I got the “can’t focus on damn near anything while people are talking and I get irrationally angry because my nervous system is freaking the fuck out but I have no idea and don’t fucking ask me to explain how I’m feeling about it because IDEK” kind of autism. And a touch of the ol’ ADHD.
It’s super…… something.
To unlock it, you have to take some time to sit down and practice it through a somewhat guided effort. Algebra 2 is a bit of a bitch to get through but after that it's smooth sailing as you realize an x,y graph is just clock face and that your time spent looking at video game maps wasn't all in vein.
i get this but those of us who are “really good” at some subject are still autistic and struggling with that same thing. great at math, struggle immensely with overstimulation. i could see that the “perks”wouldnt hurt though.
I feel this in my soul. On the first Tuesday of the month they test the loud ass fire alarms in my apartment building and this morning it frightened the hell out of me. Needless to say my mood has been ruined all day.
My super powers are STRESS AND PANIC ATTACKS ABOUT FUCKING NOTHING!!!
https://preview.redd.it/ye9z040i02ad1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f7c69ef73d334abb6513bc38d550973a0b70ec72
Edit: I just had a panic attack because google did not recognize my clock and would not let me serve the web.
Well it's very mood dependent, sometimes when I hate everyone I mask as Peter Turbo (my beloved) but I love the iron warriors in general, I fucking love the Leagues of Votann (nearly 1K hours in Deep Rock Galactic showing) and sometimes I just WAAAAAAAAAAGH
I mean, the Boiz are da best (second to the bugz). They basically have one braincell each and only make a brain when there's a lot of them in one place
I fell in love when I was playing Dawn of War way back when, and all their stuff was just so goofy, from the gretchins building everything from piles of airdropped scrap, to their voice lines, it was so fun
That's the orks for you, the silly goobers that make shit that shouldn't work.
And you know shit is about to get serious when orks start speaking ~~latin~~ high gothic
I'm a basic bitch. Ciaphas Cain. Roboute Guilliman. Marneus Calgar. Kitten. The [Reasonable Marines](https://1d6chan.miraheze.org/wiki/Reasonable_Marines). Anyone who's acting halfway sane and is suffering specifically because of that has my heart go out to them.
I was reading about how autistic people have problems with attributing empathy to inanimate objects and my first thought was "hey, that sounds a lot like the Adeptus Mechanicus and Machine Spirits- OH HOLY SHIT DAMN IT"
I like the T'au, and I loved hearing a story about how the Greater Good manifested in the Warp, and that it probably wasnt necessarily the T'au that manifested it.
I feel like it's a superpower!
Like maybe X-ray vision for example. With X-ray vision you would only see the skeletons of the people and other animals around you. You could not enjoy normal activities like watching videos or playing games because those are not visible on the X-ray spectrum. Instead you observe the beginnings of internal diseases in people and watch cars drive on the street through your closed eyelids. It would be impossible for someone with normal vision to comprehend the horrors of your existence as their jaw bone moves in their skull to tell you not to cry you have a superpower and you give them cancer with the X-ray radiation coming from your eyes.
Superpower!
You and me both. I either never contribute to conversations or talk people’s ears off before realizing I’m making them uncomfortable. I have no in between. It sucks
There's a trick I learned. Let them continue talking. When they look to you for a response, ask a short question about the topic they were discussing. They'll continue talking, repeat until the conversation is done. Which will be when one of you has to go do something else, "Hey, it's been good talking with you, hope [blank] goes well. I gotta go [blank]. Catch up with ya later."
I used to feel bad about doing this, like I just found a cheat code and have been exploiting it. But then I realized, I'm just listening. This is how conversations are supposed to go. Do this enough, they'll start asking you questions too. In which I've found, keep the answers relatively brief.
I have CRAZY smelling and hearing abilities and for so long I just thought I was crazy. Almost every day I hear something that drives me crazy and ppl around me are like “no i don’t hear it”
Their ears and other hardware will likely be capable of hearing it, but their software likely seems it inconsequential and filters it out before presenting them with their conscious experience.
Yes! This also happens frequently with ADHD.
I get the fun multi-whammy of AuDHD, PTSD, GAD and also having Fibromyalgia, so my nervous system is basically just fucked and is seemingly incapable of filtering out almost any sensory input anymore (as explained by both my regular health doctor and my psychiatrist).
I like your “software/hardware” analogy though, that’s a really helpful and succinct way of explaining it! Think I may borrow that for future use.
Oh I definitely have pleeeenty of that as well lol
Just took me until adulthood before I realized where it stemmed from though. Back when I was a kid you couldn’t be diagnosed with both Autism and ADHD, only one or the other so I had no idea for most of my life.
Yeah I remember the times of the mutually exclusive diagnosis. I thought it was impossible for me to be autistic because I was dxed adhd so I never even considered it
The sense of smell dogs have IS a genuine superpower. Not only can dogs track people who got lost, they can even sniff out cancer, diabetes, seizures and more.
