There’s No Such Thing as “Mild” Autism — My Spectrum Wheel is Doing 90 in a School Zone

People sometimes say to me, “Oh, you must have mild autism.”

Nope. Not a thing. That’s like saying someone is a little bit on fire, or that they're slightly bankrupt.

Yes, it might be hard to spot my autism at first (until I inevitably info-dump about an obscure historical rabbit hole or walk into the room covering my ears because the fridge is humming). But it affects every single part of my life — from the way I process sound, to how I think about time, to the sheer amount of energy it takes to survive a small talk exchange.

The idea that autism is a straight line from “not very autistic” to “very autistic” is outdated. Autism is more like a wheel, with different traits as spokes — sensory processing, social communication, executive function, emotional regulation, special interests — and each person’s wheel spins differently.

Mine? My autistic wheel is spinning fast enough to generate its own power grid.

And while we’re clearing things up: no, we don’t use the term “Asperger’s” anymore. Hans Asperger wasn’t just a physician who studied autism — he was also a Nazi supporter involved in horrific programs during WWII. Not exactly someone you’d want your diagnosis named after. The modern umbrella term is simply Autism Spectrum Disorder (or just “autism” if you prefer, like I do).

And no, not everybody is “a little bit autistic.” If that were true, I’d be “a little bit a neurosurgeon” every time I put on a Band-Aid.

So next time you meet someone autistic, skip the “mild” label. You’re not seeing less autism — you’re just not seeing all the work it takes to keep that very fast, very wobbly wheel from flying off the axle.

Here's what the autism spectrum actually looks like:

Each spoke or trait is like a volume knob—cranked up for some, barely a whisper for others, and subject to change depending on the day, the weather, or whether the Wi-Fi’s working.