#aac!dream

[simplepotatofarmer]

i created human c!dream in da: i

[dreamdropsystem]

hello + goodbye communication cards we made

[autisticdreamdrop]

understimulated & overstimulated

a communication card for our system

[apassingbird]

i've only been doing my internship for three full days and i've already been given free reign over a part of the kids section and they've told me they want to sub at the library in the future i want to cry

[anna-neko]

ya know what time it is - 2023 review only the GOOD STUFF lets go!

kick-off with fresh NewYears card: yes, literally scramble to do this on last hours of The Year. It is Tradition™

JANUARY Went to a pinball arcade! The people there absolutely luved me & was gifted a thing (pale blue bowtie to match my dress)

MARCH massive ego trip with SakuraWars 3 anniversary: ancient cosplay tweet blowing up. Got so many sweet comments frm strangers ~♥

APRIL AnimeBoston happened. full Scary Marlowe brainrot (DaddyMaster DnDads liked/RTed me a bunch), played cosplay photog, helped with a SakuraWars panel

played with dolls, wore cute outfits (shout-out to lady screaming "love your coord!!" from across the street)

MAY played with dolls some more, saw Beetlejuice musical! and of course moar cute frills wearing

JUNE frills, so much frills. and playing photog a bit again

JULY a week of seeing ALL the frellin musicals (never shutting up about Hadestown yet again)

frills? Ain't no record-high temps keeping me from wearing them!

SCARY MARLOWE COSPLAY SHENANIGANS REACHED NEW HIGHS things were set on fire, climbed 20ft hella high ledge for a goof, shady alleys...

OCTOBER cosplay photog for a day, yeah!

oh whats this? went to Another Anime Con and got to help with a dolls panel! Getting to do panels?? wooow, past me is punching the air in triumph

[awetistix]

Last night I dreamt about vampires and werewolves! Then I dreamt about school assemblies and office buildings.

[nicxxx5]

so i wanna talk about a dream i had.

i had this dream a couple days ago. in this dream i was with people i didn't know. sometimes this happens but my brain also sometimes puts people i do know randomly into my dreams. when it's people i do know they also are sometimes in situations i don't want to experience them being in. like in my dream i might be involved with someone i hate in real life romantically. this wasn't the case for this dream. i didn't know these people but the one i was most involved with had a distinct face.

in this dream i was having sensory overload in a loud and crowded area. i was covering my ears and whining and squeezing my eyes shut really tight. it might have been on its way to a meltdown.

while this was happening the person i was most involved with during the dream noticed and guided me away off the path of moving people to an area i could sit down. i sat down there for a while still covering my ears. there was also a jar full of things there? and i dumped it out and started sorting for things in it which upset another person but the person i was with basically defended me i think.

the thing about this dream that is strange is i went nonverbal. now this is strange because i have never been nonverbal, if anything i'm hyperverbal. i think i was given cards at one point to indicate what i want. then at another point i had a notebook and was writing in it to communicate and that ended up being my preferred method.

the dream then shifted to me being in what i think was some form of a dorm with the person i was with and he went to wash up and then we went to bed and cuddle in a weird way. like i was down by his legs and in a hammock for some reason? but this also confirmed that i had an intimate relationship of some kind with this person. then the dream ended.

the reason i'm talking about this dream is because i'm confused by what it means. during and after the dream i realized i enjoyed being nonverbal? like it was a comfortable feeling. again i've never been nonverbal and i view myself as hyperverbal. so this is what i don't understand. i'm confused as to what this could mean?

i was hoping if any other autistic people could help me figure this out. if anyone else has experiences with dreams like this? because i honestly want to explore what this dream means.

[simplepotatofarmer]

one of my favorite design elements of aac!dream that i don't talk about enough is the fact his eyes are two different colors.

or rather, the saturation of color in his eyes are different. because he's connected to the server and the prison dampened that connection.

but when he's freed and starts to heal, that connection slowly comes back and one of the ways it's noticeable visibly is his eyes being two different saturation levels of green.

[dreamdropsystem]

communication cards is valid communication

art by shane/theo/bug/angel/locket

low tech AACs are dressed as valid as high tech AACs. communication cards, letter boards, paper communication boards, anything like that they're all valid

we are trying to work on being able to have high tech and low tech AAC just in case anything happens like our devices die and we just want to be able to use all forms of communication we feel comfortable with

so we do want to get more communication cards if we work on them ourselves or we buy some or anything like that it's still reasonable and okay

it might take longer to respond you know for us it has took us longer to respond with communication cards so we have to look through it but you just for a high tech AAC you need to look for the buttons as well or type out what you want to say so it's all valid. - the dreamdrop system

[kuyokuyou]

Had a dream I met another person that used AAC at school!

It was really cool!

We talked to each other with our communication devices

I was very happy!

I want to meet someone who uses a communication device in real life!

