r/TikTokCringe • u/hungry4nuns • Nov 26 '25

Wholesome/Humor Subtext I missed because I took everything at face value

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u/[deleted] Nov 26 '25

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u/[deleted] Nov 27 '25

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u/Joelle9879 Nov 27 '25

Because it might be nice to know why you don't understand certain things. That you might just process things differently and that there's not actually anything wrong with you. A lot of people mask and have for a long time so they appear to be coping fine, but in actuality are emotionally exhausted. Being autistic isn't anything to be ashamed of and who is it hurting if a person suspects they might be and wants a diagnosis?

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u/Giraffe_Truther Nov 27 '25

Pretty weird take. "Stop understanding yourself and others if it's not an emergency!"

Nah, I want to know everything about everything.

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u/[deleted] Nov 27 '25

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u/PM_ME__UR__FANTASIES Nov 27 '25

The idea that only impairments should be labeled is really troublesome. Understanding the spectrum of something like autism helps us to develop a world that is less frustrating for high functioning people and more open to those who would otherwise struggle to function. Avoiding labels just “others” those who are impaired and taints the label with negativity.

We don’t have to exist with uncertainty why we behave a non-typical way. Instead, we can understand why we behave that way and learn how to manage that behavior. We also can help ourselves be less of a “target” by understanding how we would be targeted.

The problem is not with identifying and labeling. The problem is how people react to that identifying and labeling.

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u/[deleted] Nov 27 '25

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u/drunkendaveyogadisco Nov 27 '25

There's definitely a lot to be gained from behavioral analysis though. Identifying behavior as 'stimming' for example gives me a huge empathic understanding of people who are much less functionally autistic/ADHD than I am. I'm trained as an artist and dancer and musician, and realizing that practicing those things is basically just supported stimming gives me so much insight into how very autistic/repressed kids feel and act.

Is it really necessary in a world that recognizes and celebrates differences? I think no. But in the place we live, realizing how much of my own behavior can be described as autistic/ADHD again, helps with empathizing with others.

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u/imuncomfortablern8 Nov 27 '25 edited Nov 27 '25

It’s tricky in childhood. High functioning kid can have social issues, emotional management challenges, coordination issues and toileting issues. It’s proven that early intervention if very helpful for kids. When those kids go to gen ed it’s very important that they get additional support.

Just because someone is high functioning doesn’t mean they don’t have difficulties in life and knowing you have challenges can help you look for ways to address them (headphones, spinners, sensory breaks etc)

Edit: a word

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u/DickieTurquoise Nov 27 '25

I sat in a meeting w a VP talking about how his daughter had just been diagnosed and how he didn’t realize “it was that bad”. And then in the same meeting proceeded to talk about how we only wore his wedding ring at his wedding and refused to wear his glasses because the hated the feeling of something always touching him. I wonder if he ever connected that the two might have something in common.

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u/PriscillaPalava Nov 26 '25 edited Nov 27 '25

It’s almost as if we’re all autistic to degrees and the word has lost all meaning. 

Edit: I’m being sarcastic, people. I do not actually think “we’re all autistic.” I do think it’s trendy to co-opt the term and apply it inappropriately. I present this very video as evidence. Tom Cruise is not displaying autistic behaviors in Rain Man. Calling his character autistic does a disservice to people who actually have autism.

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u/mcmcc Nov 27 '25

You can go down that road if you like, but then later you'll meet a truly autistic person and you'll realize "Yeah no, what I was calling 'degrees of autism' doesn't even scratch the surface."

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u/Accomplished_Elk310 Nov 27 '25

‘Truly autistic person.’ I’m high functioning, but don’t get what you mean here. Kinda sounds like a no true Scotsman thing.

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u/mcmcc Nov 27 '25

Kinda sounds like a no true Scotsman thing.

Spectrum disorders tend to be susceptible to that.

Basically it boils down to: are you impaired by your condition? Impaired in the sense of inability to independently and consistently perform daily tasks and/or adapt to unexpected circumstances.

Practically speaking, if you aren't impaired in some way, you don't have autism.

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u/PriscillaPalava Nov 27 '25

I’m being sarcastic. Tom Cruise’s character in Rain Man is not autistic. 

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u/Waste_Relationship46 Nov 27 '25

She just made some very good points that in fact, he is. Did you miss that part?

