As an autistic adult, it can feel like everyone is giving you advice, especially if you are one who is looking for support and friendship in a big wide world. Unfortunately, there are many people who may not have sounder values or have similar intentions that autistic individuals may have. It is always important to understand social pragmatics and realize that you cannot believe everything that is told as an autistic person.

When we are told things as an autistic person, there are parts of our brain that we want to be easily led into and fall into a trap of doing things that are not right and sometimes even legal. While in the beginning, things may seem innocent in nature, eventually they can lead up to some consequential actions for the autistic person and in turn can be indeed challenging for them.

In today’s world, there is a vast connection to the outside world via technology. It can have just as many benefits as it can have its dangers. As autistic persons, we can often fall prey to many unwanted behaviors such as bullying or not being able to be told things to do that may not be totally true, because we have a sense of believing that everything we see and hear is true. There can also be a false sense that everyone that we connect with is our friend and that we will at times do whatever is necessary to please that other person if they are deceptive towards wanting us to do things for us, especially if they are things of a deceptive nature.

In not only the Internet, but many other realms today, there are many people that are deceptive in nature and are quite the scam bandits. They at times can put autistic people under pressure to the point that they will give in to pleasing those at the other end or doing what they want them to do because it sounds good to them. Autistic people are often literal thinkers and believe what they see is true and may not be able to read through the lines without thinking about things before acting on them. Instead, they will be swift to act because they believe that something will give them instant gratification to make them or someone else happy.

It is important to learn or teach skills to autistic people as early as possible so they do not fall prey to scams or other precarious situations that can cause them to end up in some trouble. It is important to understand that there are consequences for some actions that are completed and at times there are no “do overs:” when it comes to making these irrational choices. It is not to strike fear in autistic individuals, but it is a harsh reality that happens far too often in the world and needs to be brought to light more.