Quotes & Sayings About Autism

By including children with different learning abilities in mainstream and specialized schools, we can change attitudes and promote respect. By creating suitable jobs for adults with autism, we integrate them into society. — Ban Ki-moon

Studies by many labs have already started to identify specific circuits of neurons involved in normal cognitive function like memory and learning, as well as disease processes such as Parkinson's disease, depression, and autism. — Feng Zhang

Social (Pragmatic) Communication Disorder DSM-5 describes a new disorder that has elements of ASD but is actually conceptualized as outside the autism spectrum. The intention is to provide diagnostic coverage for children with symptoms in the social-communication domain but who have never displayed repetitive, restricted behaviours or interests. However, it is unclear how Social Communication Disorder (SCD) will be different from ASD, which support or therapy services will be available, and what the child will qualify for. — Tony Attwood

The boy's mother said he was autistic and sometimes spaced out, staring at his hands, but because I didn't know what autism was, really, I figured he was more or less mesmerized by his existence. I was romanticizing the situation because the kid was probably distracting himself or daydreaming or something, but I thought maybe he was like Hamlet looking at his hands, thinking sincerely about what it means to have been born. — Donald Miller

If you give us a safe vaccine, we'll use it. It shouldn't be polio versus autism. — Jenny McCarthy

Get up, stand up and look up into your future as an independent human being. Every one has the right to an independent life, especially us Aspies. — Jeanette Purkis

I saw the Eagle Tree for the first time on the third Monday of the month of March, which I guess could be considered auspicious if I believed in magic or superstition or religion ... — Ned Hayes

Having Simultanagnosia (object blindness), Prosopagnosia (face blindness) and Semantic Agnosia (meaning blindness) goes in my favour with regards to abstract art living in world full of fragmented pieces when I draw it is in real time no visual memory means no "pre-formatted" picture in my mind so I go where my hand takes it's like journey that is happening in the moment, hence why I drew these without my lenses on. When I was younger I would draw pictures by "route" which made it a appear that I had a visual memory (cobbling together things out of context and making a contextual image) — Paul Isaacs

Those outside of autism need to understand this is an epidemic and we need more government funding, insurance coverage and education reform. — Jenny McCarthy

no one can know how another person 'senses' the world. We just have to respect the person as they are. Accept their unique way of being. Embrace them for who they are not what you think they should be. — Tina J. Richardson

My son was diagnosed with autism. He's OK, he makes eye contact, but he doesn't talk. He needs eight hours a day of very intensive school, and you wouldn't even believe me if I told you how much it costs. — Steve Earle

We all love in our own way. There is no one "correct" way. — Tina J. Richardson

While bullying happens to both males and females on the spectrum, girls, particularly, can be judgmental. Dr. Grandin advocates that some gifted children with autism should be allowed to skip high school and go right to college and I couldn't agree with her more. We flourish much better in an environment where the emphasis is on academic achievement and not socializing. Of course we need to learn to socialize, but through shared interests with like-minded individuals, not by being thrown to the lions. Emotionally, we require an atmosphere of tolerance and non-judgment. — Rudy Simone

Children with special needs inspire a special love. — Sarah Palin

The recent medical controversy over whether vaccinations cause autism reveals a habit of human cognition - thinking anecdotally comes naturally, whereas thinking scientifically does not. — Michael Shermer

One big question that's come up is: Has autism increased on the mild side of things? I don't think so - they've always been here. Some of this is increased detection. — Temple Grandin

Our visuals must represent the truth and decode the verbal jumble so these children can find the right direction. — Adele Devine

GAPS Diet This diet is intended to heal gut damage in children, which may result in autism, ADHD, severe food allergies, or other outward symptoms. Children who have severe physical and behavioral problems may begin this diet in order to address the underlying causes, which is a so-called "leaky gut." This means that the good gut flora that should be present isn't, and that there are "holes" in the gut wall where undigested proteins are leaking through and into the bloodstream, sensitizing the child. There is also an overgrowth of pathogenic bacteria and likely, candida. The GAPS diet[2] addresses this and helps to actually heal the gut. — Anonymous

I find some things difficult to grasp. I need to be shown or taught a few different ways sometimes before I figure it out — Tina J. Richardson

The most important thing is to bring people with Parkinson's into our world and for the public to have a real understanding of it, as they're beginning to have with autism. — Helen Mirren

Label-locked thinking can affect treatment. For instance, I heard a doctor say about a kid with gastrointestinal issues, "Oh, he has autism. That's the problem" - and then he didn't treat the GI problem. — Temple Grandin

