30 Autism Quotes That Foster Empathy & Understanding

Whether you’re a fellow autistic looking to feel less alone or a non-autistic person looking to empathize with autistic people more effectively, here are 30 autism awareness and acceptance quotes.

Every quote in this list is from an autistic person. Some of those autistic people are parents, public speakers, or unemployed. They all live different lives and share the autism spectrum.

Important Quotes from Autistic People About Autism

These quotes are from the most important source of information about autism – autistic people who are sharing about their own life and experiences with the world.

These quotes are helpful for:

• moms and dads
• teachers
• other autistic people (for support & to not feel alone or isolated)
• anyone who wants to better understand the autistic people in their lives.

These quotes will inspire you, challenge you, and encourage you.

1. Everyone experiences autism differently quote

2. Quote on why autistic people are so exhausted

Of course autistic people are exhausted when our brains process more information at any one time than neurotypical brains. That — on top of masking, fighting ableism, poor interoception making it harder to meet our needs, and hypersensitivity to our environment — is exhausting.

Emily Katy

3. Quote about being perceived by others as an autistic person

I hate being perceived by others or even sharing spaces with others, because I feel like I’m being perceived and I need to be “on”. I feel like I can never just rest when others are in my presence.

Morgaan Foley

4. Autistic people wearing “inappropriate” clothing quote

Autistic people may wear clothes that are not “season appropriate” or “weather appropriate”. This may be because of sensory issues, a need for consistency of attire and/or temperature issues — it may be freezing cold outside, but that doesn’t mean our bodies are.

Callum Stephen

5. Quote about who autistic people feel safe around

Strawberry people is a concept Dr. Devon Price talks about in “Unmasking Autism”. It was created by Samuel Dylan Finch. In his phone contacts, Dylan started putting strawberries next to people who he felt loved by.

These people became his strawberry people. My strawberry people love me for who I am as my unmasked self. My cup always feels fully after talking or spending time with them. I like to prioritize spending time with my strawberry people. They make me feel grateful for who I am. Who are your strawberry people?

The Special Interest Pod

6. Quote about “cringey” autistic traits

I am tired of autistic traits being described as “cringe” or “cringey”. Even if you are making fun of or labelling behaviors as cringe in a non-autistic person, you are still giving the message to autistic people that how they are is not okay. That we have to suppress our own needs in order to make others feel more comfortable.

But this feels like a part of a wider problem. Of a problem where, whenever someone expresses themselves or shows interest in something or is a little different from the norm, this is labelled as “cringe”. I want to live in a world where individuality and difference are celebrated.

When autistic people stim, whether that is flapping hands, jumping up and down or spinning around in a circle, this is sometimes labelled as “cringe”. But I don’t understand how when someone is regulating their sensory system or expressing joy, this is somehow embarrassing or “cringe”.

As an autistic person, I am often called “cringe” or “cringey” whether that is because I am incredibly passionate about an interest which is seen as different or not age appropriate, or whether I am authentically stimming or communicating differently.

These types of attitudes are ingrained in autistic people from a young age. Autistic people are sometimes made to feel like we are an “embarrassment” or “cringey”.

We are sometimes told these things over and over again. This can gradually lead to us monitoring ourselves, hiding our autistic traits and mimicking how other people act. This can lead to a loss of a sense of identity and mental health struggles.

Neurodivergent Lou

7. Quote about masking autism

If you don’t realize I am autistic, it’s because I am working incredibly hard to hide it.

Ellen Jones

8. Autistic people are observant quote

Being autistic means that I miss what others catch and I catch what others miss.

Neurobeautiful

9. Quote about how autistic adults still have meltdowns

Autistic adults have meltdowns, too. Even those who have full-time jobs and appear to function like the average neurotypical. Meltdowns might be more hidden. They might not come out until the person is home or in a safe space, but they happen. And they’re exhausting.

Emily Katy

10. Autistic people don’t owe you comfort quote

Autistic people do not owe you neurotypical behavior for your comfort. Autistic people often prioritize other people’s comforts over their own needs in a world that is often so dismissive of our realities.

@autistic.thought

11. Destigmatize autism quote

I’ve found that if I tell people I’m autistic, they get weird around me. But if I say things like, “I have sensory issues and socially anxiety,” suddenly I’m more relatable. The change in people is specifically tied to the word “autism” being used. DESTIGMATIZE AUTISM.

@OMGImAutisticAF

12. Autistic people struggle with ambiguity quote

Autistic individuals also reported that they often spend too much time in decision-making, fear negative judgments from others when making decisions, find it very hard to make a decision “on the spot”, and experience a tendency to postpone, avoid or even defer from making a decision.

