#Neurodiversity

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Autistic Callum

[sakura-nguyen]

Please help me. My name is Shirley. I am autistic and disabled. I ran away from my abusive parents a few years ago. I’ve been moving from place to place. A couple of months ago I was able to find my own apartment. Things went downhill when I was fired from my job. It has been very difficult for me to find employment due to mental health issues. I have been transferring money out of my credit card to my debit card in order to pay my rent. I also have to pay interest. My credit card is about to be maxed out and I could get evicted. I don’t think I could survive out in the streets.

Please donate or reblog if you are not able to donate but would like to help. It would mean a lot to me if you could donate or share the link to my GoFundMe. Thank you so much

https://gofund.me/a6fcefdc

[powerrangersystem]

PSA: If you are one of the few autistic people who work in an office (this would probably help ADHD people too), get yourself one of these in addition to your office chair. It is amazing for stimming at the desk while I'm doing work and it is socially acceptable at most workplaces.

[im-fckn-threaded]

Hey fellow freaks of tumblr,

at the ripe old age 35 I'm beginning to suspect I might have ADHD. Actually I've been carrying around that thought for some years now. There's currently noone in my life I can talk to about this. My partner refuses to believe me and stresses that I'm totally normal and like everyone else (I'm beginning to suspect he's got ADHD too and just thinks his experiences are the norm). But I don't see other people struggle with the same things I struggle with. I'm trying to get a doctor's appointment at the moment, which isn't easy.

What brought me to this point is the fact, that I'm pretty sure I have rejection sensitive dysphoria along with some other symptoms that make my life a living nightmare. Especially work, where I have little control over the environment.

Can the ADHD-side of tumblr maybe give me some tips on how to deal with RSD? It's going to take a pretty long time to get an appointment for diagnosis, so I thought I might try out some things in the meantime (it can't hurt, right? I mean, my hair dresser, who has ADHD and takes Ritalin for it, offered me her pills and I was very tempted. But maybe it's a bit of a smoother start to try some behavioral things first).

[the-forest-library]

McClure pointed out that even if adults with ADHD seem to be excelling, they are the ones who actually struggle the most.

“ADHD girls are at such high risk of behavior like perfectionism, silencing themselves, and masking behaviors in order to fit in and succeed in this neurotypical world with relentless demands and expectations of them to feel like they belong,” she said.

Perfectionism is one way that women with anxiety and ADHD attempt to control their environment since they feel so out of control most of the time.

[drowninkystar]

idk who needs to hear this but many high masking autistics don't want to be told they're good at masking or "no one can tell ur autistic" as a compliment bc it reinforces the need to mask in order to be accepted socially (of course there are exceptions to this and not all autistics will agree)

growing up i was told so many times "u do a great job at appearing 'normal'" and let me tell u that made me feel incredibly insecure of unmasking in public (i have also been told "ur autism is showing" as a way for someone to tell me that i should 'put the mask back on', which is also very hurtful)

to this day im scared that ppl will not like me if im more "visibly autistic" so i oftentimes mask more than i'd like (which leads to difficulty forming real connections as well as burn out and anxiety)

(it's also ableist to say that not seeming autistic is a good thing bc that implies that autism is an insult or something to be ashamed of)

[autismcultureis]

Autism culture is when you have to mentally prepare for (or are uncomfy with the thought of) a day you know isn't going to follow your usual routine coming soon.

.

[foxless]

neurotypicals will be the most overwhelming people ever & then be surprised when i get overwhelmed

[chaosvanquished]

Difficult question time for aspec people and people who struggle with intimacy

-

Pick the one that troubles you the most.

"But ace people can have sex !/ Aro people can be in relationships !" I know but there was not enough space to specify 'repulsed' or 'people who do struggle with relationships of any type'.

I didn't add "I'm worried people won't accept me" or something similar because I'm asking about problems you have with yourself.

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Seriously I have a love/hate relationship with showers…

Funny ADHD ASD Memes

[froggyfroo-art]

An ode to autistic people who don't display emotions the way society expects. Happy Autism Acceptance Month!