Being autistic doesn't make me any less human. It just makes me who I am. Just like you are. — Tina J. Richardson

Without a doubt in my mind, I believe that vaccinations triggered Evan's autism. — Jenny McCarthy

I Have a Dream ... someday my son, Zyon and ALL individuals with disabilities will be seen as HUMAN beings.
I Have a Dream ... someday the human & civil rights of individuals with disabilities are honored and they are treated as equals.
I Have a Dream ... someday ALL parents who have children with disabilities see their child as a blessing and not a burden.
I Have a Dream ... someday there will be more jobs and opportunities for individuals with disabilities.
I Have a Dream ... someday there will be UNITY "within" the disabled community.
I HAVE A DREAM!!! — Yvonne Pierre

One out of six women are toxic with mercury. Mercury comes out of coal plants and chlorine plants. I am toxic, I deal with symptoms, children are born with, you know, autism - there is an epidemic in this country. This is like, the air that we breath. — Daphne Zuniga

If you can still wipe your own backside then life's not that bad! — E.J. Plows

A placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomised trial of boys with autism found that two to three servings of cruciferous vegetables a day improves social interaction, abnormal behaviour and verbal communication - within a matter of weeks. — Michael Greger

My son regressed. I have my own thoughts on that, just as all parents do. It doesn't mean that I would ever think of another parent as ignorant or stupid if they think differently about their own child.

If we are to be a community, then we need to be heard as a community and not as warring factions. Support each other. — Liz Becker

I am a whole person. I'm not a neurotypical person with an 'autism' part. I'm not a disabled neurotypical. I am a whole autisic person!. — Tina J. Richardson

Autism doesn't have to define a person. Artists with autism are like anyone else: They define themselves through hard work and individuality. — Adrienne Bailon

The word "autism" still conveys a fixed and dreadful meaning to most people - they visualize a child mute, rocking, screaming, inaccessible, cut off from human contact. And we almost always speak of autistic children, never of autistic adults, as if such children never grew up, or were somehow mysteriously spirited off the planet, out of society. — Temple Grandin

I suspect the I.Q., SAT, and school grades are tests designed by nerds so they can get high scores in order to call each other intelligent ... Smart and wise people who score low on IQ tests, or patently intellectually defective ones, like the former U.S. president George
W. Bush, who score high on them (130), are testing the test and not the reverse. — Nassim Nicholas Taleb

This tree was a vast cylinder of wood. It filled the sky. The limbs reached out above me, a great canopy sheltering the rest of the trees, as if they were its children. — Ned Hayes

Understanding the intricacies involved in raising someone with a physical or mental challenge for those who have never experienced it is like trying to understand anything foreign; impossible, though definitely worth doing anyway. — Lynette Louise

When the link between the use of unsafe, mercury-laden vaccine and autism, ADHD, asthma, allergies and diabetes becomes undeniable, mainstream medicine will be sporting a huge, self-inflicted and well-deserved black eye. Then will come the billion-dollar awards, by enraged juries, to the children and their families. I can't wait. — Bernard Rimland

Sensory overload - I just want to soak myself completely to rid myself of
feeling too much — Tina J. Richardson

If I didn't know better, I'd think I suffer from some sort of Tourette's-autism hybrid, but Dr. Pat insists I can control the impulse to say whatever pops into my head. That it's, like, a defensive mechanism, not a biological imperative. Therapists think everything is a defense mechanism. Just my thinking that in my head, right now, is a defense mechanism. — Corey Ann Haydu

Do not tell me what i should identify as. That is my choice not yours. — Tina J. Richardson

I myself am opaque, for some reason. Their eyes cannot see me. Yes, that's it: The world is autistic with respect to me. — Anne Nesbet

A small step forward . . .every . . single . . .day. The sun is coming up and I am wondering, 'What wondrous thing shall I witness today? — Liz Becker

I look at the sky and the dust that separates us from the stars that will be my home. I breathe in the night air, the rotten night air, and I miss,
I miss,
I miss. — Corinne Duyvis

For people with autism, living itself is a battle. — Naoki Higashida

I'm not ashamed of myself I am ashamed at the people that judge me without knowledge — Tina J. Richardson

Love every child without condition, listen with an open heart, get to know who they are, what they love, and follow more often than you lead. — Adele Devine

I have a condition called Aspergers Syndrome, which is like a mild form of autism It means I don't interact properly in certain social situations. — Gary Numan

They claim that autism naturally occurs at about 18 months, when the MMR is routinely given, so the association is merely coincidental and not causal. But the onset of autism at 18 months is a recent development. Autism starting at 18 months rose very sharply in the mid-1980s, when the MMR vaccine came into wide use. A coincidence? Hardly! — Bernard Rimland