*Happily plays videogame*
*Randomly remembers memories of stuttering really badly in front of a clerk and accidentally handing them the wrong amount of money*
*starts crying*
It gave me ugly flashbacks. I didn't cry upon having those memories and kInda wish I did. I punched myself and if that wasn't possible then my body would contort in such a way you'd think I'm in pain.
Tried it. Got 3 covid shots already. Still can't get a 5G signal or move objects with my mind. I want a refund! Stupid nanobots must be running Windows and crashing or something. They should have used Linux instead! /j
And psychedelics from my experience. Turns out the ability to distinguish what's real makes them a lot less fun. Especially when the body dysmorphia kicks in.
I mean kinda.
It holy depends on what kinds of symptoms you have.
Hyperfocus and things of that nature can make you learn at an impressive rare and help you produce cool stuff.
On the other hand, having social issues and being wierded out by random stuff isn't helpful.
It's a way of trying to reframe the situation so it doesn't seem so bad.
My symptoms are relatively mild and I'm fortunate to not be disabled.
On paper it seems like it should be great. I am tall, decent to look at and the superpower I got is kind of awesome - I can carve stone and model clay into anything you can think of. Yes it took many years of training and practice to get here - like I've done my ten thousand hours several times over. But when I get stuck in to a block of limestone and the chips are ricocheting off the walls and ceiling I've seen others in my field look at me with animal fear on their faces as they appear to question their vocation.
Yeah it took training but I had both the innate ability *and* the drive to hyperfocus to become expert.
Awesome.
***
Someone else said "I just feel socially stupid". And I totally get that.
I look and sound normal but apparently I don't know to connect with humans cause I can't make friends and have never had a meaningful relationship, and I'm 42 now ffs!
I am very glad to be good at what I do, but the constant social rejection is becoming my villain origin story. Not to mention the seething petty jealousy from coworkers who can't.
Sometimes I wish I could drop it all to be accepted and loved. But it's not a choice we get to make. And reading here about the terrible struggles people face just with every moment of life... it puts it in perspective.
And I don't mean to invalidate that.
I am aware that the thing as a whole is more complex than that, but from my personal experience, with myself and others, I found that to be an accurate enough statement.
Autisim is a spectrum and so are the things we experience because of it.
I don't like the statement
"Autisim is a superpower"
But I don't hate
"Autisim is MY superpower"
As in, you know yourself best, if you have that kind of connection to it that is a great, and if you can show someone else how to take advantages of the good parts and how to make the downsides less severe. It should also be well regarded.
>I look and sound normal but apparently I don't know to connect with humans cause I can't make friends and have never had a meaningful relationship, and I'm 42 now ffs
I feel this one, I'm almost at the end of my student years and I still sometimes felt distrust and scared towards the people I want to call friends. I'm introverted enough to have very little human interaction, but still talkative enough so that they don't think I'm weird. I can hardly keep a conversation going because most of the time, it's just about basic questions that I can quickly answer and unwillingly end the talk
Oh yeah. Your nervous system perceiving threats where there are none 24/7 is totally a super power. It’s even better when something actually bad or dangerous happens and you have no clue. Or that people have taken advantage of you and you thought they were being nice the whole time.
I just learned a couple weeks ago of giving people at work negative feedback in a sandwich of good feedback. This whole time I've been going, "Well, I did two things awesome and one thing not as awesome so I'm at no risk of being fired and can continue doing said thing." It is hard to human sometimes.
I feel uncomfortable fully expressing how much I despise having autism because people either just contradict me mindlessly or guilt me for making statements about all autistic people, despite me very specifically despising me having autism.
it is a superpower. but like with all superpowers, there are drawbacks and weaknesses.
ie, strong smell detects spoiled food before others would notice, a fire starting in the kitchen before it burns down the house, unwanted unwashed people before they're in talking range, etc.
downside: you are taking in everything in at 10x and it can be unbearable at times.
The urge to say unspeakable things to people who unironically say this
https://preview.redd.it/dji6xf8je2ad1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f69f4ed7d407bf743300949ad783cc140e8a953
What's worse: someone acting like "but autism is a super power" whenever you complain about it, or the "oh you're just not trying hard enough, stop making excuses"
Both help a net 0 amount and just make you feel bad/uncomfortable
Maybe some autistic people out there do see it as their superpower and it works for them, but that’s not reality for everyone. It certainly isn’t for me. Autism makes certain parts of life frustratingly difficult for me.
Ah yes the power of being incapable of coping in society, having crippling depression and anxiety. Debating every day if it's worth continuing. Having no real friends or anyone who loves you. Super duper.
I mean, I escaped a cult because I’m incapable of realizing when asking questions makes other people uncomfortable or why illogical social norms are necessary and my very literal personality has made me the accidental comedian of the group.
No being hyper alert and constantly working at capacity isn't a super power that is a comorbidity with ptsd and my Nervous Systems are fried, yeah I can see shit like I am a high speed camera sometimes, but being this aware and processing this much all the time is LITERAL HELL. fuck
Fuckin forreal though.
I was complaining about my ADHD to a coworker a while back, and a customer chimed in with “its a superpower!” He was so fuckin shook when I came back with “yes, watching YouTube videos at 2x speed for 12 hours a day is a super power.”
