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The original was posted on /r/autism by /u/OtherwiseDatabase816 on 2025-07-15 19:48:44+00:00.
I'm 33 years old and open about my autism, wearing the sunflower lanyard whenever I leave home. I don't look young for my age. I've been living on my own, since I was 19. That's 14 years of living on my own. But on multiple occassions, even just within this year, people have openly assumed that I still live with my mother. I find it prejudist, infantilizing and insulting. Yes, there are things that I can't do because of my autism, but there are still many things that I CAN do, including living on my own. Credit where credit is due.
And that's just one of the negative stereotypes that I've been met with in recent years. Some people have assumed that I have a legal guardian that manages ALL my finances. Some people have suggested that I should live at a specialized institution.
Safe to assume many of you have had similar experinces. What were they? And how did you handle it?
EDIT: It's been brought to my attention that adults living with their parents is a common occurence in the US. I'm not from the US, and in my country it's a rare occurence for adults to live with their parents.