I'm #autistic. The sound of the train blowing its horn as it passes my house makes me cover my ears in pain. But the throbbing bass of the engine that causes a deep pressure in my chest from the vibration makes me feel happy.
When I was a kid, I used to crank up the bass of my parents' stereo and sit directly against the woofer to feel that pressure. They would always yell at me to turn it down. I've always loved that feeling.
Can we not drag self-diagnose Autistic under the bus? I don't get why some Autistic hates it as to get diagnose as Autistic, you had to assume you are (meaning you had to self-diagnose yourself) and it is a lengthy process to officially get it!
Also stop projecting the hate you got from neurotypicals to them, you are not helping yourself either! Sorry for this mini-rant, I'm just fed up of people policing others and as well as mocking them
I'm gonna ramble a bit. I usually try to be coherent, and take my time, but I don't even know where I'm going here just yet.
There are assumptions I see in current Mastodon #autism discussions that are misleading or even wrong about so-called "late diagnosed".
One is that those who weren't screened as children must not be "very autistic", and that these late diagnosed persons assume superiority and higher status, and then dominate spaces and talk over the early diagnosed.
Trying to get a sense of this, because I'm very late diagnosed. No doubt there is some validity to this point for some. I haven't seen it, but that doesn't mean it isn't there.
But I will say that some of these "takes" are very much like the toxic views of the "autism parents" on Twitter, who think adult autistics are all "high functioning" or not autistic at all, just people who are frauds and wannabes.
Having said that, being neurodivergent isn't new to me. I knew I was different in my early teens but saw myself as having a very different "consciousness" than others, rather than a different neurology (long story). And I was dx'd as ADHD 23 years ago, and self-diagnosed as autistic 8 years ago, and then received a formal diagnosis of ASD about 2 years ago. So is that "newly diagnosed"? Lol. I've lived the autistic life longer than most on the planet at this point. I'm hardly uneducated in the topic.
So I've known about my differences for a long, long time. ADHD is anything but "new" to me.
As to autism, I think it will always be "new" to me, and yet it will always be something I've lived with all of my life. And I've been alive for awhile.
Included either directly or by implication in some of the comments I've read is the pathologizing of autism, and separating the autistic community into severity levels, a concept that is clumsy and inaccurate, and often results in withholding assistance to those who are perceived as "mildly" autistic or underestimating and infantilizing those seen as "severe".
And it also misses the fact that people who grew up before 1980 (and especially before 1970 or 1960) would not likely be screened as autistic, and instead could be treated as a "terrible, strange, misbehaved child" with resulting parental neglect and abuse (raises hand), or misdiagnosed as any of a plethora of other conditions including schizophrenia (raises hand) or intellectual disability.
They might be hospitalized as needing in-patient psychiatric care (raises hand).
They might be terrorized by siblings (as in fearing for my life in repeated, prolonged, and constant attacks) and left to fend for themselves leading to lifelong trauma and all the self-esteem and others traits of PTSD and c-PTSD (raises hand).
Undiagnosed autistics can be treated with a high degree of neglect, misinterpretation, leading to severe estrangement from parents, and outright physical abuse by parents and siblings.
My mother was autistic (I'm quite certain). My brother was autistic (quite certain). My grandmother was institutionalized and I think that was autism.
But no one knew about autism when my grandmother and mother were born. My mother was delayed in speaking, potty training, tying shoelaces, delayed in learning to read. Because of her differences she was horribly abused by her aunt who raised her.
Oh but she was undiagnosed so she must not have been very autistic. Right?
She had no friends throughout her shortened life, although she managed to do well in college, and received a masters in family counseling from CalTech in her 40s. She spent most of her time reading, sitting in bed at night, when she wasn't teaching "educationally handicapped" children (that was the term in those days... so interesting that she chose that as her career).
She died by suicide when I was 26. I gave her CPR at 3 AM, and I'll never fucking forget those staring, dead eyes. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
since am one of those #ActuallyAutistic people Dx at the tender age of 50 (yes, 50. and yes am older now, shut up), am not acquainted with the american rituals of national days or awareness months involving autism.
So I have #ADHD and suspect I am #Autistic too. I am feeling particularly overwhelmed at the moment and although exercise helps, I am struggling to manage it. Running is a favourite, but it's actually all the stuff I have to do to get ready for a run that gets in the way. My brain hates it. Any tips from those in the know for making that easier? Is there a way to streamline this process?
Another day of trying to trick my brain into cooperating sigh
I live on the west coast of Sweden, just north of Gothenburg. I'm married and we have a son who will turn 18 in just a few days. I work in tech, with business-critical systems for the eCommerce sector. I'm #autistic and have #ADHD, was not diagnosed until I was 34. My interests are many, such as #science#tech#politics#climatechange#education#healthcare#travel#space and of course everything about #ecommerce.
One problem I have with ADHD and ASD as labels is the final "D". Our ways of being are not "Disorders", any more than being gay is a "Disorder". If anything, our societies have a "Disorder", whose symptoms include chronic failure to nurture and leverage the talents and abilities of neurodiverse people for the public good.
I’ve heard today that #autistic people don’t form habits, they create routines.