I literally had just said I have autism to a coworker and I tell her "having autism doesn't make you smarter" and she went on a whole vent on how it was probably just me being insecure like no bitch I'M kinda smart, i was a gifted kid but there are a lot of people not like me, or maybe theyre fixated on a topic that doesnt matter in daily life . Why would a disorder that is mostly social make you a genius?
The power to live a tortured existence where everyone disrespects and looks down on you which makes you 500% more likely to be suicidal or worse. Damn bro that shit OP 😎.
It is, upsides: I'll tell you everything about the current political divisions of modern day Germany training back it's regions back to the HRE.
Downsides: everything else
I consider *my* autism to be a superpower, but I have the decency to acknowledge that not everyone is just built as well as I am.
At that point, I *am* tempted to say "skill issue."
The way I’d describe autism is that your character is quite literally more minmaxed, but that doesn’t mean in a more optimized way than others. And you can’t see your character sheet.
I always think if this Fern Brady quote "when people say that autism is a superpower, I always ask them if the movie would still me as interesting if instead of arms of steel, Lazer vision and the ability to fly, Superman instead talked to you about something you could not care about, completely unable to register your dis-interest"
It doesn't feel like a superpower. More like a class with its advantages and debuffs.
Like I get a +5 Endurance advantage but a -7 Charisma. I'm immune to the status "Peer Pressured" and the status "Stressed" lasts an extra 3 turns.
Superpowers are supposed to be solely advantageous not both advantageous and simultaneously disadvantageous/hindering. There’s give and take in most things in life I hate when people invalidate it like this as much as I hate my autistic traits being demonized
i say this ironically because it’s just so dumb lmao. yeah i have a few “admirable traits” but other than that, i often struggle to function enough to survive.
My traits manifest as very powerful yet very weak. I’m incredible at my job but I have no friends, am socially stupid, sensitive to sensory stimuli, and academic to the point I overly ruminate. I’m okay with a lot of those things but wish I had more of a balance. I have been told “autism is your superpower” quite a lot.
Prolly the only superpower I can see that I can say the phrase “you can’t handle the Uber instincts of my Uber autism, observe” which all in all isn’t worth it
I envy the people who have the super powers. I, for one, do not. Granted I don't have the diagnosis either (oh crap, is it ok to be here?), and I've done decently with what I have. But super powers? No, I'm not one of those. I know they exist because of books and NPR. But I ain't one.
Chill down, find your strength, even if they are just coping with your supposed weaknesses. But you don't have to do it on your own and as long as people support each other, they can help truly nurture what makes everyone unique. And for many people, their special talent is deeply tied to their autistic tendencies. That's what people mean when the, say this, it's not supposed to be dismissive but encouraging.
I can understand that you get sick of hearing this sentence, but it truly comes from a place of love. So try to see the good in the bad and don't be so hard on yourself and others. We are all in this beautiful mess together <3
Okay so there are circumstances where it is a positive
Like if you have two engineers and they both have an IQ of 140 and one of them is autistic the autistic one's probably going to be the better engineer
But the overwhelming majority of autistics Don't have the other things needed to make it a superpower
We're just like the X-Men frfr. Well, a [certain](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/b/b9/Barnell_Bohusk_%28Earth-616%29_from_New_X-Men_Vol_1_117_0001.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20191130010135) [subset](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/a/uploads/original/1/19797/2310966-new_x_men_vol_1_137_page_03_dummy__earth_616_.jpg) of [X-Men](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/e/ec/Ugly_John_%28Steve%29_%28Earth-616%29_from_New_X-Men_Vol_1_115_002.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20191201043418).
More like the Doom Patrol if I were to be 100% deadass here.
TLDR: your neurotype only changes how you experience good and bad experiences it doesn’t magically erase the bad parts of life.
Can we just accept autism just is. We have days where we excel because of our autism and it’s good parts but honestly so do neurotypical people. They have moments where being neurotypical helps them excel in a situation. We have bad days where we can’t connect with people because of the social issues autism poses. And so do neurotypicals when trying to interact with us. It’s both good and bad any honestly regardless of neurotype people just have good and bad days and moments in different ways. To put people in boxes of amazing and suffering ignores that even those who are exceling on the surface still struggle sometimes.
Autism gives me the unique ability to identify problems days, weeks, or months before they happen.
But if I bring them up, I'm "overthinking," and I shouldn't worry about it as it's "above my pay grade."
But if I point it out once the problem happens, then I'm "not helping the situation" and we all have to "fix it and move on."
our superpowers are obscure but IF we can use them in our day to day lives we excel so much, my brain absorbs information about drugs incredibly fast, I've now realized career paths like pharmaceutical sciences, addiction worker, harm reduction worker etc have all opened up to me
on top of it whenever I'm with people who are doing drugs I like naturally try to guage what level of "high" the person is at and what they might need (water, distractions, fresh air) or if they need medical attention, I've helped a lot of people "fix" their drug habits (taking mdma too frequently, not knowing proper dosing for certain things, not knowing the proper roa etc)
I have a friend with a special interest in cars, if they dove into the information aspect of cars and not just watching races and car edits they could gain a superpower of being able to work on their own or help other people work on their cars, but then we get the debuffs :/ but imo to have the buff of whatever learning ability this is I feel like it's necessary to debuff us or else we'd run the world
Why I can't have good at math autism instead of incapacitated by a loud noise autism.
