Edit: I want to clarify that I’m not making fun of this guy. I now understand that it’s common for people on the spectrum to take on certain accents, I was just unaware at the time and it was an awkward situation. I don’t think he’s a bad person or anything.
This happened a year ago but I still have classes with the guy and I think he’ll hate me forever more.
To preface this, I live in Australia, and when this happened I was at University. At the time, the classes were available online and on campus, so the teacher would record the classroom for the students attending online.
I still had about 15 minutes before class resumed so I just went back into the classroom early. There was only one other person in the room who was a fairly shy kid I hadn’t spoken to before. I sit down at the end of the table and we begin to small talk. I notice while he’s talking that he seems to have a really strong American accent, like what you’d hear on one of those Californian reality tv shows or something.
So, to keep up the awkward small talk I ask him:
Me: Are you from around here?
Him: What do you mean?
Me: Oh I just noticed you have an American accent, are you from the U.S
Him: No. I’m not. It’s a nervous thing.
Me: I’m sorry-
Him: I’m autistic!
Me: I didn’t know-
Him: GDAY MATE!!! Is that better for you?!!
At this point I’m baffled, I have ADHD myself and I know quite a few autistic people but I never knew that sometimes their voice could come off with an accent.
I also realise that this whole time the classroom was being recorded and all the people online watched that entire thing unfold. We then sat there in silence for another 10 minutes before the rest of the class entered the room.
To this day, every time I share something in class he is the first one to criticise my work.
TLDR; I asked an autistic guy if he was American and he still holds a grudge towards me.