[autisticdreamdrop]

ask about special interests

a communication card for our system

[anna-neko]

so yes... dolls!

during AAC few days ago got to help out a friend with a bjd/dolls panel! We had plenty of images in the PowerPoint, but sometimes a banana for scale just ain't enuff..... we brought lots of dolls to display as well!

hers were: Isabelle (milk Mirai SmartDoll), Rita (tinyFox) and uhh... obitsu boy something something

yoSD sized original artist doll and teeny tiny redhead cannot even remember the make of right now are hers

Rin minifee and Haru LaTi doll are mine. Plus an assortment of props to show all the accessories one can find out in the wild

Plus of course Utena & Anthy (Ohtori uniform made by a long-time cosplay friend), and Mari (Umineko Maria)

..................and you'd think people would know NOT to touch, but literally the first dude in the room brushed Haru's face with his hands

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

ok i need. need. NEED. you all to understand what high support needs autism actually is. not just higher support, but highhhh (high) support.

& honestly me, am not even fit to talk about this!! but knowing popular (often low support) autism content creators & authors tokenize me & include me in justification “well i listen to high support needs people and they need—”

high support needs not just need remind take meds, not even need remind eat, need remind shower. if you think “high support needs” & those struggles come first in mind & see those as most represent of HSN, most classical way of be HSN, then you wrong. you wronggg.

many HSN autistic, not even “advanced” enough (for not have better word) to able use reminders. on average day often need physical help. for a lot, need complete physical help. need complete physical help hold spoon n fork, or not able be a part at all and need other people do it. need be told open mouth chew swallow sometimes. need other people clean up drool & spill from mouth & mess.

they have worth. deserve all the fucking help they need.

“difference between low & high support is not actual amount struggle because all struggle inside same but that high support show more external outside struggle & those struggle more annoying for people around them” hear this so often and make blood boil because cannot be farther from truth yet some you all so loudly proclaim.

then tell me why only hear LSN say this. why only hear LSN on internet. why all big content creator big authors big autistic speakers all LSN.

tell me how someone nonverbal and no robust communication no functional language struggle even nonverbally communicate not even AAC not yet or not ever ever, how that same inside as someone who able speak who speak fluent who able communicate want needs dreams have conversation with words

both struggle. but not fucking same struggle.

many people in between. but you not get use people like them like me to give self shiny credential of “i know high support needs because i listen”

don’t use me. you embarrass me.

[autball]

We. Can. Hear. You.

It’s AAC Awareness Month! AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) is more than just high tech devices like the one depicted here. It includes picture books/cards, sign language, writing it down, Spelling to Communicate - basically anything that conveys a message that is not speech. 

And anyone can use it! If you are non-speaking, unreliably speaking, not-yet speaking, or just find words hard sometimes, then AAC is for you. There is no “non-speaking enough” threshold you have to meet - if it makes your life easier, go ahead and use it.

AAC is empowering. People routinely talk about autistic kids and adults like they’re not even in the room, even when they CAN speak. (Which, if you’re someone who does this, STOP IT RIGHT NOW.) This parent could have assured this asshole professional person that her son could understand til they were blue in the face, and they wouldn’t have been believed if he hadn’t been able to communicate it for himself. 

Communication is a right. Don’t let anyone try to discourage AAC on the basis of it hindering speech or “being the easy way out” or whatever other nonsense they come up with. AAC *enhances* communication, and everyone deserves the ability to communicate their needs, tell you their thoughts and feelings, share their hopes and dreams, and tell people to fuck off when needed. 😉

(Image description in Alt Text.)

[kittnpaw]

i hope all disabled members of the agere community are having a great disability pride month!

this includes:

all physically and/or intellectually disabled / impaired age regressors, pet regressors, flips, caregivers, age dreamers, and pet dreamers

regressors who are non-verbal, lose speech, or otherwise experience difficulty with verbal communication

regressors who use mobility aids (canes, wheelchairs, crutches, braces, etc.)

regressors who use communication aids (AAC devices, communication cards, signs, etc.)

regressors who use other accessibility aids (eye tracking, screen readers, etc.)

incontinent regressors and regressors who use diapers / pull-ups to cope with other aspects of their disability

regressors who struggle with defining a regression age range because of their disability

regressors who regress because of their disability, or feel as though their regression is heavily impacted by their disability

regressors who are proud of their disability or find joy in being disabled

regressors who feel ashamed of their disability or have struggled to accept it

regressors who have difficulty playing or doing high-energy activities, whether it be due to mobility, fatigue, or self-consciousness / anxiety

regressors who feel like they don't fit in with very stereotypical representations of agere because of their disability

pet regressors who's connection to a certain animal is because of / linked to their disability

age dreamers who age dream because their disability prevents them from regressing, or if dreaming makes them feel more comfortable

caregivers who worry they're not able to care for regressors properly due to chronic pain / fatigue (you're doing great btw)

feel free to add on! /ᐠ 𒒬 ﻌ ^ マ☆

[uncanny-tranny]

I dream of a future where all forms of AAC give people the option to swear, to talk about "gross" things, and to have as full a range of vocabulary and topics as the users want. It is no exaggeration to say that limiting a user's ability to speak on certain topics because they cannot access the speech through their AAC is silencing.