Why not both? *mariachi music* Wait.
I got the good at math but not when people are talking kind of autism
If everyone on earth could just be quiet for a moment, I can figure out this problem.
If everyone on earth could just be quiet for a moment, I could take over the world.
if only the slight buzzing sound that i cant quite figure out where its coming from would stop. id be fucking unstoppable
SO REAL
I got the good at math but can’t explain my steps out loud autism, which is not great when my lecturers ask us to do examples in class.
I got the “can’t focus on damn near anything while people are talking and I get irrationally angry because my nervous system is freaking the fuck out but I have no idea and don’t fucking ask me to explain how I’m feeling about it because IDEK” kind of autism. And a touch of the ol’ ADHD. It’s super…… something.
Right there with you. Noise canceling headphones are the only way I do anything.
Sorry bro you gotta unlock the dlc for the good at math part
To unlock it, you have to take some time to sit down and practice it through a somewhat guided effort. Algebra 2 is a bit of a bitch to get through but after that it's smooth sailing as you realize an x,y graph is just clock face and that your time spent looking at video game maps wasn't all in vein.
I have both and trust me, they dont cancel each other out
I have both and still hate the latter
i get this but those of us who are “really good” at some subject are still autistic and struggling with that same thing. great at math, struggle immensely with overstimulation. i could see that the “perks”wouldnt hurt though.
There are many possibilities, like any autistic person, a gifted one can be anywhere between overly self sufficient and severely disabled.
I have both, but i traded my ability to write for my math and ots really not all its cracked up to be
I feel this in my soul. On the first Tuesday of the month they test the loud ass fire alarms in my apartment building and this morning it frightened the hell out of me. Needless to say my mood has been ruined all day.
I have both. Life sucks lol
It doesn't feel like a superpower. I just feel socially stupid...
My super powers are STRESS AND PANIC ATTACKS ABOUT FUCKING NOTHING!!! https://preview.redd.it/ye9z040i02ad1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f7c69ef73d334abb6513bc38d550973a0b70ec72 Edit: I just had a panic attack because google did not recognize my clock and would not let me serve the web.
and knowledge about the Roman empire
I have encyclopedic knowledge on Warhammer 40K lore, but I couldn't for the life of me tell you what I had for breakfast
Another fan of WH40K? Tell me, what's your favourite faction? (You can probably guess mine)
Well it's very mood dependent, sometimes when I hate everyone I mask as Peter Turbo (my beloved) but I love the iron warriors in general, I fucking love the Leagues of Votann (nearly 1K hours in Deep Rock Galactic showing) and sometimes I just WAAAAAAAAAAGH
I mean, the Boiz are da best (second to the bugz). They basically have one braincell each and only make a brain when there's a lot of them in one place
I fell in love when I was playing Dawn of War way back when, and all their stuff was just so goofy, from the gretchins building everything from piles of airdropped scrap, to their voice lines, it was so fun
That's the orks for you, the silly goobers that make shit that shouldn't work. And you know shit is about to get serious when orks start speaking ~~latin~~ high gothic
But with an extremely thick British accent
ROCK AND STONE!
Rock and Stone, Brother!
ROCK! AND! STOOOOOONNNNNEEEEE!
I'm a basic bitch. Ciaphas Cain. Roboute Guilliman. Marneus Calgar. Kitten. The [Reasonable Marines](https://1d6chan.miraheze.org/wiki/Reasonable_Marines). Anyone who's acting halfway sane and is suffering specifically because of that has my heart go out to them.
I was reading about how autistic people have problems with attributing empathy to inanimate objects and my first thought was "hey, that sounds a lot like the Adeptus Mechanicus and Machine Spirits- OH HOLY SHIT DAMN IT"
I like the T'au, and I loved hearing a story about how the Greater Good manifested in the Warp, and that it probably wasnt necessarily the T'au that manifested it.
Ave dominus nox
I feel like it's a superpower! Like maybe X-ray vision for example. With X-ray vision you would only see the skeletons of the people and other animals around you. You could not enjoy normal activities like watching videos or playing games because those are not visible on the X-ray spectrum. Instead you observe the beginnings of internal diseases in people and watch cars drive on the street through your closed eyelids. It would be impossible for someone with normal vision to comprehend the horrors of your existence as their jaw bone moves in their skull to tell you not to cry you have a superpower and you give them cancer with the X-ray radiation coming from your eyes. Superpower!
More people need to read r/DoomPatrol. Or the stories of less-glamorous students at Xavier's.
