Life On The Spectrum: 80 Autism Memes So Accurate They…

When you have a touch of the ‘tism, life’s just a little bit different. According to the CDC, about 2.21% of adults in the United States have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). So, about two people out of 100 that you meet might exhibit signs of neurodivergence: missing social cues, hyperfixating on hobbies, stimming, and many others.

If you’re autistic yourself, there’s a certain kind of humor that you might find relatable more than others. The Instagram page “Life in an Autism World” is dedicated to memes for the neurodivergent mind. They’re all about what it’s like experiencing and navigating the world when your brain is wired a little bit differently, and their 182k followers are a testament to how relatable their content really is.

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Before the days of autism awareness, many people assumed that having autism meant you didn't have a sense of humor. Today, many know that's a pretty inappropriate and inaccurate thing to say—not only because it's false, but because it's factually untrue.

A sense of humor is a funny thing; there's no one definition that would fit any given person. People find different things funny: some like toilet humor, some want their jokes dark and twisted, some enjoy observational comedy, and others may think that dad, "Yo Mama," and "Knock knock" jokes are the epitome of comedy.

Essentially, it's different strokes for different folks, so, how can we really tell if a certain person (or a group) has or doesn't have a sense of humor?

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Why would someone think that autistic people have no sense of humor? We need only to look at how people have speculated about Albert Einstein having autism as an example. Some people believe his genius was a mark of his neurodivergence. But because he had a sociable personality and a warm sense of humor, that apparently meant it was impossible for him to have been on the spectrum.

While autistic individuals may struggle with social awareness, the notion that they lack a sense of humor is just nonsense. Claire Jack, Ph.D., a researcher who specializes in working with women with ASD, writes for Psychology Today that autistic people may express laughter in different ways than neurotypicals or not understand "traditional" jokes, leading to such misconceptions.

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We use laughter for more than just the expression of finding something funny. For neurotypical people, it's also a social interaction: when other people laugh in a movie theater, we're more inclined to at least let out a chuckle as well. Autistic people don't have that inclination: they only laugh when they find something truly funny.

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On the other hand, people on the spectrum may also laugh at times when there's nothing to laugh about. Some individuals simply punctuate their speech with laughter; others let out a laugh at inappropriate or inopportune times at work, school, or in public when they're too nervous, stressed, struggle to express certain emotions, or are overwhelmed by their senses. This may give other people the impression that for people with ASD, laughter is a tic and they don't really find "regular things" funny.

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The claim that autistic people don't find "traditional" jokes funny has some truth to it. Some people on the spectrum may struggle to understand humor that uses figurative language and abstract concepts. Instead, they prefer jokes that are more straightforward, include repetition and sameness, and are more literal.

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Neurodivergent and neurotypical people often fail to understand each other because of their differing communication styles. That's why neurotypicals probably wouldn't find many of the memes on this list funny, and, in turn, many autistic people don't really relate to "regular" funny memes. In 2012, researcher Dr. Damian Milton proposed that it's not that autistic people are in any way deficient — they simply communicate in different ways.

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Research by Dr. Catherine Crompton has demonstrated that when autistic people are put in groups with other autistic people, they communicate and pass information just as well as neurotypical people. When the groups get mixed, communication breakdowns become way more common. This proved that autistic people don't struggle with social interactions per se: they just struggle with social interactions with neurotypical people. Navigating non-autistic communication styles was the struggle all along.

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Which of these memes did you find the most relatable, Pandas? Do you think they're a good reflection of navigating the world when you're on the spectrum? Share your thoughts with us in the comments! And after, don't forget to check out our previous publications featuring relatable memes for neurodivergent people and these surprising stories of people accurately self-diagnosing themselves.