You may have heard people say that they don’t know anything about autism or they don’t know anyone who is autistic.
But the reality is, you do know someone on the spectrum. Probably lots of someones.
Our current estimate of autism rates in the U.S. is 1 out of 59*. If that is even close to accurate, then everyone knows someone who is autistic. Unless, of course, you have literally only known 59 people over the course of your life.
I think this is useful for the general public to realize that they have been interacting with autistic people their whole lives and didn’t realize it. Many of us blend in, to some degree, and only really stand out as “looking autistic” when we are extremely stressed, tired, or over-stimulated.
You do know someone who is autistic. And it’s OK.
*Source: CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/data.html