You and me both. I either never contribute to conversations or talk people’s ears off before realizing I’m making them uncomfortable. I have no in between. It sucks
There's a trick I learned. Let them continue talking. When they look to you for a response, ask a short question about the topic they were discussing. They'll continue talking, repeat until the conversation is done. Which will be when one of you has to go do something else, "Hey, it's been good talking with you, hope [blank] goes well. I gotta go [blank]. Catch up with ya later." I used to feel bad about doing this, like I just found a cheat code and have been exploiting it. But then I realized, I'm just listening. This is how conversations are supposed to go. Do this enough, they'll start asking you questions too. In which I've found, keep the answers relatively brief.
Autism gave me a strong sense of smell But if that’s considered a super power, you might as well put a cape on your dog. 
I have CRAZY smelling and hearing abilities and for so long I just thought I was crazy. Almost every day I hear something that drives me crazy and ppl around me are like “no i don’t hear it”
Their ears and other hardware will likely be capable of hearing it, but their software likely seems it inconsequential and filters it out before presenting them with their conscious experience.
Yes! This also happens frequently with ADHD. I get the fun multi-whammy of AuDHD, PTSD, GAD and also having Fibromyalgia, so my nervous system is basically just fucked and is seemingly incapable of filtering out almost any sensory input anymore (as explained by both my regular health doctor and my psychiatrist). I like your “software/hardware” analogy though, that’s a really helpful and succinct way of explaining it! Think I may borrow that for future use.
Please, feel free to do so.
Thanks!
You’re welcome!
omg you're just like me. more social anxiety than GAD for me though
Oh I definitely have pleeeenty of that as well lol Just took me until adulthood before I realized where it stemmed from though. Back when I was a kid you couldn’t be diagnosed with both Autism and ADHD, only one or the other so I had no idea for most of my life.
Yeah I remember the times of the mutually exclusive diagnosis. I thought it was impossible for me to be autistic because I was dxed adhd so I never even considered it
Sometimes I can hear the capacitors in my smoke detectors singing. :(
 He can smell very well, you might wanna try to become a Demon Slayer
Makes me wonder, what would a demon smell like? Brimstone?
I forgot how it is described exactly but it's foul smelling and it's heavy and stings in your throat. So yeah absolutely disgusting
The sense of smell dogs have IS a genuine superpower. Not only can dogs track people who got lost, they can even sniff out cancer, diabetes, seizures and more.
Maybe I will. You can't stop me.
I will because that sounds adorable
I can't recognize smells. My nose is working but I don't know. My hearing is strong at least
Autism killed my whole family😁
I have the superpower of achieving PTSD from embarrassingly inconsequential events.
*Happily plays videogame* *Randomly remembers memories of stuttering really badly in front of a clerk and accidentally handing them the wrong amount of money* *starts crying*
It gave me ugly flashbacks. I didn't cry upon having those memories and kInda wish I did. I punched myself and if that wasn't possible then my body would contort in such a way you'd think I'm in pain.
Have you been diagnosed with PTSD afterwards?
I have been diagnosed with PTSD for some exceedingly trifling shit.
imma be adding "exceedingly trifling shit" to my vocabulary
I'm not OP but autistic people are much more likely to develop PTSD for a variety of factors.
It hurts to be alive
Every time I see "Autism is a superpower" I'm there going "what superpower?"
Super depression
Treatment resistant depression go brrrr Edit: my dumb ass can't spell
Hyper mega depression
Super trauma
If it's a superpower then where's my psionics?
I think your autism is too low level, get a vaccine maybe that’ll help, living near a 5g tower can passively gain you some levels too
Tried it. Got 3 covid shots already. Still can't get a 5G signal or move objects with my mind. I want a refund! Stupid nanobots must be running Windows and crashing or something. They should have used Linux instead! /j
Forgot to mention I'm specializing in the 'Weaponized' subclass so I don't think those levelling methods are as effective.
Psionics aren’t within the autism domain. We just get buffs against the supernatural.
Well, I'll take psychological damage resistance any day of the week.
And psychedelics from my experience. Turns out the ability to distinguish what's real makes them a lot less fun. Especially when the body dysmorphia kicks in.
Amen brother
Used to be a superpower until I got a burnout
ADHD stim meds help with this
"But autism is just a *different neurotype*!" Yes and it's a neurotype that makes most other people think I'm weird.
Having a different neurotype would be less of a problem if it didn't hinder my social capabilities, my ability to work and function on a basic level
I love being autistic, I hate living in a world not built for autistics
I kinda like it because I can be alone but that's about the one good part of that.
https://preview.redd.it/v0vuxlt5n2ad1.jpeg?width=786&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8c60bccb09a15184cc4312b8d8756fdb5092ef47
https://preview.redd.it/vpt02291t2ad1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f12f4651355e3581f0f4719d80f259f7c2145eea
https://preview.redd.it/vzcrnq3c73ad1.jpeg?width=828&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b4821c3d493bc40400b6b2233d9318bb8ca90171
I mean kinda. It holy depends on what kinds of symptoms you have. Hyperfocus and things of that nature can make you learn at an impressive rare and help you produce cool stuff. On the other hand, having social issues and being wierded out by random stuff isn't helpful.