When we look at nature, we receive a sort of permission to be alive in this world, and our entire bodies get recharged. However often we're ignored and pushed away by other people, nature will always give us a good big hug, here inside our hearts. — Naoki Higashida

Don't think that there's a different, better child 'hiding' behind the autism. This is your child. Love the child in front of you. Encourage his strengths, celebrate his quirks, and improve his weaknesses, the way you would with any child. You may have to work harder on some of this, but that's the goal. — Claire Scovell LaZebnik

I can only imagine how difficult it must be for someone facing racial or social prejudices to add autism to their list of struggles. It might be less stressful and at times, easier, to ignore the autism. — Liane Holliday Willey

Thinking differently means you can work out problems in an unusual way. Just because we may do things differently it does not mean it is wrong. — Tina J. Richardson

In a world now so obsessed with speed, we teachers must step back and learn to wait. — Adele Devine

Jacob's room is the place entropy goes to die. — Jodi Picoult

I don't HAVE Autism, I am Autistic. It doesn't mean I see myself as a 'disability' first and a person second. I'm me, you cannot separate 'the Autism' out of me. I'm wired this way. I was born this way. I am this way — Tina J. Richardson

I fall for centuries of life. First sunlight touches this hillside; and buried inside the earth, a seed stirs, turning slowly in the deep soil like a tadpole turning itself in a dank pool. — Ned Hayes

I am no longer 'trying to dig up evidence to prove' vaccines cause autism. There is already abundant evidence. This debate is not scientific but is political — David Ayoub

Just by looking at nature, I feel as if I'm being swallowed up into it, and in that moment I get the sensation that my body's now a speck, a speck from long before I was born, a speck that is melting into nature herself. — Naoki Higashida

Katie, 90% of the things you worry about don't happen, and the 10% that do, you can't do anything about. — Mary Fisher

People with autism react physically to feelings of happiness and sadness. So when something happens that affects me emotionally, my body seizes up as if struck by lightning. — Naoki Higashida

The person who said 'time heals all wounds' never met an aspie — Tina J. Richardson

I don't think I have ever been as inspired by any character that I have played. I was deeply moved by Temple's courage and her resourcefulness.. She is really pioneering in both the world of autism and animal rights. She has encouraged an incredibly positive change in the world. — Claire Danes

I felt the bark of the trees on either side of me as I walked. It was very soothing. Here in the LBA Woods, the trees grew very close together and when I did not walk on the path, I would reach out with my fingertips and touch their bark as I passed. The skin of the trees was warm in the sunlight, and rough, and I imagined that each tree contained a soul. Like an Ent. I knew this idea was not a true thing, but still I felt good that the trees were here. — Ned Hayes

Adapting our own perception, following rather than leading and building bridges are all keys to helping the child with autism learn. — Adele Devine

I have two young children with autism. What could they have ever done to deserve that? What kind of a God allows the innocent to suffer? It's a mystery. Yet still, I believe in God. — Fred Melamed

I like being me, I don't mind that I have a diagnosis. I am who I was born to be. I love that I can be enthralled with things and want to learn all about something that interests me. Some days can be hard. People can be confusing for me to understand. I love time to indulge in my interests. It helps me to cope with a world that constantly changes — Tina J. Richardson

The idea that vaccines are a primary cause of autism is not as crackpot as some might wish. Autism's 60-fold rise in 30 years matches a tripling of the U.S. vaccine schedule. — Jenny McCarthy

Autistic people view the world in a different light, in ways many could never imagine. — Tina J. Richardson

My thoughts and ideas are floating images in my mind. I find when it difficult to convert the pictures into words. — Tina J. Richardson

Joy is always a function of gratitude - and gratitude is always a function of perspective. — Ann Voskamp

Then the dreaded words, Your child has autism. These words echo in their heads like a freight train blasting through their hopes and dreams. — Dr. Linda Barboa

But in a home where grief is fresh and patience has long worn thin, making it through another day is often heroic in itself. — Melanie Bennett

That night, my heart softened around Wills's autism. Clearly, Katherine had been right. I couldn't isolate him. As painful as it was to watch him paralyzed with fright, I knew that he was happier when he tried. Not showing up was admitting defeat. Admitting that he couldn't do it. Admitting that the autism was bigger than him. — Monica Holloway

The future of my child is unknown but I have loved him, supported him, and taught him right from wrong. I will continue to do so ... — Brenda Lochinger

