@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

russellmcormond

@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org

Settler living on lands of Anishnaabeg peoples my entire life.

#Neurodiversity #ActuallyAutistic

#Decolonize #IndigenousLivesMatter

#UNDRIP #LandBack

Identity clarification: I'm an Autistic with Canadian citizenship, not a Canadian with Autism.

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

russellmcormond, to actuallyautistic
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

Asking @actuallyautistic

I received notification from the moderator of the Mastodon host I'm using that some of my toots were removed.

  • "Do not be intentionally antagonistic. A post or reply designed to provoke a confrontation is not acceptable."

Allegedly being "antagonistic" was definetely not intentional.

  • "Do not post about inflammatory, controversial subjects without a Content Warning."

What's inflammatory seems to be subjective.

Allism conflict?
Any suggestions?

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@kimhoar @actuallyautistic

I'm aware of technical options.

I'm asking more about Autistic-Allistic mismatches, and the subjectivity around what is "intentional" (designed to provoke? Not designed by me) or "inflammatory".

Uair, to actuallyautistic
@Uair@autistics.life avatar

@actuallyautistic @Atheist @AtheistIntelligence

This article is funny. It wonders why western thought is so pessimistic about human nature without once noticing that jesus tells everyone they were born evil before they were old enough to reality check their information.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/09/the-real-lord-of-the-flies-what-happened-when-six-boys-were-shipwrecked-for-15-monthshttps://

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@Uair @actuallyautistic @Atheist @AtheistIntelligence

Thank so much for this!

When I was born I was granted citizenship by the Dominion of Canada, and grew up under that colonial supremacist culture that promotes the notion that British Christian worldviews are universal.

I have a very different concept of "Canadian identity and values" now.

I don't consider "Canada", Christian, or Western part of my identity, but ideologies I'm trying to recover from.

https://mcormond.blogspot.com/2021/11/canadian-heritage.html

russellmcormond, to actuallyautistic
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

https://www.tiktok.com/

This "subtext" thing has both confused and infuriated for me.

I was pushed out of my prior workplace (and what had become a "special interest") because specific parts of the management team were misinterpreting my words by inserting their own subtext. They wanted to reprimand me for things which I didn't say, as well as not being interested in me attempting to clarity what was said.



@actuallyautistic

russellmcormond, to actuallyautistic
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

Observations about (a review of)^2 Autism Employment https://mcormond.blogspot.com/2024/03/autism-employment.html?spref=tw

In the context of a UK study on Autism Employment, I discussed my experience employed by an organization with “executive dysfunction” that didn't mix well with me being Autistic.

#ActuallyAutistic #AutismAwareness #AutismAcceptance @actuallyautistic

russellmcormond, to actuallyautistic
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

Autism & the double
empathy problem
https://embrace-autism.com/autism-and-the-double-empathy-problem/

Great new article providing summary of the Double Empathy problem.

@actuallyautistic

#ActuallyAutistic #AutismAcceptance #AutismAwareness

Uair, to actuallyautistic
@Uair@autistics.life avatar

@AtheismActually @actuallyautistic

I'm a strong supporter of personal freedom, but with that comes the freedom to take the consequences.

I have no problem with people who choose to be carriers of a deadly disease. I don't understand it, but i don't have to understand your freedom. That's the whole point.

You should not have the freedom to recklessly infect strangers, however. Your right to swing your fist ends at my nose.

So how about putting all anti vaxxers in camps or something?

;)

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@Uair @AtheismActually @actuallyautistic

This is where knowing the worldviews you grew up in matters. These aren't universal "human" beliefs, but specific to worldviews.

I grew up under the Canadian Crown (Dominion of Canada when I was born, rebranded in 1982).

Individualism, and multi-generational privilege without responsibility, are core to Anglosphere worldviews.

The most selfish can easily be seen as the most patriotic to , , etc.

https://mcormond.blogspot.com/2022/02/ottawa-siege-trudeau.html

russellmcormond, to actuallyautistic
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

Introduction is: "Whenever I mention my feelings on ABA, someone always asks me for alternatives to ABA."

https://neurodivergentrebel.substack.com/p/alternatives-to-aba-if-not-aba-then

I really want to know why people think that is a valid question?
ABA is not about helping the person be themselves or have a better life, but to try to “convert” them to be more like other people to make those other people feel more comfortable with their beliefs.