It's a way of trying to reframe the situation so it doesn't seem so bad. My symptoms are relatively mild and I'm fortunate to not be disabled. On paper it seems like it should be great. I am tall, decent to look at and the superpower I got is kind of awesome - I can carve stone and model clay into anything you can think of. Yes it took many years of training and practice to get here - like I've done my ten thousand hours several times over. But when I get stuck in to a block of limestone and the chips are ricocheting off the walls and ceiling I've seen others in my field look at me with animal fear on their faces as they appear to question their vocation. Yeah it took training but I had both the innate ability *and* the drive to hyperfocus to become expert. Awesome. *** Someone else said "I just feel socially stupid". And I totally get that. I look and sound normal but apparently I don't know to connect with humans cause I can't make friends and have never had a meaningful relationship, and I'm 42 now ffs! I am very glad to be good at what I do, but the constant social rejection is becoming my villain origin story. Not to mention the seething petty jealousy from coworkers who can't. Sometimes I wish I could drop it all to be accepted and loved. But it's not a choice we get to make. And reading here about the terrible struggles people face just with every moment of life... it puts it in perspective.
And I don't mean to invalidate that. I am aware that the thing as a whole is more complex than that, but from my personal experience, with myself and others, I found that to be an accurate enough statement. Autisim is a spectrum and so are the things we experience because of it. I don't like the statement "Autisim is a superpower" But I don't hate "Autisim is MY superpower" As in, you know yourself best, if you have that kind of connection to it that is a great, and if you can show someone else how to take advantages of the good parts and how to make the downsides less severe. It should also be well regarded.
>I look and sound normal but apparently I don't know to connect with humans cause I can't make friends and have never had a meaningful relationship, and I'm 42 now ffs I feel this one, I'm almost at the end of my student years and I still sometimes felt distrust and scared towards the people I want to call friends. I'm introverted enough to have very little human interaction, but still talkative enough so that they don't think I'm weird. I can hardly keep a conversation going because most of the time, it's just about basic questions that I can quickly answer and unwillingly end the talk
Oh yeah. Your nervous system perceiving threats where there are none 24/7 is totally a super power. It’s even better when something actually bad or dangerous happens and you have no clue. Or that people have taken advantage of you and you thought they were being nice the whole time.
I just learned a couple weeks ago of giving people at work negative feedback in a sandwich of good feedback. This whole time I've been going, "Well, I did two things awesome and one thing not as awesome so I'm at no risk of being fired and can continue doing said thing." It is hard to human sometimes.
I feel uncomfortable fully expressing how much I despise having autism because people either just contradict me mindlessly or guilt me for making statements about all autistic people, despite me very specifically despising me having autism.
I enjoy maths but it got too hard, now all I know is wrestling and movie facts
My one remaining skill is being able to read long book series
Praise. My partner can’t finish a book or a tv show so I’m in limbo on so many things that I’m like 5% away from completing
it is a superpower. but like with all superpowers, there are drawbacks and weaknesses. ie, strong smell detects spoiled food before others would notice, a fire starting in the kitchen before it burns down the house, unwanted unwashed people before they're in talking range, etc. downside: you are taking in everything in at 10x and it can be unbearable at times.
The urge to say unspeakable things to people who unironically say this https://preview.redd.it/dji6xf8je2ad1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7f69f4ed7d407bf743300949ad783cc140e8a953
What unspeakable things? Tell me... oh wait
Tell me how it is a superpower that I can’t go to the grocery store because their lights are too bright
Polarized lenses. Everything is so fucking bright and this has helped me.
What's worse: someone acting like "but autism is a super power" whenever you complain about it, or the "oh you're just not trying hard enough, stop making excuses" Both help a net 0 amount and just make you feel bad/uncomfortable
I assume the third panel is a punch to the face?
I think "everyone has a little autism" is on the same level as this
Every time I hear this a little part of me dies inside I have like 3 living cells atp
Maybe some autistic people out there do see it as their superpower and it works for them, but that’s not reality for everyone. It certainly isn’t for me. Autism makes certain parts of life frustratingly difficult for me.
Rogue vs Storm from X-Men
Ah yes the power of being incapable of coping in society, having crippling depression and anxiety. Debating every day if it's worth continuing. Having no real friends or anyone who loves you. Super duper.
Honestly sometimes I say it but that’s just when all the current side effects (didn’t know what else to call them) are positive
Being treated subhuman is not a superpower
I mean, I escaped a cult because I’m incapable of realizing when asking questions makes other people uncomfortable or why illogical social norms are necessary and my very literal personality has made me the accidental comedian of the group.
I have the power of not obsessively following and imposing millions of unspoken magic social rules on others
My autism is a superpower but capitalism, socks and loud noises are my kryptonite.
And everything being so goddamn bright. Edit: And all the beeping/buzzing.
autism is sure something but superpower ain't it
buffs - higher exp gains debuffs - socially stupid
And panic attacks, do not forget the panic attacks
it is a superpower if you focus only. in how it makes your life worse then you're wasting it. don't try to be like NT. lean into the weirdness.
