Stereotypes of Autistic People

A starting place: a quiet, careful inventory of the assumptions you've heard about people like you.

Stereotypes settle into us early — often before we had the language or the standing to push back. Some of the heaviest beliefs autistic people carry about themselves were placed there by other people: parents, teachers, a brother-in-law at a holiday dinner, a TV doctor, a school counselor with good intentions and bad information.

This worksheet doesn't ask you to argue with stereotypes. That comes later. First, we just want you to name them — to lay them out on the page where you can see them, instead of leaving them where they've been doing their quietest work.

Pacing: This can be tender. Take it in pieces. Some people do best with one section per sitting, with a snack and a sensory break in between.

Section 1 — What I've Heard

Below are some of the most common stereotypes applied to autistic people. For each one, mark every box that fits.

Lacks empathy

• I've heard this said about autistic people generally: ____________________
• I've heard this said about me specifically: ____________________
• I've believed this about myself at some point: ____________________

Doesn't read social cues

• I've heard this said about autistic people generally: ____________________
• I've heard this said about me specifically: ____________________
• I've believed this about myself at some point: ____________________

Doesn't have a sense of humor

• I've heard this said about autistic people generally: ____________________
• I've heard this said about me specifically: ____________________
• I've believed this about myself at some point: ____________________

Can't form close relationships

• I've heard this said about autistic people generally: ____________________
• I've heard this said about me specifically: ____________________
• I've believed this about myself at some point: ____________________

Must be a savant in some area

• I've heard this said about autistic people generally: ____________________
• I've heard this said about me specifically: ____________________
• I've believed this about myself at some point: ____________________

Is rigid and refuses to change

• I've heard this said about autistic people generally: ____________________
• I've heard this said about me specifically: ____________________
• I've believed this about myself at some point: ____________________

Is childlike or naive

• I've heard this said about autistic people generally: ____________________
• I've heard this said about me specifically: ____________________
• I've believed this about myself at some point: ____________________

Is always a boy / a child / white

• I've heard this said about autistic people generally: ____________________
• I've heard this said about me specifically: ____________________
• I've believed this about myself at some point: ____________________

Will grow out of it

• I've heard this said about autistic people generally: ____________________
• I've heard this said about me specifically: ____________________
• I've believed this about myself at some point: ____________________

Can't live independently

• I've heard this said about autistic people generally: ____________________
• I've heard this said about me specifically: ____________________
• I've believed this about myself at some point: ____________________

Doesn't really want connection

• I've heard this said about autistic people generally: ____________________
• I've heard this said about me specifically: ____________________
• I've believed this about myself at some point: ____________________

Is good with computers / bad with people

• I've heard this said about autistic people generally: ____________________
• I've heard this said about me specifically: ____________________
• I've believed this about myself at some point: ____________________

Is being dramatic or seeking attention

• I've heard this said about autistic people generally: ____________________
• I've heard this said about me specifically: ____________________
• I've believed this about myself at some point: ____________________

Just needs to try harder socially

• I've heard this said about autistic people generally: ____________________
• I've heard this said about me specifically: ____________________
• I've believed this about myself at some point: ____________________

Other stereotypes I've encountered that aren't on this list:

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

Section 2 — What Happens in Your Body

Look back at the stereotypes you marked. Pick the one with the most weight on it — the one your eye keeps returning to.

The stereotype with the most weight on it for me right now:

______________________________________________

When I read that one back to myself, what happens in my body? (Try to be physical — tight chest, hot face, that going-still feeling, urge to scroll, urge to close the document. All counts.)

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

Section 3 — Where It Came From

Try to trace the stereotype you named above back to its first arrival in your life. You don't have to remember perfectly — best guesses are fine.

When and where did I first hear this? (Who was talking? How old was I? Was it about me, or about someone else?)

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

Who in my life has the most invested in me believing this about myself?

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

What has believing this cost me?

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

Section 4 — A First Honest Sentence

Not a reframe yet. Just an honest sentence about where you are with this stereotype today.

Today, my relationship to this stereotype is…

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

______________________________________________

What comes next: When you're ready, the companion worksheet Reframing Autistic Stereotypes takes each of these and offers a path through. There's no hurry. Naming the thing is the work for now.

Inspired by: This worksheet was inspired by themes Dr. Devon Price raises in Unmasking Autism (Harmony, 2022). The questions, structure, and language above are our own.

A gentle note: This worksheet is a learning tool, not treatment. If what comes up for you feels too big to hold alone, please work with a qualified clinician.

Go deeper

Ready for more? These lessons pick up where this worksheet leaves off.

• Self-Esteem, Identity, and Late Diagnosis, from The Neurodivergent Brain. Why misunderstanding erodes neurodivergent self-worth, what late diagnosis really feels like, and how to reauthor your story.
• What Is Neurodivergence?, from The Neurodivergent Brain. What 'neurodivergent' means, how autism, ADHD & AuDHD differ, the spiky profile, and why fit beats fixing.
• What a Label Is, and What It Is Not, from Self-Identification. Four different jobs the same word is doing, and why most arguments about self-identification are two people using different ones.