According to the Centers for Disease Control, 1 in 31 U.S. children is diagnosed with ASD, also known as autism spectrum disorder. The Onion dispels the common myths surrounding autism.
MYTH: Autism is caused by vaccines.
FACT: There is no scientific evidence that the microchips inside vaccines are linked to autism.
MYTH: All autistic people are good at math.
FACT: All autistic people are good at Wave Race 64.
MYTH: Bad parenting causes autism.
FACT: Bad parenting causes people to believe that bad parenting causes autism.
MYTH: Only boys can be autistic.
FACT: Girls were given access to the spectrum in 1983.
MYTH: There weren’t autistic people in the past.
FACT: Who do you think categorized all the bugs?
MYTH: All autistic people have a special skill.
FACT: Autistic people are often just as useless as the rest of us.
MYTH: Autistic people will use martial arts to kill my family.
FACT: The Accountant and The Accountant 2 are works of fiction.
MYTH: Some people with autism may never work.
FACT: That’s awesome, good for them.
MYTH: You should have been much, much nicer to your classmates with autism growing up.
FACT: This one checks out, actually.
