samaeloliver-blog

[samaeloliver-blog]

someone: hey how are you

me: moderate to severe

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I love gapeface. I’ve been embracing my gapeface because of this. 

hey Amythest, you've mentioned gape face before, and i understand what you're talking about, but do you maybe know where I could find an image of this? google images has been unhelpful..

Hmm. I’m going to use images of actors portraying characters- so it’s not necessarily, like, real gapeface. But these are still decent examples and this way I can avoid offending or hurting anyone who doesn’t like the term or isn’t comfy with it being pointed out.

First, we have the amazing River Tam from Firefly. @stimmyabby​ agrees with me on this one. River is queen of gape face.

[image description: A series of stills from the television show Firefly, featuring the character River Tam demonstrating “gapeface”]

And then we have the fantastic Gary Bell from Alphas, who is a canonically autistic character.

[image description: A series of stills from the television show Alphas, featuring the character Gary Bell demonstrating “gapeface”]

Wow, I sure love my neurodivergent characters. I hope this was helpful!

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Thanks!! So far I'm noticing a weird dissociative / zombie ish feeling but it's only my second dose, and it doesn't feel BAD, just weird?? Good luck with the luvox tho!! It's supposed to be really good for OCD symptoms, i was disappointed it didn't work out.

Started Luvox (fluvoxamine) last night. And I’ve just been very tired today, but that could also be because I did a lot of things yesterday. What’s harder is that I took a percocet because I’m still having pain from my IUD, and I’m pretty sure Luvox interacts in a way that increases my serum levels of oxycodone (but it’s a low dose of percocet, so it’s still safe). So I’m really blurry feeling.

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I tried Luvox actually just a week or two ago, I only took 4 nightly 25mg doses before I had to give up on it because it made me so tired that I basically only slept and didn’t eat for four days. Now I’m starting a ridic low dose (12.5mg) of effexor to see if that does any better. 

Started Luvox (fluvoxamine) last night. And I’ve just been very tired today, but that could also be because I did a lot of things yesterday. What’s harder is that I took a percocet because I’m still having pain from my IUD, and I’m pretty sure Luvox interacts in a way that increases my serum levels of oxycodone (but it’s a low dose of percocet, so it’s still safe). So I’m really blurry feeling.

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“I don’t think it’s an accident that three of the writers who have foregrounded the humanity of people with autism rather than focusing exclusively on pathology — Oliver Sacks, Andrew Solomon and me — are or were gay,” Silberman says. “Like autistic people, our way of being was classified as a mental illness for decades. Both gay people and autistic people have been subjected to brutal forms of “treatment” by the psychiatric establishment, such as aversive therapy, that are akin to torture. Mothers were cruelly blamed for the genesis of both conditions in their children for most of the 20th century. Both groups know well what it feels like to be bullied, marginalized, caricatured in the media, and erased from history.”

[Trigger warning for fire and physical abuse and homophobia and the invisibilizing of all the other queer communities that have been subjected to conversion therapies, at the link]

….

“One interesting phenomenon that is still relatively unexplored by science,” says Silberman, “is the huge number of autistic young people who identify as sexually fluid, non-binary gendered, asexual, polyamorous or some other non-standard identity. Is it biological? Is it because autistic people are somewhat ‘immune’ to socialization?”

[samaeloliver-blog]

Stimming!

What is stimming?

In it’s most simple form, stimming is a repetitive body movement that self-stimulates one or more senses in a regulated manner.

What types of stims are there?

Visual Stims

Flapping hands, blinking and/or moving fingers in front of eyes, staring repetitively at a light, pressing on closed eyes to create visual effect [pressure phosphene], …

Auditory Stims

Snapping fingers, tapping on objects, listening to the same song on a loop, rolling Rs, “cat noises”, repeating words, putting hands over ears, singing, clicking tongue, humming…

Tactile Stims

Scratching, rubbing the skin with one’s hands or with an external object, pinching the skin, putting thumb inside fist, sucking thumb, rubbing hands/feet together, petting preferred textures, tying knots/twirling string, twirling/stroking hair…

Vestibular Stims

Moving body in rhythmic motion, rocking front and back or side-to-side), spinning, pacing, walking in circles, walking on tip-toes, jumping up and down…

Taste Stims

Licking body parts, licking an object…

Smell Stims

Smelling objects or hands, smelling other people…

Rhythmic Stims

Tapping on surfaces/objects/self, clicking fingers, making repetitive vocal sounds, bouncing legs, foot tapping, hand flapping, clicking pens, …

There are a lot of other stims as well that don’t necessarily fall under the category of “repetitive” such as pressure stimming, which are still just as valid. Basically if what you do serves the purpose of the stim, you can call it a stim.

