autistic-alistair

[autistic-alistair]

April 8: What are some misconceptions/stereotypes about autism that you hate?

plot twist: I hate all of them

some of the ones I hate the most, though, are

autism boxes, aka functioning labels, where x person is y level of autistic and therefore must behave exactly like z and only z. no one autistic behavior correlates to a specific level or severity of autism. people often call me "high functioning" and tell me I don't "look" autistic which is honestly a backhanded compliment tbh, maybe if I look autistic people like that will leave me alone 🤢

that all autistic people are either super super smart or tragically oblivious, there is no in between

that autistic people just use their struggles as an excuse to be rude or not do things. I can't tell you how many times I went through this growing up where executive dysfunction was kicking my ass or I genuinely didn't understand why what I said/did was mean or rude and I'd be yelled at for not knowing. allism 🤷‍♀️

there are so many more but like, if an autistic person is being autistic you don't need to mention your cousin or your friend's little bro or rainman or sheldon or whoever the new coded-but-not-confirmed autistic is

we are just as varied in personality, appearance, and behavior as literally anyone else on the planet

thank u

[autistic-alistair]

April 7: Talk about autism in the media. Do you think that autism is typically portayed well? Badly? Is there anything you'd like to see more of when it comes to autistic representation? Who are your favorite autistic characters? Do you have any headcanons?

I actually don't follow much media so I don't have any headcanons/favorites but I will say autism is typically not portrayed well/accurately. it's either done as the quirky-but-genius 20-something male or the supposed menace of an 8 year old boy who can only talk about trains.

it makes it hard for anyone outside the "norm" to be seen/recognized/assisted and only further pushes the functioning label categories.

if anything I'd just like to see a varied interpretation; so often these characters are just awkward, young, thin males when they can be so much more.

[autistic-alistair]

April 6: Are you able to drive? If you can, was it hard for you to learn? If not, what alternatives do you use, if any?

I can drive now, I got my license just over a year ago!

it was pretty difficult to learn as I have pretty rough anxiety when it comes to extra steps/turns/busy roads; even now I can only drive certain places unless I wanna subject myself to a whole lot of stress :/

[autistic-alistair]

April 5: Talk about your living situation. Do you live with your parents? Do you live on your own? Have roommates? Etc. If you live on your own how hard was it to get used to?

my stepdad asked me to move out in June of last year, so in September I moved in with my fiancé and his mom.

I am not well-adjusted whatsoever 😅 I grew up in a very big house where everyone had their own space and I was free to sing, play instruments, hang out outside, make a mess of the tables with art...here there is no non-communal space, I have to stay quiet, there is no outdoor area, and if I leave anything out it's game for being destroyed by cats or thrown away.

it's...soul crushing. my fiancé says I don't need to worry so much about being quiet but I am simply too uncomfortable to change it. the lack of alone time means I'm always on edge/snappy leading to more burnouts as I can never recharge. having no space to craft or sing has also taken away a lot of my passion to create, which to everyone else just looks like I don't feel like doing anything besides reading Facebook articles.

hopefully we'll get a proper house one day but that's years away :/

[autistic-alistair]

April 4: Do you consider your autism to be an important part of your identity?

if I were a teenager still I would 100% answer this with a huge YES...I was proud to be autistic and didn't care who knew.

unfortunately as I got older I realized it was information to be used against me, and I now hide it from nearly everyone. it was held against me by my family and old friends.

even managers at my first job tried to teach me how to wash my hands because they "knew how to work with" my "kind". I was rarely given more than a 3 hour shift as they were convinced I couldn't handle it.

autism now remains one of my biggest secrets and I often spend hours deciding whether I can trust someone enough to tell them...it's difficult to be proud of it/own it anymore

[autistic-alistair]

April 3: Talk about special interests. Do you have any? What are they? How long have you had them? What does it feel like to have special interests? What does having special interests mean to you? Talk about your past special interests

oh gosh uh

elongated pennies/old currency (~2010)

service dogs (2009)

mermaids (2008)

stingrays (2010)

ancient Egypt (2003)

the American Revolution, specifically Thomas Jefferson (2005)

there's quite a few more but these are the main/longest standing

for me, once I have a special interest I will never not have it, I'll just be interested in varying degrees. they're all-consuming at times and my family has always unfortunately discouraged any "excessive" interest by calling it an obsession, making it difficult for me to actually get fully invested in something to this day :/

I continue to live life centered around my spins--I carry a card of Jefferson from the Monticello that I got in 2006 daily, and I own several mermaid tails and do photoshoots and meetups as often as possible.

sadly I try to stay away from having them anymore as they're looked at so negatively by those around me, so it's usually just bits and pieces of past spins

[autistic-alistair]

April 2: Post your red instead selfie today! Alternatively, you could talk about why you choose to go redinstead and what it means to you.

a little less on the red this year unfortunately bUt fuck A$ as usual

[autistic-alistair]

April 1: Introduce yourself. Talk about who you are as a person.

Hi all, my name here is Alistair, but I go by many other names!

I am 22, and was diagnosed when I was 13

I’m engaged (hopefully married by July!) to a super-sweet allistic man

I love dogs so much and hope to train one as a service pupper one day

I’m a mermaid!

some of my longtime special interests include ancient Egypt, the American Revolution, service dogs, dolls, stingrays, cats, Thomas Jefferson, elongated pennies/coin collecting, Pokemon, and many, many more

I love making crafts and recently got into perler beads...send help

anytime I particularly enjoy something it absolutely consumes me oops

those around me have said I’m obsessive but I am actually v passionate to a fault

I love makeup and dressing up but I hate getting up to do it xd

if u reference autism speaks, autism moms, or make jokes about autistic people I will probably hate u

[autistic-alistair]

Me when someone finishes giving me verbal instructions not having processed a single word of it and planning on just carrying on with whatever I was doing before

[autistic-alistair]

"Stop romanticizing autism" No my autism is great and makes me 20% sexier than allistic people

[autistic-alistair]

[autistic-alistair]

[autistic-alistair]

What exactly goes on in the minds of people who expect you to answer every question immediately after they ask it.

[autistic-alistair]

me: *saying "WHAT?" seven times to someone giving me coherent face-to-face verbal directions*

also me: *hears a faint noise and randomly lifts head like a deer* hey did u guys hear that??? wtf how could you not hear it-

[autistic-alistair]

You know what?

I am annoying sometimes.

And that’s okay. It’s not the death sentence I was led to believe. People will love me even if I can’t read their signals sometimes. Not understanding is forgivable. I don’t have to hold myself back so I don’t annoy anyone ever.

The people who love me know I get excited. And I am still loved.

[autistic-alistair]

[autistic-alistair]

ADHD brain during all hours of sunlight: our body will never leave this bed so help me god

ADHD brain at 3 in the morning: if we don’t master the art of ballet Right This Fucking Instant we are going to die