This page informs; it isn't medical advice. For a diagnosis, see health professionals.
10 myths
Myth Vaccines cause autism.
My family is still waiting for the study that proves it. They've been waiting since 1998. Somebody bring them a chair.
No. A study of 657,461 children in Denmark found no increased risk with the MMR vaccine, not even in children with autistic siblings. A meta-analysis of over 1.2 million children reached the same result. The paper that started the myth was retracted by The Lancet.
Sources: Hviid et al., Annals of Internal Medicine (2019) · Taylor et al., Vaccine (2014) · The Lancet (2010), retraction of Wakefield et al. (1998) · WHO — Autism (fact sheet)
Myth It's from acetaminophen during pregnancy.
Sure: one headache pill and out comes a Nirvana fan. If it were that easy, there would be more grunge bands.
A Swedish study of 2,480,797 children compared siblings (one exposed, one not) and found no association with autism. What showed up in other analyses was explained by family factors.
Sources: Ahlqvist et al., JAMA (2024)
Myth It's a trend: everyone is autistic now.
Right, a trend. That is why everyone is showing off their meltdowns at the supermarket.
In Denmark, changes in how autism is diagnosed and recorded explain about 60% of the increase. In the UK, recorded diagnoses rose 787% between 1998 and 2018, mostly among adults and women: people who were always autistic and nobody had noticed.
Sources: Hansen et al., JAMA Pediatrics (2015) · Russell et al., J. Child Psychology and Psychiatry (2021)
Myth It's the parents' fault (or a "cold" mother's).
The "refrigerator mother" thing is a seventy-year-old theory. It has thawed, compa. Let it go.
No. Autism is highly heritable: in a study of over two million people in five countries, estimated heritability was around 80%. Parenting does not cause it.
Sources: Bai et al., JAMA Psychiatry (2019) · Lord et al., The Lancet (2018)
Myth It can be cured (with diets, pills or "miracle bleach").
If someone sells you an autism cure on WhatsApp, what they're really selling is the idea that your kid is broken.
Autism isn't an illness that goes away: it's a different way the brain develops. What does help is evidence-based support (communication, social skills, adjustments at school and work). Be wary of miracle "cures": they have no evidence and some are dangerous.
Sources: WHO — Autism (fact sheet) · Lord et al., The Lancet (2018)
Myth Only boys get it.
Autistic girls exist. They just learned to hide it so well that not even the doctor noticed.
The real ratio is about 3 boys for every girl, not the 4 to 1 people kept repeating. And there is bias: many girls who meet the criteria never get diagnosed.
Sources: Loomes et al., JAACAP (2017)
Myth "You don't look autistic."
Thanks. You don't look like a neurologist either.
Autism doesn't have a face. Many people camouflage their traits to fit in: copying gestures, rehearsing conversations, putting up with noise. It works on the outside and drains you on the inside.
Sources: Hull et al., J. Autism and Developmental Disorders (2017) · Raymaker et al., Autism in Adulthood (2020)
Myth Autistic people have no empathy.
We have so much it overflows. What we don't have is the will to pretend we got your hint.
The communication stumble goes both ways (the "double empathy problem"): non-autistic people struggle to read autistic people too. It is not a one-sided defect.
Sources: Milton, Disability & Society (2012) · Crompton et al., Autism (2020)
Myth You grow out of it.
I was diagnosed as an adult. Spoiler: I didn't grow out of it; nobody had noticed.
Autism is lifelong. Abilities and needs change over time, but the condition doesn't go away. That's why many people only get diagnosed as adults.
Sources: WHO — Autism (fact sheet) · Russell et al., J. Child Psychology and Psychiatry (2021)
Myth All autistic people are geniuses (or all have intellectual disability).
Neither Rain Man nor "poor thing". I don't count matches on the floor: I make records.
It is a spectrum. Abilities and needs vary enormously: some autistic people live fully independently and others need support their whole lives.
Sources: WHO — Autism (fact sheet) · Lord et al., The Lancet (2018)
10 facts
Fact It is a condition of brain development.
