#askingautistics

[neurodivergentrebel]

Two Microphones - I Invented the #AskingAutistics Tag. Here's why:

Two Microphones - I Invented the #AskingAutistics Tag. Here's why: We needed a tag that would allow our allies and those who were still unsure of their Autistic Identities to chime in and ask questions.

Yesterday, I spoke about the recent history of the #ActuallyAutistic tag and what that tag meant to me as a late-diagnosed Autistic person eight years ago (when there wasn’t a wealth of Autistic Bloggers and educators online yet). I also spoke about how self-identified Autistic People were always included within the #ActuallyAutistic community because some people were unsure about that. If you…

[autisticflapper]

Please share your thoughts if you have any.

[a-chilleus]

ok my brain is doing something unexpected and i want to know why

i know a bit about the pda profile of autism. i don't think i've ever shown signs of it before. i have recently begun to find it extremely difficult, sometimes impossible, to do tasks on my to do list specifically if they are on my to do list. is that related to pda? is that something else?

i do have some executive functioning issues, but they have other cases afaik - depression, exhaustion, and also sensory issues make me not want to move from the one comfy-ish spot i've found.

[spongebob-autisticquestions]

#AskingAutistics, what do you do to calm down when everything around you feels too overwhelming?

[in-sufficientdata]

#AskingAutistics, particularly those who know or suspect their parents are autistic as well, what is something from your from your family culture that ended up causing culture shock as you grew older and began interacting with the dominant culture?

Just to make sure we're all on the same page we're talking about this, I found this list of elements of family culture by googling:

Here are a few of mine:

Once your discuss a plan with someone or invite them to an event, the plans are written in stone. This results in you treating other people's plans the same way. This results in you showing up for 'plans' that were actually idle chatter, causing them to be confused and put out. Conversely, it also causes other people to treat your concrete plans as if it had been idle chatter, causing you to prepare for an event - such as a birthday party - that ends up being a waste of time, money, and effort because nobody shows up. I did not even learn about the existence of RSVPs until I was 18 after buying some magazines about wedding planning. And even knowing about them, this continued to happen to me until I was around 30.

You compensate for your time blindness by getting ready and leaving very early, therefore arriving anywhere from 15-60 minutes early. Because doing this is normal to you, you really don't notice or realize doing this is considered just as rude (or ruder) than being late.

You treat giving or granting permission to do something as being blanket permission for doing that thing from that point forward. This caused me a *lot* of trouble in school. I would get in trouble for "too literal" or for "taking advantage". Yet no one ever really explained to me why this was getting me in trouble, so it happened multiple times, all the way up to graduation.

Being overly truthful. Leaving any minor details out of a story is thought of as a lie of omission. This leads to over-explaining the circumstances around an event or your thought process about something, which, in turn, leads people to get confused about what your point is and/or assume you're lying.

Valuing and enjoying intellectual conversation. In the dominant culture you're assumed to be talking about something you know about to show off your intelligence. This leads to people accusing you of being a "know-it-all", of thinking yourself superior to them, or of trying to make them look ignorant.

That's all I can think of for now but I'm sure responses will make me think of others.

[squirrelbee]

#AskingAutistics for some fiction recommendations with autistic characters (preferably main characters), anything from youth literature to young adult, thanks in advance!

[vivianseda]

Thank you @neuroclastic

A NeuroInclusive story for parents:

People always ask the wrong questions about their autistic children. That's not their fault. They don't know which questions to ask.

This is the story of two autistic little girls who both had wonderful parents.

People always ask, “If not ABA therapy, then what?”

That's an impossible question to answer because the answer is different for every child. It's hard to explain when parents are convinced that early diagnosis is critical because early interventions are critical.

Yes, they are. For the parents.

Parents need an intervention when their children are diagnosed, and not because they are bad parents. They're usually wonderful parents.

They need an intervention because they are misinformed and their instincts may fail them. They may become so wrapped up in remediating what their children can't do that they accidentally teach their kids that they're broken.

This story of two autistic little girls is based on two real autistic children who had wonderful parents.

What do you think is Callie's future?

What do you think is Keisha's future?

What parent showed awareness?

What parent showed acceptance?

#AskingAutistics Which parenting style is more like your childhood, and how did that impact you?

Parents of #autistic or otherwise #NeuroDivergent children: which parenting style is more like yours?

What does this illustrate for you?

Make sure you save this post and read the community conversations. You will learn a lot from parents and from teen and adult autistics.

