--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many kids who would have been called…" description: "\"“Many kids who would have been called eccentric, different, were suddenly labeled autistic.” I”\" — Jon Ronson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/jon-ronson-1772_autistic_many-kids-who-would-have-been-called-ecc_3218790.png" --- # Many kids who would have been called eccentric, different… ![“Many kids who would have been called eccentric, different, were suddenly labeled autistic.” I” quote by Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/jon-ronson-1772_autistic_many-kids-who-would-have-been-called-ecc_3218790.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/jon-ronson-1772_autistic_many-kids-who-would-have-been-called-ecc_3218790.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/jon-ronson-1772_autistic_many-kids-who-would-have-been-called-ecc_3218790.png) > ““Many kids who would have been called eccentric, different, were suddenly labeled autistic.” I”” [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Labeling children as autistic often replaces earlier, broader notions of eccentricity, narrowing perception. **In simple terms:** Kids once called eccentric are now labeled autistic. Key Takeaway Recognize diverse neurotypes beyond labels. Themes neurodiversity labeling identity Mood thoughtful concerned Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - education policy - parental guidance - media representation - self‑acceptance Key Concepts social perception diagnostic trends Questions to Reflect On - What are the benefits and drawbacks of diagnostic labels? - How might we celebrate uniqueness without pathologizing? A Different Perspective Labels can stigmatize and limit understanding. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Autistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autistic/) ## Related quotes > [Autism's a very big spectrum. At one end of the spectrum, Einstein would probably be labeled autistic, Steve Jobs, half of Silicon Valley, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/autism-s-a-very-big-spectrum-at-one-end-of-the-spectrum-einstein/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Anybody talented in any way - they're called eccentric.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelonious-monk/anybody-talented-in-any-way-they-re-called-eccentric/) [Thelonious Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelonious-monk/) > [I shouldn't be called eccentric. I should be called a normal guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/i-shouldn-t-be-called-eccentric-i-should-be-called-a-normal-guy/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) > [When I was losing, they called me nuts. When I was winning they called me eccentric.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-mcguire/when-i-was-losing-they-called-me-nuts-when-i-was-winning-they-called/) [Al McGuire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-mcguire/) > [I just am who I am. And then when people label me eccentric or different, I'm kind of astonished because I think, 'This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-guinness/i-just-am-who-i-am-and-then-when-people-label-me-eccentric-or-2/) [Daphne Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-guinness/) > [I just am who I am. And then when people label me eccentric or different, Im kind of astonished because I think, This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-guinness/i-just-am-who-i-am-and-then-when-people-label-me-eccentric-or/) [Daphne Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daphne-guinness/) > [“We are not here to fit in, be well balanced, or provide exempla for others. We are here to be eccentric, different, perhaps strange,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hollis/we-are-not-here-to-fit-in-be-well-balanced-or-provide-exempla-for/) [James Hollis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hollis/) > [We are not here to fit in...we are here to be eccentric, different, perhaps strange, perhaps merely to add our small piece, our little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-hollis/we-are-not-here-to-fit-in-we-are-here-to-be-eccentric-different/) [James Hollis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-hollis/) > [“Our brokenness is our greatest strength. I've been broken all my life, for my life is one on the spectrum with OCD to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/our-brokenness-is-our-greatest-strength-i-ve-been-broken-all-my-life/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [ I both didn't know Owen \[Suskind\] beforehand and didn't have any connection to the autistic community. But Owen wasn't really a problem, because he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-both-didn-t-know-owen-suskind-beforehand-and-didn-t-have-any/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“That’s very trusting.” Iris watches Anke search our backpacks. “We’re saving people’s lives. We thought we could be,”Anke says. I’m more fixated on her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-duyvis/that-s-very-trusting-iris-watches-anke-search-our-backpacks-we-re/) [Corinne Duyvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-duyvis/) > [Autistic people's disabilities are widely known, but one of their best-established strengths is their attention to detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-baron-cohen/autistic-people-s-disabilities-are-widely-known-but-one-of-their-best/) [Simon Baron-Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-baron-cohen/) > [A solitary American monk named Thomas Berry writes that in our relationship to nature, we have been autistic for centuries. Wrapped tightly in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/a-solitary-american-monk-named-thomas-berry-writes-that-in-our/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [“The autistic mind is not the wave at the surface of the ocean, but the whole world that exists below.