another has said (even if what has been said is true) if it challenges their ego. There would still be the desire some people have to be cleverer than others. That unsavoury part ourselves, the ego, would still be there causing arguments and separation.

As well as having some of the same problems as NT people have when they get together , there would also be things missing. Things that make the gathering of people together worth while. Such as the warmth NT people display; the hugs, the sharing of feelings. Stuff autistic people aren’t good at. If we were all autistic we would be very reserved. (More so than we are now if you’re English.)

Is it possible to have the advantages of autism without the disadvantages? A little voice inside me says not, or only if you’re NT and can discipline yourself to change. Autism isn’t a better way to be, there are too many draw backs. But NT people could improve their own lives if they learnt the lessons we autism can offer.

The following are some examples of autistic behaviour which if everyone adopted would make lots of lives happier. In these examples I’m not saying autistic people have superior morals it’s simply because of the way our brains work, or rather don’t work.

Autistic people aren’t very good at being mean to other people, mostly because it involves a lot of subterfuge, and the ideas and thoughts just aren’t there. We get angry and cross and have negative thoughts but it very rarely translates into action and we have enough social knowledge to know that yelling or physically hurting someone is not acceptable behaviour, so most of the time we can control this.

This trait has taught me that hurting other people because you feel wronged is not okay, not if we want to create an atmosphere of love rather than hate. I find that if I let these angry thoughts just be they go, and eventually the problem works itself out. Where as if I stay mad, the situation just gets worse.

Autistic people behave very differently in relationships to NT people. I’ve been taken advantage of in relationships before, this was because I didn’t know that the other person had different goals than I had. When people decide whether or not a person will make a suitable partner it is usually on the basis of what they can give them. But relationships shouldn’t just be about what you can get from the other person, but what you can both share. Maybe I attracted the wrong sort of people because I’m easily fooled. Autistic people don’t have the social/emotional intelligence to be manipulative in the way NT people are, but I’m getting better at spotting it.

Autistic people are more easily fooled in personal relationships, but NT people are more easily fooled by groups, institutions, any body of people who have formed together under a common cause. This is because NT people have a tendency to sacrifice their individuality to fit in with society. But we have is a conscience, it is our own personal guide to tell us if we are doing the right thing or the wrong thing. Sometimes this inner guidance contradicts what others might tell us, this doesn’t mean our view is wrong. There have been many instances in history when the majority are not always right.

Having the strength of character to think for ourselves and not to just follow the crowd is a great asset in our personal evolution. I think this is easier to do for autistic people because most of the time we don’t know what other people are thinking so jumping on the bandwagon isn‘t a option. There are also advantages to the NT person’s tendency to follow and band together. New ideas and information can spread with amazing speed. You just need to make sure we are spreading the right stuff.

The most important lesson though that autism has taught me is the necessity of honesty and truth in making the world a better place. You may not want to be at first, because maybe you are afraid of what you will find but it is absolutely essential if you are to improve yourself. If people were honest all the time they wouldn’t be manipulative, they wouldn’t hurt each other. They would also listen to their own conscience more often. If you’re honest with yourself there’s nothing else you need to remember.

That seems a short list and it basically comes down to being honest. But if everyone became honest for the majority of the time, the world would change very quickly for the better.