@actuallyautistic

russellmcormond, to Autism
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

The following article really resonates with me.

Culture Determines What Counts as a Disability
https://mosaicofmindss.substack.com/p/culture-defines-what-is-a-disability

@actuallyautistic

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@loops @actuallyautistic

I'm also a big fan of this TED Talk to help explain.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1AUdaH-EPM

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@loops @actuallyautistic

I have recently had anti-racism and anti-colonialism as special interests (before I knew what that term meant).

It was with this context that I had an event which removed doubt I am Autistic.

I've noticed how there are many different forms of diversity that have been pathologized over the centuries in certain cultures (time isn't evenly distributed -- pathologizing people based on "race" is still common, and Eugenics is ongoing).

I see some patterns.

theautisticcoach, to actuallyautistic

The vast majority (but NOT all) humans live with alexithymia, making it difficult for us to either engage or express (sometimes both) with our emotional state.

When combined with interoception issues (in our bodies) we lose access to just about all feelings besides those that we intellectualize.

Getting in touch with both our emotions and our physical embodied sensations is essential for living fully.

@actuallyautistic

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@hakirsch @CynAq @theautisticcoach @actuallyautistic

What you wrote reminded me of https://embrace-autism.com/reading-the-mind-in-the-eyes-test/

I took the test, and I scored very good at guessing which emotion was "correct", but the amount of time it took suggested I'm Autistic.

I am going through the formal assessment process with them, but find it great they also provide a page linking to all these types of tests you can take for free.

https://embrace-autism.com/autism-tests/

NeurodivergentBC, to academicchatter

need to do way better at supporting . @actuallyautistic @allautistics @neurodivergent @academicchatter @edutooters

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@IanSudbery @danimo @NeurodivergentBC @actuallyautistic @allautistics @neurodivergent @academicchatter @edutooters

I found online courses very useful. As an adult in my 50's I recently audited two from the

https://mcormond.blogspot.com/2021/01/UANativeStudies.html

One of the professors is on Mastodon @KimTallBear

Much better than my in-person uni experience back in the day (long before I knew about ). Never graduated: happy to discuss what went wrong (doubt anyone interested).

arcana, to actuallyautistic

@actuallyautistic i'm so exhausted of how inaccessible activism and social justice is. sometimes it feels like every single movement other than neurodivergence stuff specifically excludes neurodivergent people. even a lot of general disability movements.

constantly seeing new rules on what we can and cannot say, how to correctly engage with topics, etc really fucking strikes a nerve at this point.

like, "don't ask questions and do your own research," because asking clarifying questions is a dick move, even if you're actually confused and just want to learn how to help and it's not researchable. (source: I HAVE DONE SO MUCH FUCKING RESEARCH)

"don't say this word or phrase anymore" like okay, sure if i give someone my preferred pronouns i'm clearly transphobic against myself because i'm supposed to just say "pronouns." i'm not allowed to say "socialized woman" to describe my shared experiences anymore, either, because apparently some bigots made a dogwhistle out of it and somehow that's my responsibility (this gripe excludes slurs, which are pretty cut and dry)

like, fucking honestly, it feels like 95% of social justice conversations these days are just policing general social interactions with extremely unintuitive etiquette, alienating anyone who cannot make sense of the neverending rules.

which — oh, right. that group consists primarily of autists, doesn't it? "well that's okay, autistic struggles are clearly exaggerated and if someone sounds like an asshole that must mean they're an asshole and i should treat them like one."

i want to be an effective activist SO BAD but the community is ACTIVELY hostile and inaccessible to me because of my adhd, autism, and trauma. i basically give up at this point and i hate people.

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@Dr_Obvious @arcana @actuallyautistic

I wrote about my concern with "workplace harassment policies", which appeared to me to be a policy which could be abused to harass diverse individuals (including , but also other cultures/etc).

https://mcormond.blogspot.com/2023/05/workplace-harassment.html

I have issued with those who self-identify as "Woke". There is a difference between having an open mind and open heart, and publicly performing "I am a good person".

Lack of intersectional thinking in Performative Wokeness.

MisuseCase, to ADHD
@MisuseCase@twit.social avatar

Oh great someone posted a thing about how “ADHD and autism are only disorders in a capitalist society” again.

