Are some people scared of autistic people?

[Candyfloss]

Because they might do weird things and freak people out?

 

[call me jaded]

Definitely. My youngest daughter has two friends that are 'freaked out' by DS becasue he makes odd noises instead of talking and does some strange sensory-seeking behaviours. They don't hide their fear because they are too young, but I'm sure older children and adults find him odd and sometimes a little bit frightening, especially when he doesn't appear to respond when I tell him to come or stop or whatever.

[Mumble]

Yes, I'm scared of my brother, he's 6 foot lots and very strong and if he 'goes off on one' totally unpredictable.

 

I think it's a natural human reaction (however we may think about it) to be scared of things that are different and that we don't understand.

 

[fieldmouse]

I think so because my behavior can scare people. i can even scare myself sometimes.

[Suze]

Yes candyfloss I think sometimes people can be scared of how (particularly adult) autistic people behave.It can be due to a lack of knowledge or understanding on their part(the non-autistic ).Autistics can be very unpredictable, my son is a good example.His moods are very hard to predict.

[Enid]

sadly yes, lots of my family are nervous of DS, shame but understandable

[trekster]

i showed someone "this person has asperger syndrome" card once in a pub queue and they walked off!

[zenemu]

Sadly I think it is a natural reaction too but mainly because people are generally scared of what they don't understand. I work with people who have all manner of mental illnesses and learning disabilites and I see this kind of thing quite often. I think it is an awareness issue as much as anything else, but if it makes you feel better Schizophrenia gets a much worse wrap than ASD. I've come across seemingly intelligent and otherwise polite people who have refused to sit in the same room as someone with Schizophrenia on their own because of the assuption that all Schizophrenic's are violent.

[BusyLizzie100]

I would add that often it is the behaviour that can be intimidating or 'scary' in the sense that it is unexpected or unpredictable, not necessarily the person.

 

IF an autistic person is 'following' his or her own set of social rules rather than that of the typical majority, it can sometimes make them stand out and therefore draw attention. It can also often draw attention to behaviour that isn't necessarily that intimidating but just slightly odd, but for those without much understanding that can be enough to put them off. Then again, a person doesn't have to be autistic to act slightly odd at times...!

 

Lizzie xx

 

 

[Enid]

i showed someone "this person has asperger syndrome" card once in a pub queue and they walked off!

 

Hi, I have the cards for DS, the "this young person has autism" ones, have used them twice with good effect, once when he was laying on the road... and once when he unexpectedly freaked out on an escalator!

[XaKUa]

generally, people are scared of the unknown.

 

ironically, whoever's accompanying the person with an asd can often predict exactly how they are going to react in any given situation!

 

so, it's all about misunderstanding eh?

[Kathryn]

I agree with zenemu - the idea of mental illness freaks people out the most because people are instantly on their guard against a peceived threat.

 

I do think that there is a wide degree of tolerance of behaviour that is different, but maybe it depends where you live.

 

K x

[keith1]

Crazy people are scared of me. I think it's because I rarely bother manipulating them to let them continue believing in the social hierarchy they rely on to understand the world (although one time I tested this, with my old boss, it worked amazingly well. At one point she actually said "I know you're lying but you say everything I want to hear" and she was powerless against it. Crazy people will choose consistency over reality every time. Worth experimenting with if you have an interest in people).

 

Awesome people, on the other hand, are curious about the world and react very well to me. I think the important lesson for autistics is to not become disheartened when you get bad reactions from some people, because those aren't the ones you wanted to know anyway. Don't harden yourself to the world like the crazies do. Accept that you'll be lonely a lot of the time because awesome people are in the minority.