@ashleyspencer@autistics.life
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ashleyspencer

@ashleyspencer@autistics.life

My name is Ashley Lauren Spencer. I'm an autistic e-commerce entrepreneur, writer, and owner of The Autistic Innovator and Autistic Bookshop, and the https://autistics.life mastodon instance.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

ashleyspencer, to random
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The cats were both laying on the couch with me purring really loud like a chorus of purrs. Then I fed them and they’re like Bye!

Every day after 7am breakfast, Nikita sleeps on the top of her cat tree and Dinah goes to the blanket on the bed. I know where they are based on what time of day it is. They plan their days around meal times haha

ashleyspencer, to random
@ashleyspencer@autistics.life avatar

Got my 20 gallon fish tank. It looked so gigantic in the store, and looks so tiny on my counter lol.

The fish will go from a tiny closet (the cup) into a 900sqft apartment (the tank).

I’m getting a neat house thing with lots of little caves in it to put in the tank.

Good living space for one fish. :)

ashleyspencer, (edited )
@ashleyspencer@autistics.life avatar

@thomas This house thing I ordered from Petsmart just shipped so it should be delivered today it says. I’m waiting for this thing to get here before I add water to the tank.

Those spiky things look a little stabby, so may need to try to cut them off.

Edit: says it won’t be here until Tuesday next week. May order another one with same day delivery and then return the online order when it gets here.

ashleyspencer,
@ashleyspencer@autistics.life avatar

@thomas I ordered the house thing and another silk plant with same day delivery. Figure I’ll return the other one when it gets here next week, or whenever I go to pick out a fish.

I don’t know how long to let the tank cycle. Some on Reddit said 4 to 6 weeks, someone I know says 2-3 months, and the bottle of Quick Start says it makes it so you can add fish sooner. Don’t know which is right.

ashleyspencer,
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@thomas Ah makes sense. The person I know says to add food and wait for the food to dissolve and create the bacteria, but that sounds complicated. Another person I know said to add live plants, but I think that’s beyond my skill level.

I got that freshwater master test kit. Looks like it comes with different bottles of chemicals.

I need to check that betta fish book again. It had level ranges everything needs to be in the water for a betta.

ashleyspencer,
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@thomas Makes sense. Good explanation.

I’ve been watching these simplified YouTube videos and my autistic brain still felt confused after watching them. One said there’s no set amount of time your tank needs to cycle without fish, it just depends on when the levels are safe.

ashleyspencer, to actuallyautistic
@ashleyspencer@autistics.life avatar

Autistic burnout + untreated ADHD =

impulse control issues + inability to force yourself to do anything + drained by no ability to function

Lots of walking pass a mess unable to make yourself clean it, then blame yourself for it.

Distracted, can't focus enough to do fun things and/or take care of yourself.

Forgetting everything. So burned out you can't remember important things + made worse by ADHD.

1/3

@actuallyautistic

ashleyspencer,
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Constant feelings of self-shame because we can't seem to make ourselves clean, remember things, focus, etc. like it's somehow our fault, even though we can't control it, and we are so burned out we just don't have the energy for anything

Falling into bad habits that give us a little rush of dopamine because for a moment it makes us feel better

For a moment, we might feel a little better from the dopamine rush, and get hope that maybe we will get out of autistic burnout

2/3

@actuallyautistic

ashleyspencer,
@ashleyspencer@autistics.life avatar

Not knowing how long burnout lasts + wondering how long will it be before we can get an ADHD assessment, so the psychiatrist can prescribe us ADHD meds.

Left to wait and struggle while waiting.

Untreated ADHD can make getting out of autistic burnout seem like it's something in the far out distant future, and left wondering, "When will I feel better?"

3/3

@actuallyautistic

ashleyspencer,
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@pathfinder @actuallyautistic well said :RedHearts:

ashleyspencer, to ADHD
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It’s kind of ironic when you are watching short videos about untreated ADHD and space out thinking about other things and miss most of the video because you have under-medicated ADHD lol

ashleyspencer, to random
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My Nikita LOVES being pet like this lol.

