Why does society view autistic people as mentally incompetent?

[Ronald Zeeman]

what they see on the exterior of the person they make assumptions.
i guess you could have Einstein intelligence and some people would still assume things if you don't conform to their 'acceptable' behaviour.

Einstein had lots of sex real ladies man.

 

[dancerxoxo123]

I think low IQ is stigmatized at least as much as autism...actually worse since so many ASDers stigmatize and "other" fellow ASDers and really anyone with more cognitive differences/impairments or low IQ

...and people don't understand that having intellectual disability (ID) doesn't mean you cannot learn things, make good choices, be indepedent, be insightful, communicate, have talents, have a career -- like any other category of intellectual functioning, ID is a spectrum of many abilities.

Yet people see ID and autism as black and white ( ironic because we are supposed to be the super simplistic black and white thinkers) -- that if you have ID you must be unable to do anything, or at least not anything "normal"

And that if you don't have ID then you cannot possibly have any severe impairment -- anything you truly cannot do...

Both ideas are just wrong.

Having an intellectual disability or autism (or NVLD or ADHD or dyslexia or dyspraxia or dyscalcula or language disability or whatever else) often just means some things are harder for you to learn or to do, or take you longer, or that you need a bit more help than most. There's nothing wrong with that and people shouldn't be written off an unable to do anything at all!

One thing I would like to see become more commone is supported decision making orders -- a better option than guardianship for many who truly are capable of making their own choices but might need help considering all the information or communicating their questions, concerns, and decisions to others.

Yes that is true! And what is the stigma of mild intellectual disabilities?

 

[Mary Terry]

Einstein had lots of sex real ladies man.

He married his first cousin.

 

[the_tortoise]

And what is the stigma of mild intellectual disabilities?

Hard question for me to answer...partly because I don't understand it fully...

I think the stigma of mild intellectual disabilities is mostly the same as the stigma of all intellectual disabilities..,

I think it means a lot of different things but mostly:

when people assume you cannot understand anything or do anything. When they don't give you a chance to learn things or show them what you can do and what you understand.

And when they do not value you the same as everyone else. When they push you away and don't want to be seen as the same as you. Don't treat you as an equal, with the same respect they want for themselves.

 

[NB79]

I also remember how I was with my ASD ex on the autism meeting, and he told me about another autistic guy "that guy is creepy." So even autistics have that "something is weird" alarm as well it seems.
Of course no one should bully anyone because they're different, im just explaining my that there is this "off" feeling about some people, autistic or not.

You can be a saint, as autistic and people would still says things about you based on their 'alarms' in their social sense.

 

[Ronald Zeeman]

Albert Einstein was using his cousin as a maid, not a sex partner, she probably had already passed menopause when they got together. Completely rational, no endogamy

 

[arithmetic]

"Why does society view autistic people as mentally incompetent?"​

There are so very many ways that people can be different to one another, nowadays, that the mainstream cannot keep up. When I was a child there was no such thing as autism, for a start. (I'm in my late 60's)
Over the last 50 odd years there have been many new classifications of human ability and disability. Most people just want to be "normal" whatever that is, and they just want "normal" people around them. Only a few people seem able to care about others at all.

I consider the differences between myself and the mainstream to be a kind of advantage... I just let myself be free, and if it drives most people away that's not my problem, because those who remain are more likely to be human beings.

 

[arithmetic]

You can be a saint, as autistic and people would still says things about you based on their 'alarms' in their social sense.

Some people enjoy bullying one another
Some people are looking for excuses to bully others all the time. When someone different comes along they bully them because they're different.

 

[dancerxoxo123]

Why is that?

Some people enjoy bullying one another
Some people are looking for excuses to bully others all the time. When someone different comes along they bully them because they're different.

 

[dancerxoxo123]

Hard question for me to answer...partly because I don't understand it fully...

I think the stigma of mild intellectual disabilities is mostly the same as the stigma of all intellectual disabilities..,

I think it means a lot of different things but mostly:

when people assume you cannot understand anything or do anything. When they don't give you a chance to learn things or show them what you can do and what you understand.

And when they do not value you the same as everyone else. When they push you away and don't want to be seen as the same as you. Don't treat you as an equal, with the same respect they want for themselves.

So they don’t want anything to do with me because of the disability? High functioning autism. And borderline iq but idk if it’s right I’m talking about those that have mild ID

 

[the_tortoise]

So they don’t want anything to do with me because of the disability? High functioning autism. And borderline iq but idk if it’s right I’m talking about those that have mild ID

Yes exclusion and rejection are part of being stigmatized.

But not everyone will stigmatize you! And it is never okay if someone does stigmatize you.

You should not be stigmatized -- nobody should be.

It does not matter what your IQ is. It does not matter if you have mild ID, or moderate ID, or severe ID, or borderline ID or no ID -- nobody deserves to be stigmatized.