Speaking as a person with I say unto you all that this take needs to die. I can’t speak for people but ADHD is difficult in a lot of ways that would still be difficult in, like, a post-scarcity space socialist paradise or whatever!

/1

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@MisuseCase

I find is used as a catch-all phrase for so many unrelated things.

Examples: and are generally part of European and Abrahamic worldviews, and still present if peoples with those worldviews base their economies on other European theories (Socialism, Marxism, Communism, etc).

I still strongly believe what disables and people environmental (systems in society) and not built into the individual.

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@MisuseCase

I find those with European worldviews (Europe & colonies such as CANZUS -- Canada, Australia, New Zealand, United States) are stuck on , which ends up creating a focus on hierarchy and conformity in ways that are opposite to what strong adherents to the ideology believe it does.

That hierarchy and conformity doesn't go away if Socialism, Marxism, Communism, etc are adopted without addressing other issues as well.

On Marx, I find this useful:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBFvxkvpi2w

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@MisuseCase

I am curious where “ADHD and autism are only disorders in a capitalist society” was posted?

I follow the hashtag, as well as the @actuallyautistic group.

I am curious what specific difficulties you are thinking of? Is it something that you feel doesn't have a systemic basis?

I agree that "Capitalism" is the wrong label for the problematic system.

I'm wanting to think about what environmental/systemic factors might be at play.

theautisticcoach, to actuallyautistic

Good morning comrades

Do you pick your nose? Play with your boogers?

Have you been constantly chastised for it throughout life? Shamed?

You’re not alone.

@actuallyautistic

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@theautisticcoach @actuallyautistic

Don't pick it regularly.

I find it is itchy regularly. I fiddle with and flick my nose regularly.

independentpen, to actuallyautistic
@independentpen@mas.to avatar

I'm at an anthropology conference. A speaker/anthropologist, who is a dad of an autistic child, wrote a book, Unstrange Minds, which is a mix of scholarship (a cultural history of autism) and personal storytelling. I was suspicious at first but it seems like he's supporting the neurodiversity paradigm. Anyone read it? Might be worth checking out? @actuallyautistic

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@independentpen @actuallyautistic

I haven't read, but looked up based on your post.

The writeups look intersting:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unstrange_Minds

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/108381

theautisticcoach, to actuallyautistic

Do my comrades find themselves having deep & significant empathy for others in general, but much less for those closest to them?

If so, you are not alone.

Why do we think this is?

@actuallyautistic

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@theautisticcoach @actuallyautistic

Define "empathy"?

I'm accused regularly of seeing big picture harms to people and peoples, but not seeing individuals. I don't feel that is a flaw, but I'm regularly told that means I'm not empathetic.

I actually feel that those who focus narrowly on those hierarchically "closest" to them, to the detriment of others, is selfish. But I'm regularly told I'm selfish.

So: Empathy for societies/collectives vs hierarchical/ranked ties to individuals?

theautisticcoach, to actuallyautistic

The French State under Emmanuel Macron unveiled its new “plan” regarding and other humans yesterday.

More of the same. That is to say, NOTHING.

A huge 5 year plan about US, without any consultation, whatsoever, with US.

Anyone who knows the French State knows the HUNDREDS, if not THOUSANDS of hours that went into useless meetings to create this plan. The involvement of THOUSANDS of bureaucrats and “consultants”.

Yet, the result is more ableism. More silencing of autistic voices. More oppression.

Where did the 500M+ euros go for the LAST 5 year plan? Nowhere. Into the hands of private companies who seek to profit via the oppression of autistic bodies.

Where will the 600M+ go now?

Shameful.

The Republic has actual autistic advocates and experts living just steps from the Élysée Palace. Organizations that fight for our rights like
@CLE_Autistes
. None of us were consulted.

Who was consulted? Parents groups. Autism groups led and run by non-autistic people. Companies which exist to earn money from the State and autistic people on our backs and commodifying our bodies.

According to the “new and groundbreaking” plan, autistic adults will receive free support groups (weren’t we already meant to be getting support groups under the last plan?). Said groups are led by non-autistic people who actively promote the pathology paradigm of autism, which is rejected by the vast majority of autistic adults. Not an improvement.

It will allow certain autistic adults currently institutionalized to live outside and go work. Cute. As if that is a progressive idea!