[leidensygdom]

Ok, I'm gonna start a post idea I had been pondering. If you're either mentally or physically disabled and you have opinions about representation, this is the thread for you!

So, I've been seeing more people trying to tackle the topic of autism in their stories, but I've felt some of it tries to woobify a bit what is to live with autism, or just focus on the more socially acceptable quirks of it. And as someone with autism/ADHD (was suspected of it for most of my life, got it finally diagnosed by my therapist (who specializes in autism and ADHD) last year), sometimes I'd like for people to acknowledge the more unsavoury parts of it, the weird quirks, etc.

So, this post is going to be about that- If you wanna help people understand how your disability/neurodivergency affects your life, feel free to add to it! Just mention what do you have (no need for a full list, just what you consider relevant to the post) and some experiences, quirks, anecdotes or such that you think that are not often seen in stories or media, and that you consider an important part of it. They don't need to be huge things! I encourage people to share just whatever they feel comfortable. My list is gonna be a mix of stuff, but yours can be very different. Let me start!

Clothes and how they feel was surprisingly one of the most disruptive parts of my autism. As a kid, if I was forced to wear something that caused me some bad texture/sensitivity issues, it would significantly affect my behaviour and performance. It took me many years to be allowed to use mostly sportswear. (And it turns out being a "girl" (not anymore) wearing only sportswear tends to cause a whole lot of bullying)

This happens even nowadays. I've found out that non-heeled boots are more comfortable to me than sport shoes, because feeling something against the back of my foot makes me feel overwhelmed. I tend to wear yoga pants under actual pants, because they keep the actual pants' seams from causing sensory issues. There's almost a sort of ritual on how do I need to combine clothes to be able to function "normally", mostly consisting on reducing how much they annoy me.

On that topic, hygiene is actually a huge thing too. As a kid, I wasn't allowed to shower daily. Days I didn't shower, no matter how much I tried to keep my hygiene in other days, were "bad days" to me. I would literally plan hanging out with friends or eating out around the days I was allowed to shower. I could physically feel the difference between the day I showered and the day I didn't (even if I washed my face, armpits, used the bidet, etc).

This is true even nowadays. I can thankfully now shower daily, which isn't recommended by a lot of experts (specially because it can damage your hair and skin), but it's more worth to me than having days where I feel like I shouldn't be seen in public.

Being overwhelmed sucks! Meltdowns are mostly associated with kids, mostly because adults either learn to mask them, or do everything they can to AVOID having that meltdown. I've mostly figured out routines and such. There's this one place we go eat out every other Tuesday- And in the hours we go in, there's a sort of silent corner that is always free. This week's schedule was a mess, so we went yesterday to that same place, and the silent corner was filled with a very loud group. I got extremely overwhelmed. But enough masking drilled to me means I just sat there unable to talk for maybe 30 minutes.

Autistic adults still do have autism and experience often the full spread of traits, they've just found ways to mask, or avoid being in situations where they do need to do that. I've adapted my life and routine to that. But sometimes I land on situations out of my comfort zone that will make me feel just like when I was a kid. I want to freelance online because I'm fully aware I can't perform properly in a public facing job.

Group projects sucked so much. I know they suck for most people, but most times it was easier for me to do the entirety of the project by myself and add the others' names to it than dealing with chasing people for their parts. My college had a 6-months-long massive group project in the last year, with a 7 people group, which obviously I couldn't do alone. The whole experience was so harmful in so many ways I've had several full therapy sessions talking about it :'')

One of the reasons it's because mental flexibility is HARD with autism. If i set a schedule, I expect that schedule to be followed. If people agree to do a part, I expect that part to be delivered (unless there's a proper reason) on due time. People hate this a lot usually! It will tear group projects apart!

Stimming can be harmless, or it can be very annoying to some. I tend to shake legs and play with something in my hands. I could easy this off drawing in classes- My high school found out that I was paying more attention when I was allowed to draw in classes, and my academic performance was pretty much perfect, so they gave me permission to do that.