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krissy-bells/the-autistic-mind-is-not-the-wave-at-the-surface-of-the-ocean-but-the/) Krissy Bells > [“Jack was the kind of guy you could take into any situation and he would figure out how to fit in. Wayne, not so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-ballis/jack-was-the-kind-of-guy-you-could-take-into-any-situation-and-he/) [Stacey Ballis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-ballis/) ## More by Jon Ronson > [Sometimes labeling is only useful, like with OCD. Once you're labeled you can be treated. On other occasions labeling leads to tyranny, like with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/sometimes-labeling-is-only-useful-like-with-ocd-once-you-re-labeled/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“I wonder if I’ve got any of the 374 mental disorders,” I thought. I opened the manual again. And I instantly diagnosed myself with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/i-wonder-if-i-ve-got-any-of-the-374-mental-disorders-i-thought-i/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [Trying to prove you’re not a psychopath is even harder than trying to prove you’re not mentally ill,’ said Tony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/trying-to-prove-you-re-not-a-psychopath-is-even-harder-than-trying-to/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“It may very well be that the frotteurist is a helpless victim in the clutches of his obsession, but it’s equally possible that he’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/it-may-very-well-be-that-the-frotteurist-is-a-helpless-victim-in-the/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“We are defining the boundaries of normality by tearing apart the people outside of it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/we-are-defining-the-boundaries-of-normality-by-tearing-apart-the/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [My worryingly paradoxical thought process could be summarized thus: Thank God I don't believe in the secret rulers of the world. Imagine what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/my-worryingly-paradoxical-thought-process-could-be-summarized-thus/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [Friends are the fruitcake of life - some nutty, some soaked in alcohol, some sweet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/friends-are-the-fruitcake-of-life-some-nutty-some-soaked-in-alcohol/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“The consensus from the beginning was that only 1 percent of humans had it, but the chaos they caused was so far-reaching it could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/the-consensus-from-the-beginning-was-that-only-1-percent-of-humans/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“That's an incredibly depressing thought," I said "that if you're in a room and at one end lies madness and at the other end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/that-s-an-incredibly-depressing-thought-i-said-that-if-you-re-in-a/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [The world outside Twitter was great. I read books. I reconnected with people I knew from real life and met them for drinks in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/the-world-outside-twitter-was-great-i-read-books-i-reconnected-with/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“What a brilliant cover story. In a success-obsessed society like this one, what's the best rock to hide something under? It's the rock called…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/what-a-brilliant-cover-story-in-a-success-obsessed-society-like-this/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [Guy Savelli's role in the War on Terror began when half-a-dozen strangers, within days of one another, contacted him via e-mail and telephone in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/guy-savelli-s-role-in-the-war-on-terror-began-when-half-a-dozen/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [My paranoia never ends, but I haven't been paranoid about being spied on my shadowy forces for some time now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/my-paranoia-never-ends-but-i-haven-t-been-paranoid-about-being-spied/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“It is an awful lot harder, Tony told me, to convince people you’re sane than it is to convince them you’re crazy. “I”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/it-is-an-awful-lot-harder-tony-told-me-to-convince-people-you-re-sane/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [It is slightly chilling to realize there are rational, functional people up there employed to spot, nurture, and exploit those down here among us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/it-is-slightly-chilling-to-realize-there-are-rational-functional/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) [Explore all 209 Jon Ronson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) ## More Autistic quotes > [“Jack was the kind of guy you could take into any situation and he would figure out how to fit in. Wayne, not so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-ballis/jack-was-the-kind-of-guy-you-could-take-into-any-situation-and-he/) [Stacey Ballis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-ballis/) > [“The autistic mind is not the wave at the surface of the ocean, but the whole world that exists below.