Since April is #AutismAwarenessMonth, I felt like I should amplify the fact that people with #Autism and #Autistic spectrum disorders almost unanimously feel that #AutismSpeaks is counterproductive in that it actively avoids allowing autistic representation, and focuses on suppressing autistic traits in general rather than trying to bolster coping skills and give autistic people wider acceptance in society.
It's the equivalent of an organization about people in wheelchairs, run entirely by people who are inconvenienced by them, pulling attention away from advocacy for ramps in order to find ways to make the wheelchairs less obtrusive, at the expense of the people in wheelchairs.
My #autistic friend tells me that I am the only #neurotypical friend of hers who is willing to hear her out on why she does the way she does things without offering unsolicited advice or being judgmental about her lifestyle. Which is sad. We neurotypicals really need to do better.
Though I sometimes wonder if there is a good business case for "Neurotypicals explain weird neurotypical stuff to #neurodivergent people"... but nah. Someone else can tackle that one - I have enough on my plate as it is. 😉
If a #neurodivergent person tells you of their life experience, then PLEASE don't dismiss them and tell them what do to fit your personal narrative of what a "proper lifestyle" should be. Their life experience are not yours, and you should respect that!
This is such a simple concept - and yet, based on how often a friend with #autism rants about it, most neurotypical people just don't seem to get it!
I started with Claude switched to Gemini when it coughed up chunks. I use AIs a lot and they all have their issues and biases. I treat #AIsLLMs as #SpecialNeedsStudents I'm not #Neurotypical--have #Apophenia and #Paredolia and #Synaesthesia Grew up in SE Colorado poverty--homeless at times--to #Evangelical#Narcissistic#Alcoholics Educated myself out of squalor: degrees in Bio, Music, and Statistics. Lived and taught in Kenya Retired from Pharmaceuticals Nice to meet you
I sometimes still struggle with communicating with other autistics because (some) #autism folks can mask and "sound neurotypical", and they may also be hearing you speak and thinking you're "speaking neurotypical". It's basically a whole prisoners dilemma.
If they are NT, they may be lying to appear ND to get an advantage of some form
If they are ND, they may be translating their thoughts into NT so they don't get misunderstood by NT people, or they may be speaking ND, and I don't need to translate back
So based on what they say, do I assume:
They are NT speaking "honestly" as NT, thus if I apply a normal NT --> ND translation, we will understand one another
They are NT or ND and lying, thus no matter which translations I attempt to use, I can't trust any of it
They are ND and translating their thoughts into NT, so I still need to apply an NT --> ND translation in order to understand one another, but I also have to be aware that they may have made errors in their original ND --> NT translation too
They are ND and speaking their thoughts in ND, so I don't need to translate, I can simply accept their statement as ND speak
We need better words for talking about #neurodiversity in ways that aren't pathological, clinical, or derisive. I don't think it's useful to try to think up neologisms on the spot, but I keep my eyes open for new terminology that might arise organically in conversation. Any new words folks are using that are worth sharing?
The word "neurodiversity" itself is kind of new, and it's already been through a bit of an evolution and maybe even has tainted origins, but it's a good word and there's a reason so many of us use it. But even so, I wish it didn't sound so medical. (The evolution I mention is that "neurodiverse" used to mean "not neurotypical", but now generally is used to mean all neurotypes including neurotypical. We use "neurodivergent" for "not neurotypical" now. Likewise "neurotypical" used to mean not autistic, but we say "allistic" for that now.)
Matt Lowry, LPP, of Child & Adolescent Psychological Evaluations, LLC, in St. Matthews, Kentucky, created diagnostic criteria for #neurotypical folks, if neurotypical folks were diagnosed with a #developmental#disorderinstead of #neurodivergent folks.
It's pretty genius, and it showcases precisely why pathologizing any #neurotype can do more harm than good by stigmatizing anything that deviates from what most people consider "normal."
Why does almost every #neurotypical take it as a personal attack when you don't want to do anything and don't have the energy to give? I'm #audhdburnout and I'm struggling here to even form words verbally. The one and only time I feel relaxed or at ease is when I'm alone. Or maybe I'm broken who knows, but I just want to hide in a cocoon and be myself.
There was a day a long time ago when my then boss told me he had gone to the ER. He thought he was having a heart attack. His wife had left, he was trying to manage custody and a restaurant during Covid19 quarantine. The doctors told him he had had his first panic attack.
