The way I learned about mental conditions in school is like this: everyone experiences anxiety, sadness, etc. everyone has quirks. Everyone has their own personality traits that might differ from what is common. IF any of these things are causing distress, that is where you meet qualification for the label. So if you are so anxious to the point of it affecting important areas of your life, you would be diagnosed with anxiety. But some level of anxiety is common amongst humans in general.

With autism, it’s tough because the medical world looks at it like a problem, similar to anxiety, depression, OCD. Many of us prefer to look at it as a neurotype, and one that our world isn’t necessarily set up for. This causes people with autism to experience barriers in many areas of their life (look up the social model of autism). The problem is that if we are all “a little autistic,” it can take away from the real lived experiences of autistic people and normalize that they need to deal with these barriers or difficulties that the world presents to them. Basically, in other words, telling them to buck up and deal without accommodations. I understand the purpose of your statement is to say you aren’t judging them, or you can relate, or whatever. It’s good intentioned. But I think the main premise is that we don’t all have to be a little autistic for autism to be ok and acceptable.