I hate the rules of language; I love the orders of numbers. — Joey Lawsin

People with Asperger's or autism expend a huge amount of mental energy each day coping with socializing, anxiety, change, sensory sensitivity, daily living skills and so on. — Laura James

People who stare. I ask for a little empathy. Please don't judge. Be understanding that some places will strongly affect me. My senses are heightened and i experience lights, noise and smells differently that you might. Stimming will help me regulate myself to my environment as well as calming me. — Tina J. Richardson

Schools connect children to their communities. Jobs connect adults to their societies. Persons with autism deserve to walk the same path. — Ban Ki-moon

Naoki is anticipating his audience's emotions and manipulating them. That is empathy. The conclusion is that both emotional poverty and an aversion to company are not symptoms of autism but consequences of autism, its — Naoki Higashida

We do take pleasure in one thing that you probably won't be able to guess. Namely, making friends with nature ... nature is always there at hand to wrap us up, gently: glowing, swaying, bubbling, rustling.
Just by looking at nature, I feel as if I'm being swallowed up into it, and in that moment I get the sensation that my body's now a speck, a speck from long before I was born, a speck that is melting into nature herself. This sensation is so amazing that I forget that I'm a human being, and one with special needs to boot.
Nature calms me down when I'm furious, and laughs with me when I'm happy. You might think that it's not possible that nature could be a friend, not really. But human beings are part of the animal kingdom too, and perhaps us people with autism still have some left-over awareness of this, buried somewhere deep down. I'll always cherish that part of me that thinks of nature as a friend. — Naoki Higashida

I tried to write how I felt. The pen remained frozen. The paper stayed white and empty,
while my brain was dark and full — Tina J. Richardson

[...] nobody anywhere seemed to be willing to ponder for a moment the possibility that a human being who refused to participate, who refused to speak or listen, who failed to 'interact with his peer group', might not be all that crazy, and might even have arrived at an understandable response to the world in which we lived. — Craig Harrison

I sometimes shock the people around me with how I see things. I come up with very unique solutions to things. As I can picture things in my mind and move them around to design and understand them. — Tina J. Richardson

Do not compare yourself with others. Its our uniqueness that makes us who we are. — Tina J. Richardson

My little brother is autistic, so I would love to be involved in a charity for autism, but I haven't found the right one yet. — Nikki Reed

I take criticism to heart. The words hit me literally and it hurts. It can take me a long time to recover from it. — Tina J. Richardson

Believe that some kids who are in the middle to more high-functioning range of the autism continuum, like me, do not receive the proper stimulation and end up turning inward to such an extent that they can't function in society, even though they may be incredibly brilliant in some narrowly defined field, like abstract mathematics. — John Elder Robison

When vaccination programs are successful to the point where the disease is unfamiliar to physicians and public alike, then concerns can arise with real or perceived side effects of a vaccine that affect a very small minority of those vaccinated. Such concerns lead to fewer children being vaccinated and to increasing occurrence of the disease. — Peter Parham

It's hard to forget hurtful things, isn't it? Children with autism have good memories. So it's much harder for them to forget bad experiences than it is for us. So fill them with as many good experiences as possible. — Keiko Tobe

Autism; It's not new just because you haven't heard of it until now. — Stuart Duncan

Autism is the filter through which all my other senses must pass, both input and output. — Stuart Duncan

I wish people could read my thoughts instead of having to put them into words. — Tina J. Richardson

Sometimes there are not the right words for my thoughts. Speech feels like it's not a natural way to communicate. This is when typing the words makes my thoughts come out easier. — Tina J. Richardson

My son has autism, and I founded the government relations department at Autism Speaks. — Elizabeth Emken

Often autism is portrayed in the media as a very negative condition, as something that prevents somebody from communicating or from socializing or from being able to have any kind of normal, happy life. — Daniel Tammet

My arms sometimes move on their own in big flapping motions, as if I might take off, and my hands spin like a hummingbird's wings. — Ned Hayes

Being autistic is not everything about me. Try not to define me by my diagnosis. — Tina J. Richardson

I am fine as an autistic person, value me as I am. Don't look at me as a broken neurotypical. — Tina J. Richardson

You are the most brave intrepid person I have ever known, and you have dedicated your life to helping those who are misunderstood and underrepresented. — Claire Danes

From a scientific standpoint, Aspergers and autism are one syndrome. Aspergers is part of the autism spectrum, not a separate disorder. — Temple Grandin

Asperger's syndrome has probably been an important and valuable characteristic of our species throughout evolution. — Tony Attwood

All my life, I have been working with children whose lives were destroyed because their mothers hated them.
1981 re: cause of autism — Bruno Bettelheim