Jun 9, 2025
How much more energy does it take an autistic person to work to function compliantly "normally" on this planet? I know they work harder than we do and most people don't know that. THANK YOU!
Thank you for this very compassionate question. Yes, it's very challenging for us to be in different environments and get our bodies to comply. This varies from the different autists and level of functioning as they say but it varies in circumstances and also days just like the rest of you. Some of us need a lot of time to adjust afterwards; down time as it's called. In some ways, the autists who are "higher functioning" (who speak and engaged in the world more or expected to go to school and find jobs) can experience more stress in the physical bodies. A lot of racing thoughts to stay calm especially in environments that put more pressure to perform. Life expectancy among autists can be lower due to stress and adrenal fatigue. To try and put a percentage on how much harder it is to function is not easy, but roughly 50-100% harder than the average neurotypical person. We also in general contend with so much more sensory information, synesthesia is more common and often misunderstood which increases stress levels. The easiest way for others to understand is how you feel when you go to a party where you feel like the oddball and you can't talk to anyone, the lights hurt your eyes, the food smells awful, people are wearing loud clothing and perfumes, but you have to stay for 4-5 hours. How do you feel when you finally get home and what do you need to do get yourself centered again or unwind? We need down time, too, when we get home and should be allowed to do some things like stimming to unwind.