[SargeZT]

Barely can be an understatement. My youngest sister is severely autistic and absolutely couldn't survive without a strong support system, both from the state and our family. She lives in a group home with 19 other people in a similar state.

With that said, due to my exposure to autism through my sister, I have seen cases that are far worse than hers. Completely non-verbal people with autism, those who experience panic attacks when they see an unfamiliar person, the list goes on.

We tend to focus on the lighter end of the spectrum, where people can lead functional and fulfilling lives. Most people don't see the other side of the spectrum, where autism is devastating to every single person involved.

[dragonwriter]

> We tend to focus on the lighter end of the spectrum, where people can lead functional and fulfilling lives.

There's a form of survivorship bias here: the greater the degree of impairment, the less broad social contacts the person is likely to have, so on average most people's experience is going to have people who have less severe impairments overrepresented compared to their relative frequency among those with the diagnosis.

And I'm sure most people that think about the issue recognize that on an intellectual level, but it's still difficult to tune out the effect that has on one’s “gut feeling” about the subject.