"If you've met one autistic person, you've…

“If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person” (or, “If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism”) means that there are several levels of autism and one can’t judge the disease by seeing just one person. “If you’ve met one Autistic person, you’ve met ONE Autistic person” was cited in print on July 7, 2006. It’s not know who first said the line, but several citations of it date from 2006.

Knitter’s Review Forums
Reply author: The Irish Ewe
Replied on: 07/07/2006 5:02:45 PM
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But do remember - If you’ve met one Autistic person, you’ve met ONE Autistic person. Each will be differant, each special, each beautiful. Merrill’s story is out there for anyone to read, but he’s just ONE Autistic child, and others will be far differant.

BlissTree
Thu, Jul 20 2006
Engaging Floortime (4): Where I’m coming from
by Kristina Chew, PhD
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It is a truism in Autismland, but I will write it: When you’ve met one autistic person, you have met one autistic person, and the next person will be different.

AutismWeb Forum
gtto
Posted: Fri Aug 18, 2006 12:45 pm
Someone said “When you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person.”
It should also be said, “When you’ve found out an autistic person’s opinions, you’ve found out that person’s opinions. Not their form of autism.”

BlissTree
Sun, Mar 4 2007
Varieties of Asianness, Varieties of Autism
by Kristina Chew, PhD
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By analogy, even though the truth holds that if you have met one autistic person, you have met one autistic person, there is something common and similar across the spectrum of autism, from Temple Grandin to my son Charlie. Same and very different.

Google Books
Autism Life Skills:
From Communication and Safety to Self-esteem and More—
Ten Essential Abilities Every Child Needs and Deserves to Learn
By Chantal Sicile-Kira
New York, NY: A Perigee Book (Penguin Books)
2008
Pg. XXI:
As the saying goes, When you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person.

Google Books
Teaching Children with Autism in the General Classroom:
Strategies for effective inclusion and instruction in the general education classroom
By Vicky G. Spencer and Cynthia G. Simpson
Waco, TX: Prufrock Press
2009
Pg. 110:
As the saying goes, “Once you have met one person with autism, you have met one person with autism.”

Google Books
Next Stop:
An Autistic Son Grows Up
By Glen Finland
New York NY: The Berkley Publishing Group
2012
Pg. ?:
The face-off begins with my mantra: “I’m no expert, but I can tell you this: If you’ve met one autistic person, then you’ve met one autistic person. Each with his or her own quirks.”

Care2
10 Facts to Bust Those Autism Myths
by Kristina Chew
April 4, 2013
10:00 am
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6. “If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person.” I’ve heard many people, including parents of autistic kids (some my own friends), say this. One reason is from frustration after mentioning their child is autistic and hearing someone say “oh, like the guy in the movie Rainman who can count all the toothpicks” or “oh, like Temple Grandin who talks about thinking in pictures.” It is a stereotype to think that all autistic persons have “special” skills like perfect pitch or being able to name many prime numbers.