“Autism doesn’t look like anything”

I see a lot of "autism doesn't look like anything" content and though I understand the intent I think those posts are generally unhelpful, and here's why...

Unless someone already knows what autism is, those types of posts don't clarify anything, they just leave people even more confused.

If we want to increase awareness and understanding, we need to explain what we mean when we make statements like that. 

This is why I've been posting so much content explaining what I mean when I say my autism "doesn't look like anything." 

Because there's a very specific thing I'm talking about when I say this. 

That my "invisible" autism is internalized. And though you can't see it, it's very much there... and harming me when my needs aren't met.

And I think it's critically important for people to understand this about my high masking, lower support needs, highly internalized version of autism.

But I think it's equally important for people to understand that autism can and sometimes does have a "look." 

And we need to be careful not to erase those who have visible traits when we're trying to spread awareness about autism.

So, when someone says "autism doesn't look like anything" without any follow up or clarification, it can sound like autism *never* looks like anything... 

Rather than that it doesn't have a *universal* look (which is what I think most people mean when they make that statement).

All this to say... 

Saying "autism doesn't have a look" is not incorrect... it just needs to be qualified or it can leave people with the wrong idea of what autism is. 

And that confusion can be harming our higher support needs community members who have more visible traits. ❤️