Why do people stim?

People stim for all different kinds of reasons. They may stim when they are happy or excited, when they are stressed, as a part of their normal body language, as a way of communication, as a punishment, as a response to something internal or external, as a compulsion, to focus, to self soothe, etc. Stimming can be a coping mechanism, but it can also be so much more! No matter what reason someone has for stimming though, it’s important to remember that all stims are natural and normal.

Who stims?

Anyone that find stimming useful, whether consciously or subconsciously, can stim. That includes neurotypicals, but mainly stimming is seen as something that neurodivergent people do and it occurs most frequently in:

autism spectrum

Tourette’s

schizophrenia

OCD

people that experience mania/hypomania

people with ADHD/ADD

etc

Where can I find stim toys/jewelry?

Stimtastic

TherapyShoppe

AutismShop

SensoryUniversity

OfficePlayground

RuthDoodlle

[samaeloliver-blog]

Containment Box Advice

Hey friends, I need some witchy advice on making a containment box. I wanted to send this to someone’s ask box but I don’t know anyone in particular who gives out advice, so I’m sending this out to the hive mind. (if you know of someone I should ask, or a good how-to post, please let me know!! Or if you have a bit of advice yourself, I would love to hear it).

I need to contain a couple of rings that my mother gave me.

She’s a narcissist and has abused and neglected me and my siblings our entire lives. The first ring, she gave to me when I was 12, and I wore it every single day (only taking it off to shower or cook something messy like dough) until I was 22, so it has obviously got powerful amounts of energy attached to it. The other one she gave me much more recently, but it seems like that one attached itself to the other one very quickly energy-wise. My mom is a bit psychic and it always seemed like wearing the rings gave her a psychic connection to me, something I do not welcome. Whenever she saw I wasn’t wearing one, she would become clearly upset, and I would have to placate her and put them back on, even though I only took them off to shower + cook. Our relationship reached its biggest low within the last 2 months when she kicked me out of my home. Quite suddenly, I found myself unable to wear the rings. They feel toxic. When I put them on, I can literally feel them POISONING my energy. I haven’t worn them in at least a month but it still feels like the energy around my left hand and arm is damaged. I was always uncomfortable taking them off because I was so used to feeling them on my fingers and it felt weird physically to have them off, but now I prefer dealing with that to wearing them because they feel so toxic. I’m afraid that through all of her hatred, bitterness, contempt, etc, plus her psychic connection, she might have cursed them.

I need to build a box to keep them contained. I have no experience with curses or building containment boxes. I have a small wooden box I want to use, given to me by one of my mother’s friends that I disliked. I’m willing to paint it, melt wax on it, draw sigils on it, do whatever I need to keep that shit contained and out of my life forever.

HELP! And thanks, everyone.

?

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Omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg omg

I had to take it out of my head after I saw hazurasinner’s Steven and Connie (and Rosie) drawings, the thoughts of Steven and Connie’s wedding filled my head like crazy :V  I was thinking about her dress. This one is inspired in Rose’s dress (a homage to her probably?) but, since Connie and her parents are somewhere from India, should she use a more traditional one? or could I do a mixture? I’m still thinking about it;;;

And sorry about Steven’s awkward pose and…the lack of proper hands, I was rushing |D (next time I’ll draw them better I promise) 

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omg YOU ARE SO CUTE I DIE

EXTREME JAMMING

I was having a lot of fun playing some tunes last night and heres part of the extended su theme!!

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sugarpunkprince & padfoot I forget your url

I made a thing

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Start using support levels instead of functioning labels!

For the uninformed, functioning labels are terms like high functioning autism, low functioning autism, mild autism, severe autism. Other words like moderate or level 1, level 2, etc may be used too.

Functioning labels are extremely offensive because they’re placed on autistic people based on observation from the outside. This is problematic for three reasons.

Functioning labels determine how autistic people are treated. People associate “low functioning/severe” with incompetence or infancy and they end up treating the autistic person like a pet or a baby. High functioning/mild gets stereotyped as people who are just a little quirky and their difficulties get ignored as laziness or intentional stubbornness.

Functioning labels imply brokenness and treat people as if their intrinsic value is determined by what they contribute to society rather than the fact that they are a living being with oxygen in their lungs and blood in their veins like everybody else.

Functioning labels create a dichotomy as if there are differing “levels” of autism or that people exist on different areas of the spectrum. NO, NO, NO, that’s not how it is.

Think of spectroscopy and how the elements create their own signature color lines. Now put peoples’ names in place of the elements: Hydrogen/Harold, Helium/Henry, Lithium/Luke, Oxygen/Olga, Carbon/Carol, Nitrogen/Nadine.

