To me, it feels like it is some sort of desperate attempt to not say 'autistic'/'autism', but I don't fully understand why. Most people I've seen using 'on the spectrum' are either actively questioning whether they or someone they are close with are autistic, or think it but don't care all that much. Personally, I find referring to autism as 'the spectrum' a bit offensive, as the only reason I can find to use the term is to forcibly emphasize that whoever is referred to (hereafter: 'me', although sometimes I am a spectator) is not like other (higher needs, lower perceived status) autistics. They suggest that they think badly of autism this way, and ungroup me from that group so it's not insulting (but it is, to the entire group and thus to me, who is, could be argued, also insulted directly). Although I know that basically everyone perceives people unalike themselves as 'worse' (human nature sadly) and it isn't on purpose, it is still very insulting to me. I already knew I was a joke to most people, so please don't make fun of me for things I have trouble with. Am I wrong about the reason people use the term? Do you agree or disagree and most importantly: why?

~7 minute scene from a Survivor episode. One of the contestants, Eva Erickson, gets a meltdown and tells the public about her having autism afterwards.

So I only recently heard that it is an actual autism thing for the comfort zone for stimulation levels to be pretty small in general for autistic people, causing both overstimulation and understimulation to easily occur. I had noticed this previously in myself, but I just thought something like: "I guess I maybe have ADHD as well then?". The main questions (though responses not answering these are also appreciated): do you also experience feeling both simultaneously at times? Or that the comfort zone has a negative size in general?

I have not been professionally diagnosed as autistic, though I am awaiting the diagnostic process. I am wondering a bit about (what I think are) my autistic meltdowns, as they are almost the same as (what I think are) my panic attacks. People often call them panic attacks as well, also with no panic involved. In both cases I am shaking, hyperventilating, sweating more and some other things. As far as I remember my latest panic attack, I don't think I was really craving having as few stimuli as possible and wasn't crying either (both usually being the case with the autistic meltdowns).

So: how are your meltdowns like? How are they different from panic attacks for you?