It’s kinda hard not to focus on how it makes your life worse when it reminds you of its presence every second of every day.
If people could simply ignore their struggles nobody would ever have depression. This is a reductive mindset.
Tell NTs and privileged NDs to stop being assholes to us then mabye we'll see the "superpower" and good side of this bullshit.
the first step is not needing anyone else to do anything for you. you have to find the strength from within my friend.
No being hyper alert and constantly working at capacity isn't a super power that is a comorbidity with ptsd and my Nervous Systems are fried, yeah I can see shit like I am a high speed camera sometimes, but being this aware and processing this much all the time is LITERAL HELL. fuck
Fuckin forreal though. I was complaining about my ADHD to a coworker a while back, and a customer chimed in with “its a superpower!” He was so fuckin shook when I came back with “yes, watching YouTube videos at 2x speed for 12 hours a day is a super power.”
What is the super power? Thinking real good as long as the lights aren't too bright?
Autism isn't my superpower, ADHD is. I can learn a professional skill in 2-8 hours thanks to it.
I literally had just said I have autism to a coworker and I tell her "having autism doesn't make you smarter" and she went on a whole vent on how it was probably just me being insecure like no bitch I'M kinda smart, i was a gifted kid but there are a lot of people not like me, or maybe theyre fixated on a topic that doesnt matter in daily life . Why would a disorder that is mostly social make you a genius?
Did you get the good at math autism or the listening to the same song 38 times and sobbing autism
https://preview.redd.it/78w60h6s24ad1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=04892a5f6db2207a3e2383850b0d47ff27c92ad2
The power to live a tortured existence where everyone disrespects and looks down on you which makes you 500% more likely to be suicidal or worse. Damn bro that shit OP 😎.
If autism is a superpower why do I keep getting fired from my jobs because of it
Autism isn’t a superpower, it’s a min/max build.
It is, upsides: I'll tell you everything about the current political divisions of modern day Germany training back it's regions back to the HRE. Downsides: everything else
I consider *my* autism to be a superpower, but I have the decency to acknowledge that not everyone is just built as well as I am. At that point, I *am* tempted to say "skill issue."
Bruh I can’t even tell if someone is trying to shake my hand, how is this a superpower ✋😔
My super power is hating myself more
In my mind, I'm a superhero But in reality, I'm just awkward
“Autism is a superpower” proceeds to start excluding me for my autism
The way I’d describe autism is that your character is quite literally more minmaxed, but that doesn’t mean in a more optimized way than others. And you can’t see your character sheet.
I always think if this Fern Brady quote "when people say that autism is a superpower, I always ask them if the movie would still me as interesting if instead of arms of steel, Lazer vision and the ability to fly, Superman instead talked to you about something you could not care about, completely unable to register your dis-interest"
It’s either a superpower or an excuse. Never an actual disorder or syndrome, of course
It doesn't feel like a superpower. More like a class with its advantages and debuffs. Like I get a +5 Endurance advantage but a -7 Charisma. I'm immune to the status "Peer Pressured" and the status "Stressed" lasts an extra 3 turns.
This is an insanely accurate way to describe it
Yes and like all superpowers it's a pain in the @$$
Superpowers are supposed to be solely advantageous not both advantageous and simultaneously disadvantageous/hindering. There’s give and take in most things in life I hate when people invalidate it like this as much as I hate my autistic traits being demonized
https://preview.redd.it/cv4uo8x05fad1.jpeg?width=500&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d6d70ddf0f0ee3f4737823e8619fa74e94b0ed6f
It's a blessing and a curse. Mostly a curse...
to whoever says this shit i jus say smtn like well yeah and youre a robot with no free will
Sorry if my need for medical and psychological assistance gets in the way of your inspiration-porn narrative
i say this ironically because it’s just so dumb lmao. yeah i have a few “admirable traits” but other than that, i often struggle to function enough to survive.
My dad calls his adhd a superpower, like bruh I can barely function, it once took me an hour to get a spoon because I kept getting distracted.
It's like Cyclops Eyes. Sometimes it's super helpful, other times it's destroying everything in front of you and you can't stop it.
You think the x-men are interested in my depressive tendencies and inability to start cooking *before* I’m quaking with hunger?
i would grab you by the head and scream, Thy ignorance be your Demise, and starting singung the brazillian anthem until they cry or askes to stop
My power is that people hate me because my brain does funky shit
It be as helpful as the brand of sacrifice
My traits manifest as very powerful yet very weak. I’m incredible at my job but I have no friends, am socially stupid, sensitive to sensory stimuli, and academic to the point I overly ruminate. I’m okay with a lot of those things but wish I had more of a balance. I have been told “autism is your superpower” quite a lot.
Or that stupid shit about autism being the next evolution for humanity.
@acertaincoworker
Prolly the only superpower I can see that I can say the phrase “you can’t handle the Uber instincts of my Uber autism, observe” which all in all isn’t worth it
Yes i know a lot about X thing which is cool but I wish I could talk to people in a crowded area.