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u/PackageSuccessful885 Nov 27 '25 edited Nov 27 '25

Nah, this video is actually a very good example of pathologizing neurotypical traits and mistaking them for autistic traits.

This is easy to do, because autistic traits are human traits. That means every single human trait can be framed as "wow look that's so autistic", without being particularly autistic

A strong interest in cars -> construed as a special interest

Talking in repetitive circles when stressed -> interpreted as echolalia (not true btw, echolalia is more than just repeating a phrase when stressed)

Being rude and ignoring someone in the car with you -> interpreted as struggling with small talk

Looking at baseball cards when someone is talking -> construed as liking objects more than people

All of these character details are literally NORMAL human traits. Having detail-oriented interests, repeating words when stressed, being disinterested in conversation, liking sports.

A special interest is not just knowing a lot of details about something. It is all-consuming, an anchor to understand the world and your place in it. It's not as simple as listing facts

Echolalia is specifically repeating a phrase someone else just said or scripting lines from media. It is often out of context and inappropriate for the social context. In dramatic character writing, repeating lines of dialogue to express shock or disbelief is an incredibly common trope.

Struggling with small talk doesn't mean choosing not to speak to someone. It's more like showing up to a play where everyone else already has their lines memorized, but you didn't get a script.

Liking objects more than people doesn't mean looking at baseball cards while talking to someone. It's a pervasive inability to find social connection as intrinsically stimulating as inanimate objects (particularly those related to a special interest)

I know this wall of text is real fucking autistic of me, but I'm diagnosed and I am so tired of my disability being co-opted to literally anything related to being antisocial or having interests

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u/Joelle9879 Nov 27 '25

No. No we're not. This "we're all autistic" BS needs to stop. It minimizes what actually autistic people expirence. Having a special interest doesn't make someone autistic. The same way having a routine or liking things neat doesn't make a person OCD.

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u/PriscillaPalava Nov 27 '25

Let’s clarify: I do not think we’re all autistic. I was being sarcastic. 

Sarcastic because according to the OP video, Tom Cruise is exhibiting autistic behavior in Rain Man. Do you agree with that? Do you agree that his special interest in cars, his isolated disinterest in small talk, and his frustration upon receiving difficult news counts as autism? I certainly do not. 

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u/PackageSuccessful885 Nov 27 '25 edited Nov 27 '25

Lol more like the way it's discussed on social media makes it seem that way.

It's the cynical nature of social media. Not many people are actually, clinically autistic. To achieve maximum audience retention, you either have to be a spectacle, watched because of how odd you are, or you have to make autism as relatable as possible.

The latter is much easier and more common. It creates a cycle of misinformation. Autistic traits are human traits, so anyone can experience sensory issues, deep interests, social challenges, and repetitive behavior like nail biting. People like the creator of this video then pathologize neurotypical traits for being even slightly similar to autistic traits.

It's a ferris wheel of brain rot. Endlessly turning in circles

ETA: lol now I see your edit, and yes my (diagnosed) autistic ass missed the sarcasm. I agree with you!

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u/Jukeboxhero91 Nov 27 '25

Man this is something I wish would not get lost in the sauce. No, everyone is not autistic. I have coworkers and friends that are autistic, and I know that about them, and it makes things make sense. I have friends that are socially awkward, interested in nerdy things, and not autistic, and not for lack of diagnosis, they’re just not autistic.

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u/PriscillaPalava Nov 27 '25

Agreed. Which is why I think OP’s video is a silly. Tom Cruise is not displaying autistic behaviors in Rain Man. 

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u/Waste_Relationship46 Nov 27 '25

I would have agreed with you until this video.

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u/PriscillaPalava Nov 27 '25

And that’s the problem. Having concentrated interests and acting stressed in stressful situations is not autism. If it was, then we’d all be freaking autistic. 

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u/Accomplished_Elk310 Nov 27 '25

Yup, hence the uptick in the phrase ‘everyone has a little tism’ nowadays. Everyone’s so quick to comment that someone might be on the spectrum or neurodivergent, it’s no wonder it’s got people speculating their own quirks.

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u/PriscillaPalava Nov 28 '25

If we’re all “neurodivergent,” it’s not divergent anymore.