Not an illness, not laziness and not contagious. You can shake my hand.
The WHO describes autism as a diverse group of conditions related to the development of the brain.
Sources: WHO — Autism (fact sheet)
Fact There are many of us: about 1 in 127 people worldwide.
In a packed stadium there are hundreds of us. None of them enjoying the noise.
That is the WHO estimate for 2021. The harder you look, the more you find: across 16 US sites, 1 in 31 eight-year-olds had a diagnosis in 2022.
Sources: WHO — Autism (fact sheet) · Shaw et al., CDC MMWR (2025)
Fact In Mexico too.
So no, it is not a "gringo thing".
The country's first prevalence study, in León, Guanajuato, estimated 0.87% of children on the spectrum (2016).
Sources: Fombonne et al., J. Autism and Developmental Disorders (2016)
Fact It is highly heritable.
If you're looking for someone to blame, check the family tree… and then don't blame anyone.
With data from over two million people in five countries, estimated heritability was around 80%.
Sources: Bai et al., JAMA Psychiatry (2019)
Fact It is often detected late.
We showed up late to the party because nobody sent us the invite. I showed up in May 2025.
Traits can show in early childhood, but diagnosis often comes much later. In the UK, the biggest rise in diagnoses was among adults.
Sources: WHO — Autism (fact sheet) · Russell et al., J. Child Psychology and Psychiatry (2021)
Fact Sensory differences are part of autism.
That's why this site has a Calm button. You're welcome.
Reacting too much (or too little) to lights, sounds, textures or smells is among the core characteristics of autism.
Sources: Lord et al., The Lancet (2018)
Fact Autistic burnout is real.
It isn't laziness. The battery comes smaller from the factory and you're running it at 200%.
Autistic adults describe it as chronic exhaustion, loss of skills and lower tolerance to stimuli, caused by the built-up stress of living in a world not made to your measure.
Fact Autistic people understand each other.
It's not that we can't communicate. We speak another dialect and nobody brought subtitles.
In an experiment, all-autistic groups passed information along as well as all-non-autistic groups. Mixed groups lost much more.
Sources: Crompton et al., Autism (2020) · Milton, Disability & Society (2012)
Fact It often comes with company.
Large combo: autism with ADHD and a side of anxiety.
A meta-analysis estimated that about 28% of autistic people also have ADHD and 20% an anxiety disorder.
Fact Support works.
What helps isn't "just try harder". It is getting the tools, and the world turning the volume down a notch.
Evidence-based psychosocial interventions improve communication, social skills and quality of life for autistic people and their caregivers.
Sources: WHO — Autism (fact sheet)
What now? Where to find support
Organizations that exist and are active (we checked each one). Mexico first. This isn't an endorsement of any treatment: ask, compare and stay with whoever respects you.
Mexico
- Neuroinfinito · Mexicali, B.C.
Collective of neurodivergent adults since 2023: community, art and a place to be yourself. (Link to an El Imparcial article.) - Domus Instituto de Autismo · CDMX
One of the country's first autism organizations (1980): assessment, support, school and job inclusion. - CLIMA — Clínica Mexicana de Autismo · CDMX
Support for children, teens and adults on the spectrum. - Iluminemos por el Autismo · CDMX
Awareness, talks, inclusive events and public advocacy. - Autismo Teletón · Nationwide
Diagnosis and intervention at 24 Teletón centers, including the Centro Autismo Teletón.
Latin America
- APAdeA — Asociación Argentina de Padres de Autistas · Argentina
Information, rights and support across the life cycle, since 1994. - Fundación Brincar · Argentina
A family-led foundation for full lives for autistic people. - Liga Colombiana de Autismo · Colombia
Network of organizations and families for the rights of autistic people.
United States
- Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) · Washington, D.C.
Run by and for autistic people: rights, policy and autistic culture. - Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN) · USA
Community and advocacy for autistic women, nonbinary and gender-diverse people. - Autism Society of America · USA
National network with local affiliates: information and lifelong support.