You can see the bliss in her like ahhhh this is nice.

I joke that she likes it rough 🤣

ashleyspencer, to random
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I haven't left my apartment for long periods of time in weeks.

My cats refused to eat while I was gone, and eating is Nikita's favorite thing. As soon as I got home, she ate all her food.

Dinah was yowling a really sad sounding cry when I got back. 😢

ashleyspencer,
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@Cassandra Hopefully Dinah doesn’t terrorize it lol. The tank is high and will be pretty high on the counter.

I had one cat that liked to lay on the floor and watch fish swim around like it was cat TV.

The fish and Nikita can stare at each other from up high and look down on me lol. That’s the most she will do. Dinah drinks from a water glass on the counter so I’m unsure about her.

I’ll need to get a step ladder for the tank. If it swims towards the top it will look down on me from above lol

ashleyspencer, to random
@ashleyspencer@autistics.life avatar

I went to the pet store to get some water treatment stuff for the fish tank.

The 5 gallon tanks looked too small to me. It would be cramped in there still.

However, the 10 gallon is the perfect width for my counter and it's like penthouse apartment size. Couldn't take it home myself, but the lady said they could do same day delivery.

Saved a bunch of money buying the tank online vs in the store.

My cats are so much happier in a big apartment, so I'm sure a fish would feel the same.

ashleyspencer,
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@thomas I actually just cancelled the 10 gallon and switched my order to a 20 gallon instead. haha.

When I was at the store, I thought the 20 gallon looked like much more livable conditions and perfect size for my big bar counter before I knew it was a 20. More I thought about it, I have the room for a big tank so why the f not lol

ashleyspencer,
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@thomas Hmm... my countertop is made from real granite and sits over the dishwasher where I'll put it.

ashleyspencer,
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@thomas this is where I will put it. The counter is bigger than it looks in the photo because there’s fish stuff and mess all over it.

ashleyspencer,
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@thomas I would think this would be strong enough to hold it. Anytime I've accidentally left puddles of water on the countertop overnight or all day, once I wipe it clean and it dries, there's no water spot at all. There's a wall on the other side behind the dishwasher with a tile backsplash.

ashleyspencer,
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@thomas I figure being in the center like that is the most interesting place for a betta fish since they are very curious about what goes on around them.

ashleyspencer,
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@thomas Adorable!

ashleyspencer, to random
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Think I’ve figured out the secret to calming myself down when I get a bit revved up.

I got a little too ADHD hyper, so I drank half a Red Bull and now I feel sedated and need a nap lol

ashleyspencer,
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@EVDHmn yum espresso. Might make some coffee.

ashleyspencer, to random
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ADHD hyperfocus + Autism special interest mode

= spend all morning watching videos about everything in betta care

How to change water, reasons they die, how long their lifespan is (it’s a really long time!), aquarium cycling, water testing and conditioning

I will be prepared! 😄

ashleyspencer,
@ashleyspencer@autistics.life avatar

@pathfinder the lid on the aquarium is very heavy and has a immovable guard thing on it. She won’t be able to open it. Just have to be careful when the tank is open for cleaning that it doesn’t jump out and Dinah catch it lol

FantasticalEconomics, to Economics
@FantasticalEconomics@geekdom.social avatar

We really need to rethink our capitalistic obsession of running things like a business. Cutting costs to increase profits obviously doesn't make sense in areas of education, healthcare, public utilities, and prisons, to name just a few.

Hell, Boeing is making a strong case that it doesn't even make sense for businesses to be run like a business, much less these public goods...

ashleyspencer,
@ashleyspencer@autistics.life avatar

@GhostOnTheHalfShell @rythur @FantasticalEconomics @dlakelan @philip_cardella Business degrees prepare you for being corporate middle and upper level management. College is there to teach people to be worker bees.

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