I thought of my ‘useful habits’ - and yeah, right, they are routines.
But then I thought: well, what’s the difference then? What is a habit if NOT a routine?
Can anyone help me with examples of what may be a habit, but not a routine?
Like as a kid coming from camping, I would give my mom a daylong report about all the things that happened in details.
Or know when I read something interesting I have to show it to my wife. Or when we meet after work I have to let out all the stuff that happened at that very second.
RIP Donald Triplett (1933–2023), who at the age of 5 became the first person to be given the newly-conceived diagnosis of autism. In the writings of Dr. Leo Kanner, the child psychiatrist who came up with the diagnosis, Mr. Triplett is referred to as "Case 1."
Almost unilaterally, non-autistic people began describing themselves in terms of their relationships to others– if they were a parent, a spouse, what their career was, where they lived, what their religion is, and what their roles were related to others (sister to a Senator, military brat, pastor’s wife, soccer mom, etc.).
And, almost unilaterally, #Autistic people described themselves as what they loved to do, what their values were, and what they had experienced. Many even said this, having intuited the basis of the theory. Among the answers were, “I am a verb,” or “I am what I love,” or “Who I am is what I do.” Autistics would answer, “Lover of Justice,” or “Dreamer,” or “One who values autonomy.” Some would describe themselves as a “lover of” or “obsessed with” an intense passion, like trains, lichen and fungi, or theoretical physics and black holes.'
I am looking at starting a series by Yasmin Galenorn, midway through Wired for Story by Lisa Cron, and reading a study guide for case management. I’m a mood reader. #book#autistic#actuallyautistic
@actuallyautistic@audhd
Was deeply engaged in a difficult conversation today when a book caught my attention across the room. “Is that Unmasking Autism? I read that earlier this year.” It was an optional opening for optional disclosure. It changed the questions he felt comfortable asking, changed how I provided education, and it ended be a deeply satisfying and helpful exchange. Today was a real win. #autistic#actuallyautistic#autism@bookstodon
I voted earlier today. We have two, one for Barangay (Town) and one for Sanguniang Kabataan (SK or Youth Council).
The election rep handling the ballots asked for my ID because he had to confirm my age.
SK (Youth Council) is open for 15 to 30 years old voters.
I look like I'm in my late 20s.
While he did not ask me for my age, better to confirm it with an ID to avoid election fraud, when people ask me, I used to say, "I stopped counting at 30" (now it's 28). It's half-joke, the other half is the truth, people do mistake me to be in my late 20s.
Many #ActuallyAutistics, for some reason, look half their actual age once we enter adulthood. I'm not aware of any scientific explanation regarding this, but it has been observed.
For me, this was not the first time. I was always mistaken to be underage (under 18) until I hit 25-27. It was always funny whenever I was with friends or colleagues because they all reacted. 🤣
It was a 5–10-year gap. Now it's a 20+ year gap. Maybe one day, there will be a 30-year gap with my actual age.
@writers @audhd@actuallyautistic
When you’re an independent author, you are your own marketing team! And my marketing team forgot to post my weekly Late-Idenified #AuDHD: A Starter Workbook post.
Is there a clear distinction between panic attacks and autistic meltdowns? Can they both happen at the same time? Or can one lead to the other? I'm pretty sure they're not the same thing, but sometimes it's hard to distinguish. Does anyone else find that?
On one hand, it’s nice to see that we can have noice-canceling headphones, selective earplugs and other kinds of solutions to help #autistic and other #neurodivergent folks to reduce sensory overload in public places, but I can’t help but think that we should address the problem from the other side: to not create that overload to begin with.
Ok, I get the need for bright light in a shop: you really want to see what you’re buying, you want to choose a fruit/veggie without signs of spoiling, be able to read the label clearly etc.
But all that loud music? Is there really any value in it for the stores? Why do they keep playing it? Were there some actual real studies that have shown that putting on music increases sales?
Like, I have seen many times(and was myself) people leaving store sooner, even without the things they went for, because they couldn’t stand that loud music anymore, but I haven’t seen anyone actually staying in a shopping mall longer because they liked music or something.
So, is there any actual profit for stores in it, or are they just doing that because everyone is used to it?
Does also anyone know if there have been any studies/works on the sensory overload modern cities put on people and ways to reduce it without making things harder for other members of society? @actuallyautistic
Or, an autistic who isn't afraid and/or shy to share that they are actually autistic?
Or, an autistic person who is active in the autism acceptance “movement” (if we can call it that)?
Or, perhaps, an autistic who were interviewed and disclosed they're autistic?
Maybe you have other considerations or criteria that defines “openly autistic” for you?
NOTE: Being openly autistic is a choice and is not for everyone. I think it is safe to say that we all face discrimination, stereotyping, and prejudice for being actually autistics, thus, most choose not to be open about it.
However, recently, there has been a slow growth in numbers of openly autistics, and like with most things in life, we have different criteria, definitions, and cultural considerations.
Thus, I am curious what you think, personally or maybe your immediate environment or organisation, is an openly autistic person. Or, when do you consider one as openly autistic.
Again, this is not about if an autistic person should be openly autistic or not. ^_^