Latest Posts by grymalkyn - Page 5

i think we should reclaim the phrase “autism won today” from those weird moms and instead use it whenever we decide to buy that fidget toy we’ve been wanting or engage in our special interest(s) a little too much™️ or literally anything else positive about the autistic experience

You know, I fucking hate the jokes that people with ADHD and autistic people just magically get along well.

Like....spoiler alert.....but putting two people with conflicting sensory needs in a room together is a recipe for disaster.

I have ADHD and autism. I have a lot of issues with loud noises or movement. If you put me in a room together with someone who vocally stims, we are not going to get along well. It's not that they're a bad person, it's not that I'm a bad person, we just have conflicting needs.

I stim a lot by pacing and wringing my hands. My dad, who probably has ADHD, gets really anxious when people pace.

This is a big reason why lumping all the disabled students in one classroom is bad idea, like many schools do. Because like all people, disabled people are each different people. With different needs. With different sensory needs and triggers.

Someone could stim by smacking their lips, while another person could have misophonia and have a strong reaction to those sounds.

Treating disabled people like humans is acknowledging that we're all different people, and we don't magically all get along because we share a condition. Like....it would be bigoted to assume that of any other marginalized group, so why would you do that to disabled people?

i love echolalia so much i truly do but i am so sadly limited by the range of my human voice. i wanna mimic cars and kettles and microwave beeps and chirping birds and computer keys and rushing water. making cat noises isn’t enough i wanna sound like a fucking synth.

autistic people are allowed to fit autism stereotypes

i take things literally. i don’t get a lot of neurotypical humor and often feel left out of the joke or even feel like i’m the joke sometimes. i’m gullible. there’s no way to sugarcoat it or put it more nicely, i’m just gullible. i don’t always know what’s satire. i’m socially awkward and have a hard time befriending or remaining friends with anybody who isn’t like me.

much of the autism community puts so much emphasis on “all autistic people aren’t x” and not enough on “who cares if we’re x, we deserve rights”

this goes doubly for ID and nonspeaking autistics btw i just can’t speak to that experience personally

it's okay if you get confused easily. it's okay if you forget things easily. it's okay if you lose track during conversation easily. it's okay if you have to ask for clarification often. it's okay if you struggle to parse information or sensory unit. you're not "playing dumb" or "doing it on purpose". it's okay to be disabled, some people just refuse to be accommodating.

when I say “everyone’s on their own timeline”, I mean it.

there’s no right age to learn something by. there’s no right age to be settled down, to move out of home, or to start your own family. there’s no right age to start working, if you work at all. there’s no right age to graduate.

life isn’t a series of boxes you need to tick. do things at your own pace. slow down if you need to. it’s okay.

i got formally diagnosed this week after years of waiting/knowing and my friend mailed a professionally custom made cake to my house

Made an observation from looking at you all talking about your teenage experiences.

(if you're in this picture multiple times then congrats you get extra swords)

It has just now occurred to me that what’s “visibly on the spectrum” is wildly different for autistic and allistic people. Most allistics don’t recognize autistic behavior (at all or anything more that weird/quirky) unless it impacts their ability to interface with an autistic person. That’s when allistics see someone as visibly on the spectrum. Other autistics can spot each other from a mile a way though over minor stuff.

For example every allistic I’ve ever worked with has told me “oh but you’re sooo good at socializing with people?!? I could neverrrr tell?!?!” If they learned I’m autistic.

However other autistic people meet me and are like: YOU. AUTISM.

Me, not talking: Ah fuck, I am being weird

Me, talking: Ah fuck, I am being weird

I hate that no one talks about just how distressing memory loss from adhd actually is. I always see memes that are like “haha I forgot my phone, I don’t remember where my laptop is, etc”, but no one seems to talk about how it can really fuck you up long term to just, not remember things that are completely mundane to non-adhd’ers. The memory loss is, however, so frustrating to us. I cannot physically count how many meltdowns I have had over the sheer mental frustration and torture of not being able to remember seemingly simple things

Reasons I like subtitles:

1. I can see how people’s names and the cities and the countries are spelled.

2. I don’t miss any words, so everything they say makes sense.

3. I get to know what background noises and conversations are.

4. The descriptions of the noises people make are freaking awesome. Ex: splutter, grunt, chuckles.

5. I can see who says what.

6. I don’t have to have the volume super loud so I can hear the dialogue, and I don’t blow my eardrums out because the ambient noises and music is SO FREAKING LOUD.

