How autism works

You might hear people call autism a “spectrum”. That means that every autistic person is different. We all like and dislike different things, and we all need help with different things.

Some autistic people may need a lot of help with one thing, while other autistic people may not need help with the same thing. One person may look “less autistic” than another person, but there is no such thing as being “more” or “less” autistic. We are all just autistic.

For example:

Renee is autistic. She is non-speaking, and uses her iPad to communicate. Renee lives alone. She can cook and clean her house by herself, but she needs some help going out to get groceries.

Percy is autistic, and can talk. Percy lives with a support person. He can’t cook or clean his house by himself, but Percy can go out to get groceries by himself.

Percy isn’t “more autistic” than Renee, and Renee isn’t “more autistic” than Percy. Both of them are just autistic.