Autism is like that. We’re all on the same spectrum and all that is unique is how we display our symptoms, our sensory issues, our splinter abilities and so forth.

In light of that, I want to change the language. Let’s start pushing for support levels instead of functioning labels.

High support: Anyone who isn’t able to live independently and needs help with some or all of their basic daily living skills such as eating, bathing, basic grooming, putting on makeup, getting dressed and completing tasks. Can be abbreviated online or in writing as HSP for High Support Person or HSAP for High Support Autistic Person.

Usage in speech: Clarissa is a high support autistic person and needs assistance with getting dressed and taking a shower. Abbreviated usage online: I’m a HSAP and I’m really into physics, so the poor sucker who signs me on is gonna hear a lot about it when they hand me my iPad! 

Medium support: Anyone may or may not live independently and doesn’t need help with basic living skills, but needs help with other things like cooking, completing some tasks, transportation if unable to drive and assistance for things like grocery shopping. Can be abbreviated online or in writing as MSP for Medium Support Person or MSAP for Medium Support Autistic Person.

Usage in speech: Kevin is a medium support autistic person and needs some assistance to prepare meals and shop for the wood he uses for his carpentry projects. His boyfriend, Max, usually helps him with those. Usage online: I’m a MSAP and I’m looking for info about saws. Any fellow auties know what’s best for cutting oak? 

Low support: Anyone who more often than not lives independently and may only need assistance with minor things like balancing a checkbook, getting started on some tasks like organizing a garage sale or arranging to move from one house to another. Can be abbreviated online or in writing as LSP for Low Support Person or LSAP for Low Support Autistic Person.

Usage in speech: Jesse is a low support autistic person and she only needs help keeping her checkbook balanced. Usage online: I’m a LSAP and I’m thinking about moving to Seattle. What’s the weather and traffic like there? 

Reasons support levels are better:

They don’t make assumptions about intelligence

They don’t encourage infantilization or pity

They sound more respectful and dignified

Ditch functioning labels and start using support levels. These terms can apply to practically every kind of disability, not just autism.

For the record, I’m a MSAP.

Please reblog this whether you’re disabled or not. Make this viral.

[samaeloliver-blog]

As long as it's my friends I actually really like making fun of my aphasia lol but you should definitely not do it unless you get confirmation from the person that it's okay

Don't laugh at my uh... uh.... aphasia

Chronic pain sufferers often have anomic aphasia - times when they can’t remember certain words or use the wrong word while speaking.

I have this, and it’s damn frustrating.

I can express myself perfectly in writing, but ask me where my car is and I might say it’s in the kitchen (instead of the garage).

That’s funny, right? “Ha ha, you said you parked the car in the kitchen! Ha ha ha!”

Sure it sounds funny. But to me, it’s not humorous. I feel stupid and frustrated and angry that my fucked-up brain misplaces common, everyday words. So please don’t laugh or make fun of me when it happens. Just be patient with me.

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Steven Universe Gem patches available at Quietest Coyote starting today!! Inspired by Steven bomb of course (x $4 each, or 3/$10 OR 5/$12.50!! https://www.etsy.com/listing/240851911/steven-universe-3-small-gem-patches-for

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YOU GUYS I MADE THIS HUGE BEAUTIFUL PATCH JUST IN TIME FOR THE PERFECT GAY SPACE ROCKS EPISODE It’s $17, I’m selling it at a discount (normally it would be $25) because of the lettering error at the top (I tried to paint over some bad lettering and it showed through a little). It also comes with a 25% off coupon for anything in my store that isn’t reserved (only 1 thing is). The lettering problem isn’t even super visible AND YOU GUYS LESBIAN SPACE ROCKS. it’s a huge, super high quality back patch and I promise you’ll get compliments from all your friends.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/240528378/steven-universe-garnet-sapphire-ruby

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I've never heard this argument before but I like it.

"Disorder" is an ableist slur.

Having a disorder literally means that something is not working properly. Applying the concept to neurotypes is rooted in the pathology paradigm and reinforces the idea that there is one “proper” way for a person to function. For the sake of neurodiversity, we need to eliminate the use of “disorder” in this context.

To keep the initialisms that people already know, let’s try calling things “dynamics” instead.

OCD: Obsessive-Compulsive Dynamic

GID: Gender Identity Dynamic

DID: Dissociative Identity Dynamic

ASD: Autism Spectrum Dynamic

ADD: Attentive Difference Dynamic

[samaeloliver-blog]

So who else was cry laughing with relief at Ruby and Sapphire's makeup

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Omg steveeeeeennnnnn I love it so much when people draw older femme Steven esp with enormous hair

gems in dresses