Top Ten Worst Ways to Annoy an Autistic Child

The Top Ten
1 Assume they are not intelligent

I absolutely hate this! I'm a flipping almost-genius, and I'm being treated like a retard because I'm autistic! There's a difference!

I thought most autistic people are smart, though, because they have good skills.

Whoever does this is stupid. Autistic people are geniuses with great memories.

2 Tell them they're too sensitive

It's important to recognize that other people have different perspectives than yours, and that those perspectives are not automatically less valid.

What is an annoyance to a non-autistic person can be physically painful to an autistic person. It takes an incredible amount of patience and strength to navigate an inaccessible, hostile, and unaccommodating world. Autistics are putting up with much more than non-autistics realize.

Telling other people how to feel is dismissive and rude. Let people experience their feelings. You don't know what they're going through, and you aren't the boss of them.

3 Talk to them like they're idiots

Girls also talk to me like I'm some baby or other living thing. They ask too many questions! And this teacher treats me like I'm some troublemaker.

Teacher: "I think you're doing very well in your grades. You have an A."

Me (in my head): You don't have to tell me a billion times just because I have autism!

4 Force them to be around other people when they don't want to

I'm not autistic, but even I don't like that.

5 Make fun of them

This should be Number One on this list because it's bullying autistic people, which they don't deserve.

Why would you do that? They probably have a better memory than you, and their fists are just as functional as yours.

6 Avoid them because they're "weird"

If people did that to me, I would diss them and then go rant about society.

I wish there were more autistic kids in my school.

That's stupid. Who would do that?

7 Don't help them with their social skills
8 Diss them because they're "obsessed" with things

I talk about space, Disney, and the number Pi a lot at school without really meaning to. Every kid in my school thinks I'm OCD or something, and they're not exactly nice about it.

It's true. I'm autistic, and I get easily obsessed with things. If I pick out a Lord of the Rings character, I instantly become obsessed with it.

If someone said that to me, it would upset me because I get obsessed over things all the time.

9 Yell at them when they throw tantrums

My dad does this, but it's because he tends to get overwhelmed easily. It still annoys me, though.

This just stresses me out even more.

10 Make physical contact with them

I don't know about you other autistic people, but I absolutely hate human physical contact.

The Contenders
11 Tell them they're retarded

Saying that they're retarded is not okay. The word is very offensive, especially towards them. So saying that to them is really offensive in the first place.

I could scream for several hours about this.

Please, no one I know would do this.

12 Expect that they want to make friends

I have no desire to make friends, yet everyone expects I do.

I have no normal friends. They all have it or something. We are all beings, after all.

I want friends, but not the inconsiderate jerks I know!

13 Stare at them

I'm not kidding. My sister does this just to bother me, and I scream at her because I hate it so much.

Yeah, I know it's weird because if someone stared at me, I would feel weird. This is not nice for everyone.

14 Force them to do what others want them to
15 Tell them they're faking it for excuses

Unless you're a really good actor, I don't think you could fake autism.

16 Tell them that they should toughen up

Telling someone with a mental disorder to toughen up is messed up. They can't control it. Instead of telling them to toughen up, help calm them down.

17 Make a joke or pun when they're in a bad situation over a little thing
18 Treat them like toys

I don't even have to speak. This is obviously wrong.

I don't think you should treat anyone like toys.

19 Constantly bring it up in conversations
20 Bring up the fact that Hans Asperger collaborated with the Nazis
21 Belittle their special interest

If someone is excited about a harmless thing, and you make them feel bad for being excited about it, you're a terrible person.

22 Tell them they're boring

I was told this by my own mother when all I had on my Christmas list was books.

23 Tell them they have to be serious
24 Make loud noises
25 Ignore them

Horrible, but better than some other stuff on here.

8Load More
PSearch List