A study exploring indecisiveness in autistic people

13. Anything but autistic quote

If I didn’t say I was autistic, you’d call me empath, highly sensitive, dreamer, childlike, naive, antisocial, socially awkward, overwhelming, and too much. And that doesn’t offend you. But saying I’m autistic puts you in denial and gaslighting mode. Are you okay out there?

Neurodiversity Rising

14. Quote about going full autism

My husband is doing this new thing where he stops mid-special-interest-acceleration to say, “I am about to autism all over you. About crabs,” and I put my things down and am like, “Yes, please proceed. I am now listening. I am ready to learn about crabs.” And it feels very healthy.

Oliver Darkshire

15. Quote on the hardest part of autism

The hardest part of autism is feeling obligated to express emotions outwardly. It’s either not delivered or overly delivered and always awkward.

Malynda

16. Autism has always been around quote

People say, “Why were there no autistic people in the past?” But then you read biographies of famous scientists or poets who were deemed “eccentric” and “struggled socially” and “their families thought they were possessed by demons”.

Boze

17. This is autism quote

“Autism is new.” Babygirl, your grandma stimmed by knotting all the time, had strict daily routines, got really annoyed if people disrupted her routines, spoke in a mostly monotone voice, was oblivious of social cues, and interpreted young people’s slang literally.

@suchnerve

18. Quote on why autistic people love fictional characters

“You’re way too invested in fictional people.”

Yes, what possible reason could I, a neurodivergent person, have to attach myself to people who can’t hurt or judge me.

@CobaltAugust

19. Quote on following the rules in autism

Someone with more social confidence than me will tell me a certain rule is never enforced and not to worry about it. But it will be enforced — for me. That’s why I was worried about the rule no one worries about.

Victoria Duncan

20. Why autistic people are always angry with non-autistic people quote

Allistic people wonder why autistic people are so angry with allistic society all the time. Meanwhile, this garbage truck is just driving by like saying “Trashing Autism” with freakin puzzle pieces is no big deal.

We aren’t a disease to be cured.

@Rec_A_Dork

21. Sensory overload quote

Earlier today, I had to take off my jewelry because the lawnmower was too loud outside.

@pot8um

22. Quote on autism as a place

I’m thinking about considering that autism is also a place. So when someone asks, “Why do you always wear the same thing?” or, “Why do you talk like that?”

I can say, “Oh, we do that where I come from.”

@autjoy

23. Quote about neurotypicals’ lack of empathy towards neurodivergent folks

Society always tells neurodivergent people to try to understand and adapt to neuroconfirming people, yet no one tells neuroconfirming people to try to understand and adapt to neurodivergent people.

@hi_its_annaleah

24. Social faux pas while autistic quote

Being neurodivergent is all fun and games until you accidentally do something that’s deemed as rude or inappropriate and you have no clue that it was bad, and everyone just expects you do ’cause it’s an unspoken social rule — so they don’t tell you and are just mad…

@_chibidoll_

25. School avoidance in autism quote

Ableism and ignorance cause school avoidance, not disability. I am one of thousands and thousands of adults who were school avoiders as children. This is a safety issue. It was then, and it is now.

Kristy Forbes

26. Masking is a trauma response quote

Masking is an autistic trait, but autistics don’t mask because we are autistic. We mask because we have been traumatized from being in a society where everything we do is criticized because we don’t fit the norm. Autism and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) often go hand-in-hand.

Morgaan Foley

27. Let autistic kids be quote

New therapist told me to try NOT doing all the things therapists, behavior techs, para professionals, etc. have been telling me to do since I was 3. Most of my problems disappeared in less than a week. Pathologizing autism literally causes mental illness. Just let kids be weird.

@ZuzuQueenofMars

28. Quote on growing into autism

We don’t grow out of autism, but we do grow into it. Through late diagnosis, we can gain greater self-awareness and self-acceptance. Diagnosis can give closure on traumatic lives and empower miraculous transformations.

Autism Support Community

29. Autistic support needs fluctuate quote

Autism is a dynamic disability, meaning our functional capacity and support needs will fluctuate based on many factors — including commonly co-occurring health conditions and how supportive our environment is, or isn’t.

PDA Our Way

30. Autistic children in pain quote

Autistic children are twice as likely to have chronic or repeated pain.

Neurodivergent Lou

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Crucial Signs of Non-Verbal Autism: 5 Key Indicators