What about support for those of us who want a career? A meaningful one? What about support for those of us who cannot work but also do not want to be institutionalized and removed from society, our friends, and families?

What about support for those of us who do work with need help with day to day things? What about support during autistic burnout?

Nothing.

Oh, and the Marianne eugenics project continues on!

France continues to show itself to be unserious and performative when it comes to the civil and human rights of autistic people. Our humanity today, as yesterday, has been denied by those who purport to support us.

Shameful and disgraceful.

@actuallyautistic @disabilityjustice

https://informations.handicap.fr/a-strategie-tnd-2023-2027-enfin-devoilee-tous-mesures-35859.php

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@apicultor @theautisticcoach @actuallyautistic @disabilityjustice

Is the term "eugenics" the "loaded" one?

https://www.genome.gov/about-genomics/fact-sheets/Eugenics-and-Scientific-Racism

"Eugenicists worldwide believed that they could perfect human beings and eliminate so-called social ills through genetics and heredity. "

Movement never ended.

Ideology isn't limited to treating less common neurotypes as "defects" where detection/intervention (possibly in womb) towards "erradicating" are thought of as valid goals.

Cassandra, (edited ) to random
@Cassandra@autistics.life avatar

I think I've noticed On Here that the general consensus is, if you think someone's autistic, you shouldn't tell them. It's too much seeing, or something.

I'm a bit baffled by this advice. I think it would have been a kindness if someone had set me down this path sooner.

Should you tell someone if you think they're autistic and that knowledge could help them?

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@Cassandra

(Don't read this reply until you have voted)

My experience:

Friends brought this up about me starting in the early 2000's, when there were discussions about how many in the high tech sector "had Autism".

I took it as an insult as I didn't have a "disorder" or a "disability".

Took a long time for me to change.

For me, sharing about an individual depends on what they know about Autism. We’ve all been told horrible (and false, Eugenics mindset) things about Autism.

Richard_Littler, to Autism
@Richard_Littler@mastodon.social avatar

Having one of those days when I wonder how different my life might have been had my & been diagnosed much (much) earlier...
It sometimes feels a bit like heaving myself breathless over a marathon finishing line long after others have completed it, only to find that I was shlepping an anvil behind me that could have so easily been offloaded, if only I'd known.
@actuallyautistic

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@Richard_Littler @actuallyautistic

Problem for me is thinking about all the other things that were different when I was younger.

The Neurodiversity Paradigm is recent, which makes it easier for Autism Acceptance (even accepting ourselves).

If I was diagnosed back in the 1970's or 1980's, I can only imagine the nasty things that would have been done. I doubt I would have had a fairly successful career as I wouldn't have been offered opportunities given my alleged "disabilities".

ChrisMayLA6, to random
@ChrisMayLA6@zirk.us avatar

Hurrah... good sense breaks out in the as the 'Waitrose of the North', Booths begins to get rid of self-service check-outs.

Given the price premium at Booths, we (the customers) want the social interaction with staff at the checkouts, not be told to 'scan & bag'!

More importantly, not only do checkouts provide regular local employment, they are also for many semi-isolated shoppers a key bit of rare social interaction... so a welcome reverse!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-67373472

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@ChrisMayLA6 @actuallyautistic

I think what is important to get from this thread is that "majority rule" doesn't work for handling diversity of human needs or human rights.

There are different types of diversity where self-service is needed and others where self-service fails.

I hear the "labour" market comment, but that seems to be a critique of Capitalism/Marxism/etc and other Eurocentric, Anthropocentric, Androcentric economic theories.

sebwhatever, to actuallyautistic
@sebwhatever@mastodon.social avatar

@actuallyautistic Who has disappointed you the most since coming out as ?
My family's reaction was depressingly expected. However, it's been close friends looking down on me and then fading away that really hurt.
Looking at you, Matthew Bingham.

russellmcormond,
@russellmcormond@fosstodon.org avatar

@sebwhatever @actuallyautistic

My former workplace was the least supportive -- so bad I had to resign.

I only suspected I was Autistic until I got Lyme Disease. The fatique meant I didn't have the energy to mask, which meant I finally accepted I had a mask -- and that I was Autistic.

My workplace weaponized my disclosures.

https://mcormond.blogspot.com/2023/09/resignation.html

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