#autistic
Some people apparently think that special interests are only experienced by autistic people. Not the case, anyone can experience them but being autistic can correlate with having special interests more intensely or more often. Special interests or circumscribed interests are not exclusive to autistic people but autistics generally tend to display an affinity towards having these interests essentially.
I think people also forget that even with autistic traits, non autistics can have them. Like sensory issues, socialising differences, etc. Can exist in non autistics to the same extent. They may just not consider themself autistic, may only have one type of autistic trait but not be autistic, may have a different neurodivergence that overlaps with autistic traits, or literally any other good faith reason.
And acting like its only autistic people who experience these things, or acting like all autistics experience every single one of these things, does not help in neurodivergent liberation or inclusivity.
(-Rift)
With more children getting diagnosed as autistic there’s more and more parents realizing that they’re also autistic. It’s a beautiful thing.
POCs and women are statistically less likely to be diagnosed as autistic. This not only means that they have a harder time getting a diagnosis, but they’re also less likely to be believed by the general public.
This is so harmful, and needs to stop!
Masking isn’t a manipulation tactic, it’s a shield, and one that I hope I can put down for good some day.
I feel that imposter syndrome within the autistic community is so common. We’re constantly told “you don’t look autistic” that sometimes we believe it. It’s okay though. You’re not alone in feeling this. Don’t listen to those doubts, and embrace your autistic self!
April is Autism Acceptance month! You want to be accepting? You want to be supportive? Be accommodating.
People will say they accept autism, and then berate us for being autistic. Don’t tell us you accept us when you regularly punish us for being ourselves.
When I get insulted by people whose opinions don’t matter to me I can shrug it off pretty easily.
When a loved one gets insulted by ANYONE I’m ready to throw down, Canadian style!
And this is one reason why I still wear a mask when I go out. I never know when a random coughing fit may happen simply because I suck at swallowing my own spit.
I verbally stim when I’m really happy. People used to bully me for it so I learned to be ashamed of it. Now, years later, my partner has helped me unlearn that shame, and embrace my verbal stims.
I hate going to the dentist so much! I had a gap between two of my molars that made it so I couldn’t chew on the right side of my mouth for 2 ½ years before finally getting it fixed. That’s how much I avoid the dentist.
No hate towards dentists though. You do important work, and I respect that.
More people getting diagnosed, especially when they’re still children, is a good thing! This isn’t an epidemic. This isn’t over-diagnosing. This is more and more autistic people being properly diagnosed.
Functioning labels are a common way autistic people are denied support.
High functioning? You’re fine without support. Low functioning? You’re not high functioning enough to determine whether you need support or not.
I’ve been accused of being in a hate group, as well as a cult, all because of my advocacy.
Any other nd people remember just intensely identifying with creep by radiohead in middle school? Just that feeling of alienation and feeling like I didn’t belong really hit home with me
Neurotypicals will rock in rocking chairs for hours and still look at neurodivergents weird for doing it in regular chairs
I tend to assume everyone is the same as me. Like if I’m sitting next to someone and a spot opens up next to me, my first instinct is to move a seat down from the person to give them space, since I would appreciate that in their place. Often, this would be viewed as offensive since it would seem to them that I don’t like them. Is it an autistic thing to have a hard time grasping that other people have different knowledge, opinions, wants, and needs from you? Also if someone ever moves away from you, don’t feel to bad about it. It might be someone like me, who means it in a nice way!
Common myth: “neurotypicals don’t stim”. This is actually false. Neurotypical people do stim, it’s just usually in a slightly different way. Common stims that you might notice a neurotypical doing include: nail biting, hair twirling, leg bouncing, foot tapping, pen biting, skin picking, knuckle cracking and more. These are stims that go unnoticed most of the time because they are so common. Autistic people’s stims are usually more noticeable. Stims you might see autistic people doing include: hand flapping, rocking, echolalia (repeating words or phrases), head banging, excessive blinking, spinning in circles and more. Stimming is not an exclusive autism trait. It’s the short term for “self-stimulatory behaviours” which every human being does in one way or another. It’s a completely normal way of regulating emotions. I’ve seen some people saying “neurotypicals don’t stim, they fidget” but fidgeting is actually a form of stimming.
The reasons why a neurotypical stims is usually different to why an autistic person does, however, the reasons can be the same. Stimming can help in stressful situations where anxiety levels are high. You’re more likely to notice a neurotypical person stimming when they are particularly anxious, for example in an exam or a job interview. Autistic people stim as a way of expressing emotions, for example we will stim when we are happy or excited, not just when we are anxious. Autistic people frequently experience sensory overloads and stimming helps to calm us down.
I find it ironic and hypocritical when neurotypicals make fun of autistics for stimming when they literally stim too. My parents will comment on my stimming when my mum is sat there biting her nails and my dad is bouncing his leg and picking his skin. How are my stims wrong and their stims right? Before you judge an autistic person for stimming take a look at yourself because I can guarantee you stim in one way or another. Let’s normalise and embrace stimming because not only is it beautiful, it’s incredibly important. Suppressing stims can be detrimental to our mental health.
Embrace the stim! No matter how big or small! All stims are valid!!
I’ve always thought that if neurotypicals just tried hand flapping, they’d like it but noooo, they’ve gotta insist that stimming is weird even though they do it too.
Routines don’t have to be doing the same things at the same time every day. Sometimes, it’s choosing the exact same options in a video game every single time, even if the game gives you a variety of choices (looking at you, Life is Strange). Sometimes it’s checking your apps in the same order when you wake up in the morning. Or when your songs MUST be in the same order when you listen to them. I personally dislike routines like “wake up at 10 a.m. and have oatmeal for breakfast, shower at 11, etc.” However, I love doing everything else that I listed. I worried about being a fake autistic before I realized that those were routines too.
Sorry I disappeared for 3 months and was declared a “missing person” or whatever, I was busy being consumed by my hyperfixation