I freaking love subtitles.

i made this instead of doing the things ive been "forgetting" to do

"Autism be damned my boy can-" Wait no hold up. Why are we damning autism. I love autism. Autism be blessed.

There has been a lot of research about autistics over the years, but this one really took the cake!

This is what happened when researchers attempted to compare the moral compass of autistic and non-autistic people…

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share this cute poster I found on Pinterest. It talks about how to make friends with autistic individuals. (It refers to children, but I think older people can learn from this too.)

I know the text is hard to see, so I’ll put it below:

HOW TO BE A FRIEND TO SOMEONE WITH AUTISM

Take the Initiative to Include Him or Her

Your friend may desperately want to be included and may nos know how to ask. Be specific about what you wonchim co go

Find Common Interests

it will be much easier to talk about or shor something you both like to do (movies, sports, music, books, TV shows, ete).

Be Persistent and Patient

Remember that your friend with Autism may take more time to respond than other people. It doesn't necessariv mean he or she isn’t interested.

Communicate Clearly

Speak at a reasonable speed and volume.

Stand Up For Him or Her

If you see someone teasing or bullying a friend with autism, take a stand and tell the person that it's not cool.

Give Feedback

if your friend with autism is doing something inappropriate, it’s OK to tell him nicely. Just make sure to also tell him what the right thing to do is becouse he mov not know

Remember Sensory Sensitivity

Your friend may be very uncomfortable in certoin situations or places (crowds, noisy areas, etc.). Ask if he or she is ok.

Don't Be Afraid

Your friend is just a kid like you who needs a little help. Accept his or her differences and respect strengths ust as vou would for any friend.

Source: link

I hope many of you find this helpful.

Autism

Friendship

A Checklist Of Possible Reasons I Am Upset, To Review When I Can't Seem To Figure It Out:

did not eat

new hyperfixation and no time for it

have not done a creative in 24 hrs

Bad Sounds

clothes are touching my body

cold

people

one (1) comment is stuck in my brain like a popcorn kernel

last time I drank water was ??????

nervous nervous nervous nervous

got a Slightly Worse grade than expected

last hug was ??????

slept a full 45 minutes

lonely ............

guts are shredding (again)

have not seen sunlight in 24 hrs

stuck inside

too much screen time

Yay Overwhelm

room is disaster area

have not talked to Person in a while

bored

imposter phenomenon (again)

no current routine

how long have I been working???

Too Much Socialization

and then. and THEN. I may consider:

something is actually wrong

i love being friends with bitches who won’t shut up. i never know what to talk about. please tell me your whole life story and then infodump to me about warrior cats or greek history

Every person need to be taught disability history

Not the “oh Einstein was probably autistic” or the sanitized Helen Keller story. but this history disabled people have made and has been made for us.

Teach them about Carrie Buck, who was sterilized against her will, sued in 1927, and lost because “Three generations of imbeciles [were] enough.” (A decision which still has not been reversed)

Teach them about Judith Heumann and her associates, who in 1977, held the longest sit in a government building for the enactment of 504 protection passed three years earlier.

Teach them about all the Baby Does, newborns in 1980s who were born disabled and who doctors and parents left to die without treatment, who’s deaths lead to the passing of The Baby Doe amendment to the child abuse law in 1984.

Teach them about the deaf students at Gallaudet University, a liberal arts school for the deaf, who in 1988, protested the appointment of yet another hearing president and successfully elected I. King Jordan as their first deaf president.

Teach them about Jim Sinclair, who at the 1993 international Autism Conference stood and said “don’t mourn for us. We are alive. We are real. And we’re here waiting for you.”

Teach about the disability activists who laid down in front of buses for accessible transit in 1978, crawled up the steps of congress in 1990 for the ADA, and fight against police brutality, poverty, restricted access to medical care, and abuse today.

Teach about us.

idk if it’s the mental illness but sharing literally any information feels like oversharing. i’ll be like “i skipped breakfast this morning” and immediately im like “i might as well have told them where i buried the money”

Ya'll read this thread ! It's not something I have actively thought about but I think they make a great point here.

If neurotypicals are so good at picking up hints, why do they never seem to notice you leaning away when they try to touch you?

What an autistic person says: "How long is it going to take?"

What they mean: "I want to know whether to activate my short term waiting mode where I just wait and do nothing else, or activate my long term waiting mode where I occupy my mind with something else. I fully understand that both are possibilities, and I have no problem whatsoever with either one, but I want more information so I can best adapt to the situation."

What neurotypical people hear: "I am impatient and demand that everything I want happen right now. Please scold me and publicly humiliate me for it."