All Men Are Autistic

TakeMaker

So today lets talk about autism....and men. Already I can hear the sound of outraged fingers violently hitting the keys in response to such a claim....but have a read first....



You may be thinking that I'm going to write a load of unfounded bullshit just to have a pop at men, and that may be true - it may not. You'll have to make up your own mind on that one, but what I will be discussing is a study or two that has looked into autism and men. I may also touch on some of the issues autistic people encounter and how a few of these are quite similar to traditional "male characteristics".



It is a fact that men are more prone to autism than women. It is also observed quite often that women are much more adept at socialisation and integration within groups. It is widely observed that many men do not encourage the assistance of others (ever been lost with a man? Apparently looking like an angry lost twat is preferable to arriving at your destination). All of these characteristics are also true of those who are on the autistic spectrum to some degree or another.

All Men Are Autistic



Various studies, together with anecdotal evidence have come up with men/women ratios ranging from 2:1 to 16:1.*¹



So what is autism and what is "the spectrum"?



Autism


a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterised by great difficulty in communicating and forming relationships with other people and in using language and abstract concepts.



Autistic Spectrum


describes a range of conditions classified as neurodevelopmental disorders, characterised by persistent deficits in social communication and interaction across multiple contexts, as well as restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, or activities.*²



Sound familiar? I won't name names, there's too many for starters - but also because we know it's a very common issue with the users here. Unable to form proper relationships and a problem reading social cues and reacting in appropriate ways. Over reactions to seemingly trivial matters, placing importance on seemingly unimportant things and obsessing over them. Over thinking issues....if you have ever dealt with people with autism then you will know these are things they struggle with. They also often take the most logical approach to things and find it difficult to understand the spectrum of human emotions and why we allow those emotions to cloud our judgement.



girls tend to show better empathy and boys tend to have a stronger interest in systems. Children with autism seem to have an exaggerated version of typical male preferences. They have a strong interest in systems and have difficulty empathising.*³



All Men Are Autistic

Empathy is an incredibly important part of forming a relationship, either socially or romantically. In a social environment it means we are able to see things from other's perspectives, understanding them and how they have come to the conclusions and views they have - feeling compassion and pity for people even though we have not gone through the same experiences. Romantically it allows us to feel compassion for our partner, without compassion you cannot form an effective bond and without a bond there is no real, deep meaning to the relationship. There are two types of compassion which are important when speaking of relationships: Cognitive and Emotional.



Cognitive compassion is whereby you can feel empathy toward someone even though you haven't experienced it yourself, such as the loss of a child. Almost all of us can empathise with how difficult and upsetting that must be without having lost a child of our own. Emotional compassion is when you can directly empathise because you have experienced something similar, such as having the flu. Most of us know what that feels like and can sympathise when someone else is sick.



Those who suffer from autism find it difficult to empathise with people. They find it challenging to place themselves in the other persons shoes and understand what they are feeling and that in turn makes it difficult to socialise and integrate with their peers.


All Men Are Autistic

Autistic Traits


The list of issues men raise about society and how they deal with it has some very interesting points when you begin to look at autistic traits....so let's take a look:



Responds to social interactions, but does not initiate them.
Difficulty understanding jokes, figures of speech or sarcasm.
Difficulty reading facial expressions and body language.
Difficulty understanding the rules of conversation. Social skill deficits
Difficulty understanding group interactions.
Gives spontaneous comments which seem to have no connection to the current conversation.
Makes honest, but inappropriate observations.
Seems unable to understand another’s feelings.
Difficulty maintaining friendships.
Finds it easier to socialise with people that are older or younger, rather than peers of their own age.
Unaware of/disinterested in what is going on around them.
Talks excessively about one or two topics (dinosaurs, movies, why women suck and Trump rules :P etc.).


Overly trusting or unable to read the motives behinds peoples’ actions.
May have a very high vocabulary.


Quotes movies or video games.
Perfectionism in certain areas.
Frustration is expressed in unusual ways.
Feels the need to fix or rearrange things.


