“Unfortunately, it is more common that the negative things are mentioned around autism. That is why I am writing a blog about the positive sides of autism.
punctual
Everyone with autism is of course different, but in general people with autism are very reliable and tidy. What I personally find very annoying, for example, is being late. I always try to arrive well in advance of an appointment. It also costs me too much stress if I don’t leave home on time.
For some reason, nine out of ten people always arrive late to my place. That is always a good test for me to learn patience. A deal is a deal also applies to me. I can’t stand it when someone reschedule or cancels an appointment completely. I don’t do this soon or something really urgent has to come up.
I think that is also a good feature.
Accurate
People with autism are also very accurate. Or a perfectionist. I’m also very detail-oriented (like most people with autism) and that can be tricky at times. In a face I also see everything that can be very distracting. Then the conversation immediately becomes more difficult, because I focus on the details and then think about it.
It also means that in my work I have to put everything exactly straight and neat from myself, I am not easily satisfied with the things I do, because I want to do everything perfectly. But of course that doesn’t always work. What is also nice about my accuracy is that I can quickly detect errors. At my previous job in dental technology, I got compliments on how quickly I was able to identify errors in bills that they hadn’t noticed before. While I just did that job and she for years! I read letter by letter so that deviations quickly stand out to me.
I also always want to finish everything exactly on time, but that often causes stress, because I can’t handle time pressure. I don’t deviate from my schedule and I feel good about that.
Honesty
People with autism also tend to be honest with others, sometimes too honest. They have a great sense of justice and they can bring that up in a conversation. Which is not always nice for the other.
If I don’t agree with something or if I don’t like something, I’ll say so honestly. But I only do this with people I know and trust well.
Lockdown
We have experienced the positive sides of autism in the last two years. Someone with autism will have had little trouble with the lockdown, unlike people without a disability. Personally, I’ve had little trouble either, because I don’t like to go out and I’m always home. So I didn’t mind that everything was closed.
sense of justice
I think it is very important that everyone is treated fairly and equally. I don’t like it when people act unfairly. If I buy something and it is broken, for example, then I can become very angry/sad, because I think it is unfair that this has to happen to me again. Equality is the most important thing to me!
Reliability
People with autism are often very trustworthy. There will always be exceptions, of course, but in general they are very good at keeping secrets.
That is also my strongest point. I hear a lot of stories from people who tell me that in confidence and I will never say such a thing to anyone else. I’ve been bullied in the past and I hate it when people talk bad about someone behind each other’s backs. So I will never participate in that and keep myself out of it. I’m honest about who I like and who I like less and all the secrets stay with me!
Know what you want
Finally, people with autism generally know quite well what they want and what they don’t want. For example, I have been saying for years that I want to do something in the administration, with children or with animals in terms of job. I had to do tests to see what suits me best. And of course those three jobs jumped out. I like that I know myself so well and know what I feel comfortable with.
And there are probably a lot of other fun, nice and positive sides to having autism. Of course it is certainly not nice to have to live with autism. I sometimes wonder what I would be like if I didn’t have all this, but we’ll never find out. I just have autism and I have to learn to live with that, I accept myself as I am.”