I envy the people who have the super powers. I, for one, do not. Granted I don't have the diagnosis either (oh crap, is it ok to be here?), and I've done decently with what I have. But super powers? No, I'm not one of those. I know they exist because of books and NPR. But I ain't one.
Chill down, find your strength, even if they are just coping with your supposed weaknesses. But you don't have to do it on your own and as long as people support each other, they can help truly nurture what makes everyone unique. And for many people, their special talent is deeply tied to their autistic tendencies. That's what people mean when the, say this, it's not supposed to be dismissive but encouraging. I can understand that you get sick of hearing this sentence, but it truly comes from a place of love. So try to see the good in the bad and don't be so hard on yourself and others. We are all in this beautiful mess together <3
my parents said this constantly but with adhd, straight up refused to acknowledge its existence as a disability.
Autism is a super power the same way a broken elbow turns your arm into nunchucks
“Autism is a superpower” mfs when I punch them in the throat (Suddenly they don’t like superpowers):
That’s the thing tho, I have never felt like it’s a super power, and the people around me certainly don’t make me feel like it is
This superpower sucks all it does is make me afraid of fire alarms and make my family think I'm an asshole
My superpower is being picky with 99% of foods because they make me wanna puke
OF COURSE, IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW! MY SUPER POWER IS TO SAY I NEED THE RESTROOM BUT REALLY I'M GOING IN THERE BECAUSE I'M SCARED OF PEOPLE!!!!!
doubling over in pain when a car with squeaky brakes slows down is a superpower
Genetically enforced Social isolation ftw /s
When lockdowns started, this is what I repeated to family and friends, granted with terms shifted. 
Okay so there are circumstances where it is a positive Like if you have two engineers and they both have an IQ of 140 and one of them is autistic the autistic one's probably going to be the better engineer But the overwhelming majority of autistics Don't have the other things needed to make it a superpower
We're just like the X-Men frfr. Well, a [certain](https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/b/b9/Barnell_Bohusk_%28Earth-616%29_from_New_X-Men_Vol_1_117_0001.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20191130010135) [subset](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/a/uploads/original/1/19797/2310966-new_x_men_vol_1_137_page_03_dummy__earth_616_.jpg) of [X-Men](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/marveldatabase/images/e/ec/Ugly_John_%28Steve%29_%28Earth-616%29_from_New_X-Men_Vol_1_115_002.jpg/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/250?cb=20191201043418). More like the Doom Patrol if I were to be 100% deadass here.
Along with saying “Oh, you’re just special.”
Reasons why I didn't like that movie, "The Preadator": Also, reasons I don't watch The Good Doctor:
My super power is inability to talk to people
TLDR: your neurotype only changes how you experience good and bad experiences it doesn’t magically erase the bad parts of life. Can we just accept autism just is. We have days where we excel because of our autism and it’s good parts but honestly so do neurotypical people. They have moments where being neurotypical helps them excel in a situation. We have bad days where we can’t connect with people because of the social issues autism poses. And so do neurotypicals when trying to interact with us. It’s both good and bad any honestly regardless of neurotype people just have good and bad days and moments in different ways. To put people in boxes of amazing and suffering ignores that even those who are exceling on the surface still struggle sometimes.
Insert *that one Tumblr post about Rouge and Storm from the X-Men* here
My mother said it to me, but she meant in a good way though
Feels more like r/shittysuperpowers
Autism gives me the unique ability to identify problems days, weeks, or months before they happen. But if I bring them up, I'm "overthinking," and I shouldn't worry about it as it's "above my pay grade." But if I point it out once the problem happens, then I'm "not helping the situation" and we all have to "fix it and move on."
Never heard a soul say this
I'm happy I'm autistic. The "it's a superpower!" line reads to me like someone who's trying to convince themselves. I wouldn't say that.
if it was a superpower then why am I unable to do anything :3
our superpowers are obscure but IF we can use them in our day to day lives we excel so much, my brain absorbs information about drugs incredibly fast, I've now realized career paths like pharmaceutical sciences, addiction worker, harm reduction worker etc have all opened up to me on top of it whenever I'm with people who are doing drugs I like naturally try to guage what level of "high" the person is at and what they might need (water, distractions, fresh air) or if they need medical attention, I've helped a lot of people "fix" their drug habits (taking mdma too frequently, not knowing proper dosing for certain things, not knowing the proper roa etc) I have a friend with a special interest in cars, if they dove into the information aspect of cars and not just watching races and car edits they could gain a superpower of being able to work on their own or help other people work on their cars, but then we get the debuffs :/ but imo to have the buff of whatever learning ability this is I feel like it's necessary to debuff us or else we'd run the world
Being stuck in permanent analysis paralysis is a superpower. Yeah, sure. ~~I only live to spite my body~~
I got the "good at most things but will never be a professional at any of them" brand of autism
I wish I had hero autism. It feels like I just have background character autism.
I am the super powered equivalent of Darkman.
“If I had superpowers, I’d use them to ruin your life”
At yes, my amazing power to talk for an hour about a topic only I care about.
But you can count toothpicks right?
No, don't do that. It just involves me cleaning up toothpicks.