However, I had a teacher in middle school that did forbid me from drawing. I stimmed during a class with pens- She got so mad she sent me home with a note to my parents they had to sign. Fun!

Not exactly an anecdote, but I am ace. I hate the discourse about "making an autistic person be aro or ace is infantilizing autism". Aro/ace people can have autism. That's just how it is. I've been infantilized a lot for being ace- Which only got worse because I am autistic, and people perceived some of my special interests as child-ish. The combo didn't make things easy.

On that topic, people will often be very patronizing of your opinions or takes for being autistic. I've had people debate my sexuality (or lack of thereof), my gender identity and presentation, my hobbies, my preferences for everything, down to "what do you want to eat tonight?". This isn't too different to shitty takes about how "autistic people are more prone to being affected by the trans activistsTM", because people assume autistic people can't choose on their own. Trust me: We can.

Anyhow, I'd love if this post could be a good compilation of these sort of anecdotes! I think it could help people who wanna learn more about what is it to live with specific disabilities (and how to better portray them in media)

[bedrotterthinner]

⚠️Asking BPD people for tips ⚠️

So I used to have a favorite person that I loved and obsessed over and he hurt me very badly. Not just him but several friends of his also partaking in hurting me. Of course one day he up and disappeared and I never got closure for all these complicated feelings.

I’m begging y’all. What do y’all do when you’re “relapsing” into old thought patterns about your ex FP? I’m dealing with anger, flashes of grief, self hatred, confusion, my mind going “WHY did he do that?” Helplessness etc. I need some advice or positive habits to help with this. Please. I’ve been dealing with this since 2020 and it’s starting to happen at least once a day.

I really hope this post wasn’t for nothing. It was hard just to put these thoughts into words on a screen.

[t1oui]

autistic james fleamont potter headcanons

high masking

worries a lot about being "too much" for people

likes being outside to calm himself down, especially when he's getting overwhelmed

deeply empathetic, especially with people he knows well, but unsure how to comfort people even if he was the one to ask them if they're okay

uncomfortable if he's not in constant motion but scared to stim around people he doesn't know well (for years the only people he's comfortable enough around other than his parents are the other marauders + lily)

has a pile of fluffy blankets he brought from home on his bed because the soft texture calms him down. he likes being wrapped up in it

his special interest is marine biology

after he becomes friends with regulus & the skittles he often sits in their common room to look out the windows into the black lake (he becomes friends with the selkies)

for his birthday in his second year, lily gave james a pair of muggle noise cancelling headphones because she noticed he got overwhelmed in loud places sometimes. this is when he becomes more comfortable not masking around her

gets told "you don't look/act autistic" a lot when he tells people. he laughs it off but it always feels like a punch to the gut

the only people allowed to touch him when he's overwhelmed are mary and lily, they just run their fingers through his hair (which helps ground him)

sometimes has trouble telling if people are joking and takes them seriously, which has caused him to be teased on multiple occasions

hates when people stand up for him after he's teased (he'd rather stand up for himself) but never says so because he's scared of seeming ungrateful (mary knows anyway)

his favorite feeling is curling up with regulus and a fluffy blanket after he's tired himself out talking about his special interest <3 (regulus thinks it's adorable)

90% of his shirts have sea creatures on them. one of his favorites is a shirt with a turtle on it that peter gave him for his 16th birthday

his favorite animals are sea turtles and octopi, he would love my octopus teacher

if i have more i'll add them later :)

[bisexualseraphim]

ADHD at night: I could write a book. I could get my Master’s Degree. I could go to the club and come home with 12 new friends. I could get a job at that club and meet the mother of my children. I could cure every disease and use my wealth to bring world peace.

ADHD during the day: Fold laundry too hard :( Come back next week

[dikdikpronouncedxylophone]

The most terrifying part of having memory issues is when you can feel something from 5 seconds ago be thrown out the window and there's an empty hole where it once was. You remember that you forgot something.