It does not matter if you are "high functioning" or "low functioning" autistic -- nobody deserves to be stigmatized.

We should all be accepted as we are, and not pre-judged based on stereotypes. We all have value and deserve respect.

Stigma goes from mild and not conscious, unintentional...all the way to 100% intentional, to hate. Most stigma is unintentional I think. People don't understand...

 

[dancerxoxo123]

Yes exclusion and rejection are part of being stigmatized.

But not everyone will stigmatize you! And it is never okay if someone does stigmatize you.

You should not be stigmatized -- nobody should be.

It does not matter what your IQ is. It does not matter if you have mild ID, or moderate ID, or severe ID, or borderline ID or no ID -- nobody deserves to be stigmatized.

It does not matter if you are "high functioning" or "low functioning" autistic -- nobody deserves to be stigmatized.

We should all be accepted as we are, and not pre-judged based on stereotypes. We all have value and deserve respect.

Stigma goes from mild and not conscious, unintentional...all the way to 100% intentional, to hate. Most stigma is unintentional I think. People don't understand...

Yeah so why don’t some people do t want to talk to me or be my friend because of the stigma? What stigma do they think? It’s not fair

 

[dancerxoxo123]

Yeah so why don’t some people do t want to talk to me or be my friend because of the stigma? What stigma do they think? It’s not fair

And yeah no one deserves to be stigmatized!

 

[the_tortoise]

Lots of us here have been hurt by being stigmatized. It's never fair.

I can't tell you what anyone else thinks but I don't think everyone will stigmatize you! Lots of people will accept you and see you as jsut a person like anyone else.

Try not to worry about it, and just be proud of who you are and remember you deserve respect just like everyone else.

 

[dancerxoxo123]

Yeah I hope so this is why I wish I wasn’t autistic. Then people would want to be my friend. This sucks But why don’t they want to be friends with someone autistic or mildly intellectual disabled? What do they think of the stigma with it?

Lots of us here have been hurt by being stigmatized. It's never fair.

I can't tell you what anyone else thinks but I don't think everyone will stigmatize you! Lots of people will accept you and see you as jsut a person like anyone else.

Try not to worry about it, and just be proud of who you are and remember you deserve respect just like everyone else.

 

[the_tortoise]

Yeah I hope so this is why I wish I wasn’t autistic. Then people would want to be my friend. This sucks But why don’t they want to be friends with someone autistic or mildly intellectual disabled? What do they think of the stigma with it?

I am sure lots of people will want to be your friend.

I did not mean to say nobody would be because of stigma. Only some people stigmatize others -- and it can be for any reason at all, not just IQ or autism.

There isn't any good reason for stigma, and I am not able to tell you what people think if they stigmatize others. (Would need to be telepathic for that, and am not -- sorry!)

 

[RemyZee]

Yeah I hope so this is why I wish I wasn’t autistic. Then people would want to be my friend. This sucks But why don’t they want to be friends with someone autistic or mildly intellectual disabled? What do they think of the stigma with it?

I'll add that, yes, I've experienced all kinds of stigmatization because of both autism and learning differences like dyscalculia, but I also stigmatize neurotypical people--put them in boxes, make assumptions about why they act certain ways, reject them for skimpy reasons, even laugh internally about iwhen the real issue is that I simply don't understand them, and have been screwed enough times that I'm careful with who I trust (lend my heart out to). At the center it comes down to who I identify with. I stigmatize people I don't understand, especially when I don't give them a chance to show me who they really are.

 

[Judge]

Yeah I hope so this is why I wish I wasn’t autistic. Then people would want to be my friend. This sucks But why don’t they want to be friends with someone autistic or mildly intellectual disabled? What do they think of the stigma with it?

Your best bet under the circumstances is to use such experiences to come to one conclusion. One I have posted many times in this forum over the years:

Keep your autism on a need-to-know basis only. Let people accept you as you are, but without any neurological explanations on your part. You don't owe anyone anything in this regard.

Hang in there...

 

[arithmetic]

Why is that?

You want to know why some people enjoy bullying one another.

I don't really understand those people, for the same reason they can't understand me.
We're different, that's all.
I prefer to learn to be loving over being hateful.
I can't say anything much about their experience, but I can't judge it and I can't change it, or them.
It's lonely, in the world, isn't it. All these people look pretty much the same but inside we are nearly all so different. It's so hard to find common ground for us all, on which we could build peace.

 

[grommet]

Society thinks they can’t make decisions for themselves and they think that they are mentally incompetent. Why is that? And this affects them dating and having sexual relationships. What else does society view autistic people when it comes to dating and sex? Like me for example they think of that of me because I am autistic.

I do not know. I think it is something about how I communicate. I am 58 and I am still treated like a child.