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krissy-bells/the-autistic-mind-is-not-the-wave-at-the-surface-of-the-ocean-but-the/) Krissy Bells > [A solitary American monk named Thomas Berry writes that in our relationship to nature, we have been autistic for centuries. Wrapped tightly in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-benyus/a-solitary-american-monk-named-thomas-berry-writes-that-in-our/) [Janine Benyus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-benyus/) > [Autistic people's disabilities are widely known, but one of their best-established strengths is their attention to detail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-baron-cohen/autistic-people-s-disabilities-are-widely-known-but-one-of-their-best/) [Simon Baron-Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-baron-cohen/) > [“That’s very trusting.” Iris watches Anke search our backpacks. “We’re saving people’s lives. We thought we could be,”Anke says. I’m more fixated on her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corinne-duyvis/that-s-very-trusting-iris-watches-anke-search-our-backpacks-we-re/) [Corinne Duyvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corinne-duyvis/) > [ I both didn't know Owen \[Suskind\] beforehand and didn't have any connection to the autistic community. But Owen wasn't really a problem, because he… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-both-didn-t-know-owen-suskind-beforehand-and-didn-t-have-any/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“Our brokenness is our greatest strength. I've been broken all my life, for my life is one on the spectrum with OCD to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/our-brokenness-is-our-greatest-strength-i-ve-been-broken-all-my-life/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Divergent Dynamite (The Sonnet) You only know my infinite radiance, you got no clue to my innate hurricane. Day in and day out I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/divergent-dynamite-the-sonnet-you-only-know-my-infinite-radiance-you/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [Well the dog that is the most is the a Labrador retrievers because they tolerate kids tugging on them and things better than other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/well-the-dog-that-is-the-most-is-the-a-labrador-retrievers-because/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Looking ahead, future generations may learn their social skills from robots in the first place. The cute yellow Keepon robot from Carnegie Mellon University…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/looking-ahead-future-generations-may-learn-their-social-skills-from/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [For a seriously autistic kid, the best prognosis might be getting into a mainstream school without being too much of a shadow. For a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-mccarthy/for-a-seriously-autistic-kid-the-best-prognosis-might-be-getting-into/) [Jenny McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-mccarthy/) > [Normal people have an incredible lack of empathy. They have good emotional empathy, but they don't have much empathy for the autistic kid who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/normal-people-have-an-incredible-lack-of-empathy-they-have-good/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) > [Nobel prize-calibre geniuses often have certain core autistic features at their heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-snyder/nobel-prize-calibre-geniuses-often-have-certain-core-autistic/) Allan Snyder > [I can't hang around with lots of people these days because I am hypersensitive. So when I am around a lot of people or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-can-t-hang-around-with-lots-of-people-these-days-because-i-am/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [I know a number of autistic adults that are doing extremely well on Prozac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/i-know-a-number-of-autistic-adults-that-are-doing-extremely-well-on/) [Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/) [Browse all 163 Autistic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/autistic/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Many kids who would have been called eccentric, different, were suddenly labeled autistic.” I”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jon Ronson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/many-kids-who-would-have-been-called-eccentric-different-were/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Autistic" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/many-kids-who-would-have-been-called-eccentric-different-were/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/jon-ronson-1772_autistic_many-kids-who-would-have-been-called-ecc_3218790.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/jon-ronson-1772_autistic_many-kids-who-would-have-been-called-ecc_3218790.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/439/jon-ronson-1772_autistic_many-kids-who-would-have-been-called-ecc_3218790.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Many kids who would have been called eccentric, different, were suddenly labeled autistic.” I” — Jon Ronson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Jon Ronson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Many kids who would have been...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/many-kids-who-would-have-been-called-eccentric-different-were/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/many-kids-who-would-have-been-called-eccentric-different-were/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```