In my head my brain made a sound like a record screech. "You went to the ER. For chrissakes I have a panic attack and it's just Tuesday."
I have a very severe mental illness. I got it tested once under an #OCD inventory. I tested as incredibly severe. I still probably have a panic attack once a week or so. My girlishfriend says she can set her watch to the patterns I make through a day. That everything, even my messes have an exact place they are "allowed" to be and I fake flexibility through therapy techniques I learned through years of intensive therapy.
I used to vacuum my room for 5 hours a day and THEN comb my carpet with a dog brush. My first symptom I remember, I was 6 or 7 and I had made my first perfect 'o' in handwriting and I missed recess trying to replicate it. I cannot imagine what it is like to live every day combatting patterns in your mind or counting to 5 on my fingers.
My OCD became full fledged when I entered puberty and now that I'm 36 it's basically a witches familiar. I struggle with it but now I use and abuse it in my industry ( cooking ) and it's so culturally normal in #Germany where I live now that it's hard to receive a diagnosis here and it makes cultural integration almost completely seemless. It's just there, a constant combatant and ally that just will never go away. There is no cure and it's just so useful that i really don't mind it.
But my coworkers still asked me today "Taylor, ist alles gut? Du siehst so so Böse aus." ( en: is everything okay? You look so so terrible ) because I had a panic attack right before work. I cannot imagine the life #neurotypical people live in. I can't imagine not seeing patterns everywhere or constantly combatting my brain forming new and fun obessions and compulsions to go along with that I either need to allow if harmless or combat if not. Like it just stuns me. They were concerned and I turned out to be the stable cool-headed backbone during shift.
Most people would go for the ER. For me it is just waking up. It's just like living on a different planet from Nuerotypicals. I get along mostly really well with my #Autistic girlishfriend. To her I am understandable but only just. I still think it's truly the typicals that are strange. It takes no strength to really make it through their day when every single day I have to do exposure therapy or I am back where I was, vacuuming my room while counting the number of times I perfectly counted to five. My constant stress is much less than that of a restaurant. I dunno what I am really trying to say other than "What in the heck are neurotypicals and why am I the weak one?"
Sometimes I wonder where I got certain ideas growing up that have become routines, particularly the ones that I feel are there to make me seem "normal" or #neurotypical
How many of them were based on things family made me do to fit in, or things I saw on TV or read in books, how many of them were based on judgements I watched happen from peer to peer and never wanted to experience that judgement on my own.
For instance, I very specifically have to make sure my shirt/outfit looks different from one day to the next to make sure no one thinks I'm still wearing the same clothes.
I feel like if I'm going to interact professionally, I need to have at least showered within a day past or I will be "stinky".
I can't leave the house without brushing my teeth, heck that's the first thing I need to do after leaving bed or I feel gross.
There are thousands of these little 'rules' that I follow and I'm sure they came from multiple places, but how much more stress am I causing myself by sticking strictly to these rules even when it makes my life harder and no one would notice otherwise? #neurodiverent#actuallyaudhd#ActuallyAutistic#ADHD
To emphasize the point from my own perspective: #autistic people are only disabled as far as #neurotypical people consistently refuse to adapt to #neurodivergence. We are capable of living fully functional lives, and that’s all most of us are asking for.
I'm just finishing up a novel. I've been writing screenplays & other story-led narratives for decades. Classic structure has been drummed into me. But then, when I was diagnosed as neurodivergent, I thought, 'Hold on, maybe the traditional story model is actually a neurotypical device...'
I decided to let my #ADHD/ #autism write my novel. In doing so, I have developed a new revolutionary storytelling model. You're welcome. @actuallyautistic #writing#amWriting #amserious
@mariyadelano@actuallyautistic I haven't written on it but I have casually observed that the #fediverse is an acceptable and safe place to discuss our #special#interests at length and detail and have people genuinely intrigued by what we have to offer. Some of us (like myself) are experts in the minute details of the way networks and communications operate.
It's been a place of education and teaching for me: A real respite from the skullduggery and exhaustion that being #neurodivergent in a #neurotypical work can really and truly be.
@dipolecat@actuallyautistic I hear you. Often the neurotypical offer tone deaf advice because they make no attempt to even begin to understand what our lives are like. The #neurotypical see us as broken; we are not broken. We are just different and that is perfectly okay.