[anumberofhobbies]

Autism & Pets

Dec 8, 2021  #ActuallyAutistic #EngageAutism #AskingAutistics There's something about the bond many autistic people have with our pets that few non-autistic people appreciate.

[theblackautist]

#AskingAutistics: is it normal to shed tears during a #workout, even when you’re not in pain and everything is good emotionally? #BlackAutisticJoy #Autizzy #OneWorkoutAtATime

SN: my workout only lasted 7 min but this is the first time I’ve been to a UIC gym in 4 years, and any gym in months

[ramyeongif]

#AskingAutistics What's one sensory sensitivity that you have that you feel like not enough other people mention or talk about?

Subscribe for more writing prompts/ questions?

[neurodivergentrebel]

The "I do that... and I'm not Autistic" or "everyone does that" to "I just found out I'm Autistic" Pipeline

#ActuallyAutistic #AskingAutistics: have you ever heard anyone say, "I do that (or everyone does that)... and I'm not Autistic"? Now… how many of those people later went on to discover that they are Autistic (or do you suspect themselves are Autistic)?

#ActuallyAutistic #AskingAutistics: have you ever heard anyone say, “I do that (or everyone does that)… and I’m not Autistic”? Now… how many of those people later went on to discover that they are Autistic (or do you suspect themselves are Autistic and just don’t know it)? I’m not afraid to admit that I’ve been this person (though, luckily, I kept my thoughts to myself and didn’t speak them out…

[most-definitively-a-human]

Question. Is this medium support needs

Feel alienated from lots of online autistic creators. Focus on social struggle and work and masking. Personally talk to people online without masking much, don't work because I can't, seem to make friends easily but don't understand social cues (I just operate on the assumption that people are well intentioned and also that everyone is an individual so what is most kind and respectful to them varies so listen to them and get to know them well and this seems to have worked very well?)

Just. Have issues I have not seen people talk about. Understand why since it is difficult to articulate if you have a brain similar to mine so that is why I don't see things I relate to that often.

Examples: if I get stressed and can't do a hobby for a while, hobby often gets stressful. I haven't watched anything on TV for a month so now I am panicked at the idea of finishing watching Arcane. No longer relaxing. Have to put in effort to keep fun things fun.

Other example: am sound sensitive to the point where the sound of my breathing can distress me so I wear noise cancelling headphones inside of my flat which is usually on the quiet side because I need to.

Other: bad sounds cause me to freeze and I cannot move voluntarily if they last long enough. I wanted to go the park to escape construction work but I couldn't change clothes and just lay on the floor in a weird position.

Other: obvious concepts just do not appear to me. I have a bad memory so can't give obvious examples. I schedule delivery and it needs to be fifty pounds to avoid surcharge. This means I run out of fresh stuff before I run out of food. For years I just ran out of food and my solution was buy frozen veg to have fresh-ish things and never once did I think about going to a nearby store as a feasible option even when I was aware it existed. Things can exist but I do not really understand or take note of them.

Most of the time it feels like I'm just borrowing concepts from when I was coherent and doing my best with a mind that doesn't understand what it understood an hour ago. Very frustrating.

Really hope I can finish my book with Asran in it. (Semiverbal and autistic, some experiences similar, nice to have a protagonist not completely alien and always a challenge to write like the others.) Hopefully would make people feel less alone in the world.

Just. Thoughts individually coherent but no connection no flow and even then often chaotic and not individually coherent? Annoyed.

Does this sound like medium support needs? Seem to relate to medium support needs people most but don't want to use a term before I'm sure it's accurate.

Usually don't share thoughts when like this which is most of the time. Usually only talk when coherent. Or just share short snippets/scripts.

If you read this far thank you for reading hope you have a wonderful day. The wonderful day wishes also apply to you even if you did not read all of it as it is rather a lot.

Too tired to edit. Love you have a great day

[johnnyprofane1]

Every so often... I gotta jog your elbow...

Do you enjoy #AutisticAF? Do you want to support an #ActuallyAutistic elder who creates content for free? Johnny in burnout. Personal photo. If so, please consider leaving a tip at https://ko-fi.com/autisticaf. Every little bit helps me keep sharing my #AutisticJoy with you. Thank you! 🙏 Like Buddha I’m a Beg-a-tarian holding out my bowl… #AutisticAdults #ADHD #AskingAutistics…

[belphieslilcow]

do any other autistics know how to recognize a meltown/shutdown when you don't display any like outward symptoms?