having Aspergers doesn't make it impossible to get used to textures though. If I stuck with this mentality I wouldn't do anything because I'm really picky. Being picky shouldn't be mistaken for general dislike, certain things like food are boundaries that can be pushed, especially for autistic people. Coming from someone who is autistic, using autism as a reason for being picky isn't the right reason. If you just don't like something, then you don't like it, which is something as exampled by this thread that people on whole share, and pickiness can be pushed and tested to try new things no matter who you are.
I don't mean to ramble, but it truly pains me to see people using autism as a reason for their presumed shortcomings.
I get what you're saying (because I feel the same way with some stuff - one thing that irks me is when people basically introduce misconceptions about autism... that happens on tumblr a lot) but I don't think that's what she was trying to imply at all. I mean, it's a common thing for autistic people to be very picky eaters due to their sensory issues, you know? I don't think I've ever met an autistic person who doesn't have a restricted diet. (On the other hand, there are plenty of NT people who will eat absolutely anything.)
I think she was saying that hers are more texture related (as are a lot of people's). So yeah anybody can be picky, but for those of us who are autistic, it's generally a different kind of "picky" - at times it can be downright refusal (because a lot of us get sick by certain smells or such - like peppers tend to make me sick), and some would rather starve than actually eat something they don't like. I think that's how pickiness is different for an autistic person vs an NT person. Not to mention that rigidness (they consider only eating certain foods or wanting to eat the same food everyday under rigidness/repetitive/restricted behavior) is actually part of the diagnostic criteria for ASD under the DSM-V. So maybe we're all justified in saying autism is why we're picky... because we do generally exhibit an abnormal amount of pickiness. (
Studies have actually been done proving people with ASDs are about 5x more likely to have difficulties with meals, including extreme food selectivity.) And another thing about our pickiness is that it's not generally a "phase" like it may be for other people, especially younger kids (you know if a 3 year old starts acting picky... a parent isn't going to think too much about it because that's pretty normal around that age, but if a 20 year old is still as picky as he was when he was 3, then it's a different story). It's generally something we deal with our whole life.
Woops, I didn't mean to ramble either, but autism's kind of one of my obsessions. xD (I'm planning to get my Master's in it so I can work with autistic people like us
.)
I've personally never understood the texture sensory issue though, so perhaps you or
@MissSimba could explain that to me? Like what does it feel like to eat a food with a texture you don't like or can't stand? Like I said, I personally do have sensory issues that go along with my pickiness.... and smells can be really bad for me.
As for the "un-American" thing, I'd like to say most of those people were joking, but I'm not completely sure they were...