May need to be left alone to release tension and frustration.


Resists change in the environment (people, places, objects).


An emotional incident can determine the mood for the day - emotions can pass very suddenly or are drawn out for a long period of time.*⁴



That was a cut down version of an incredibly long list....but looking at this list I'm sure many of us can draw comparisons between the traits of autism and common issues many men have about society and relationships and common complaints women have about men; that they feel excluded, victimised or isolated. Difficulty concentrating in schools. Difficulty understanding opposing views. Confused about social etiquette. Confused about romantic interactions and body language. Unable to vocalise emotions constructively. Emotionally stunted or repressed. Difficulty in making friends or interacting during social events. Anxiety surrounding socialisation. Inability to sympathise with others. Lack of understanding with regards to other people's decisions....you get the picture.



So we are able to draw a link between the two: autistic traits and common gender stereotypes, but what does this mean? Does it mean that all socially awkward men are autistic? Does it mean that they cannot empathise with others? Does it mean that men are stupid? No. I t doesn't mean any of those things. No conclusive results have been drawn to the question "Are all men autistic?".


All Men Are Autistic

Autism doesn't mean stupid. It doesn't mean slow. It basically means that you have a different way of looking at the world and interacting with it and that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It is suspected that many great minds who have helped humankind progress have had conditions that are classed as 'Mental Flaws' (Dyslexia, autism etc). Sometimes a mind that thinks differently is the one that can figure out the bigger problems and the inclusion of these people in our society not only on occasion helps the human race progress but it also benefits us as a society.



It has been suggested that including those who think differently into our society effects modern human behaviour (modern behaviour being classed as tool making, long distance communication, economic and technological changes etc) can benefit us*⁶. If we all thought the same then there would be no new ideas and human kind would remain stagnant, so embracing those with different approaches can make us stronger as a species not only because we may be able to make advancements otherwise unknown to us but also because a more inclusive and accepting society should have the effect of making everyone feel more comfortable with expressing their differences.


All Men Are Autistic

Are men are more prone to autism or is it just harder to spot in females than it is in males?



There is of course the argument that women are just as likely to suffer from autism as men, but that we are better at hiding it. For me, the ability to disguise autism so well that it skews statistics and studies on the subject is sort of contradictory; if you are able to disguise such traits then you do not suffer to the degree that your male counterparts do, as they find it difficult to hide these traits.



There are other theories surrounding the lack of female autism, or detection of such as women being able to follow social interactions more easily, therefore being able to "mask" issues by copying their peers. Some diagnostic criteria have been accused of being geared around men's behaviours and therefore failing to identify female autistic traits, basically implying that female autism may express itself in different ways and therefore is not being recognised when checked against the known traits.



In one study*⁵ it appears that men are more prone not only to autism but to brain flaws in general (Stuttering, dyslexia, ADHD) and this is due to the fact it is harder for the female brain to mutate to the extent it causes these issues (the female brain actually requires more mutations to reach this state, meaning it occurs less regularly than in males since they require fewer mutations). This may help explain why boys are underachieving in the educational environment and why so many complain about boys being harder to control in childhood.



The study suggests that there is a different level of robustness in brain development, and females seem to have a clear advantage*⁵



Personally, I don't think all men are autistic but I do think the spectrum is wide and varied, to such a degree that social anxiety and awkwardness could be better understood if we looked at them in the same way we look at autism. Many people may have issues with socialisation - something which has been linked with people's happiness and feelings of inclusion. It may help explain why men and women find it so hard to communicate in an effective manner and why so many men feel like misfits and struggle to find their role within society.



Without empathy there is little understanding, and without understanding your just two lumps of flesh occupying the same space.




https://www.autism.org.uk/about/what-is/gender.aspx


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autism_spectrum#Characteristics


https://reason.com/blog/2007/09/12/could-it-be-that-all-men-are-a


https://www.calgaryautism.com/characteristics.htm*⁴


https://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJM199112123252401*⁵


https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/8638/3/Autism.pdf*⁶

All Men Are Autistic
109 Opinion