#autistic spectrum disorder

[sophieinwonderland]

An Autism culture blog is spreading misinformation about endogenic systems...

The misinformation:

Naturally, all of this is wrong.

The only true statement here is "you could probably learn a lot more about these things in your own research." Because yeah... Doing your own research is likely to bring you to actually valid sources of information instead of whatever this is.

Real Information:

Endogenic systems are not a "fake form of dissociative disorder."

Endogenic systems ARE plural systems who experience multiple agents, or "headmates," sharing the same body in some way without trauma. Usually, endogenic systems don't even report having any sort of dissociative disorder at all.

And this is a real experience that's been repeatedly acknowledged by the psychiatric community.

So much so that the World Health Organization's diagnostic handbook, the ICD-11, specifically states that you can experience the presence of multiple "distinct identity states" without a mental disorder.

"Distinct identity states" is the same wording the ICD-11 uses to describe alters that characterized DID:

It's also acknowledged in the book Transgender Mental Health by Eric Yarbrough, which was reviewed and published by the American Psychiatric Association, that you can be plural without trauma or a disorder:

...

Additionally, the phrasing that endogenic plurality "mocks and invalidates people who are actually plural" is especially harmful as it erases and rewrites a huge part of plural history. That is, the fact that "plural" is an inclusive term coined and popularized to by non-disordered and endogenic systems.

Back in the 90s, the popular term that was used was "multiple," originating with "multiple personality disorder," the old name for DID.

The shift towards using "plural" was an effort by non-disordered systems to distance themselves from medical and pathologizing language. As you can see from this article from the 90s:

We don't claim that every multiple system/household is a happy loving cooperative one. What we do question is the *identification* of "real multiples" with the characteristics or symptoms of a psychological disorder. We go further: we question by what right or authority doctors and therapists are given sole jurisdiction over the definition of "an individual".

This is one reason our clan encourages use of the word "plural" rather than "multiple". "Multiple", even standing by itself, brings to mind MPD/DID, "multiple personality disorder", "dissociative identity disorder", which are specific diagnoses created by the medical/therapeutic community. "Plural" is a much more neutral word, more commonly heard in the context of grammar than psychiatry. (The other reason, of course, is that plural can be construed to have a broader meaning, applying to anyone(s) anywhere on the continuum who experience themselves as plural in some way. )

The Bottom Line:

An autism culture blog should be lifting up all neurodivergents. Not spreading misinformation about them and encouraging hate!

[thatadhdmood]

"A Kind of Spark" is a brand new show about AUTISTIC women, starring AUTISTIC women, based on the book WRITTEN BY AN AUTISTIC WOMAN!

[catkin-morgs-kookaburralover]

yall who got late diagnosed/adult diagnosed as autistic. howd you cope with the stress around the feedback session and howd it go like did you walk in and they said 'oh yeah you're autistic' alternatively if they denied you a diagnosis howd that go too

[seth-shitposts]

Something that I find... both concerning and utterly exhausting is when I'm communicating with someone, especially about my communication needs or even just chatting about something similar to the topic, and the other person/group does not know how to differentiate or separate Clear/Direct Communications from Meanness.

And I find this common typically in neurotypicals, the older generations, or more commonly allisitics. (And this is not to say that younger generations, other neurodivergents, or autistic aren't affected by this either, this has just been my experience thus far.)

What I mean by this is that in the past when I've told someone who has expressed their frustration to me about severe miscommunications with someone (who I suspect to be possibly autistic), and I've given them the response of "they probably don't catch the social ques or tones. Some people cannot read in between the lines. Have you tried telling them directly?"

9 times out of 10 I am immediately met with "no, I don't wanna be rude/mean/harsh".

And for the longest time my first thought was always, I didn't say that. What I said was tell them what you would like from them or tell them exactly what you mean.

It wasn't until recently that I realized that most of these people conflate being direct and having clear communication with being mean and harsh.

From what I am able to pull to memory, as a child I was always forced to try and "read in between the lines", and because I was literally incapable of doing so, the other person always, always lost patience with me and would snap at me or yell or mistreat me in some way.

And I was thinking on that. How a lot of people will not use clear and direct communication until they've lost patience and be mean about it. And how that doesn't just limit to autistics, but seems to be a thing that might be across the board.

And I find it frustrating that so many people don't know how to be direct without being mean or cannot perceive that one can be done without the other.

And what makes it even more exhausting is when I try to explain this to someone and they start acting as if I don't know what I'm talking about or I'm being overdramatic or trying to generalize everyone or even just act as if I'm plain stupid. (Like they suddenly believe that I'm autistic so I can't understand social situations and in turn I don't know what I'm talking about.)

Idk its just something I've noticed.

[grymoria]

Imma be honest: Special Interests save lives sometimes.

I'm autistic and I'm currently going through an on and off burnout because I recently moved out of my mom's place and I've been working my ass off so I can fully move all of my belongings to my new place as well as paying rent, groceries, and other adult stuff.

I've been so down in the dumps to the point that I have days where I don't go to work because of how burned out or depressed I am. However, I've been slowly feeling better because next month is October which is the best month for Spooky Season and as a spooky/gothic person, having a new place that I can decorate seems exciting. So that's been my motivation to go to work.

And then... Devil May Cry decided to post a teaser of the Netflix anime they told us about 4 years ago (which felt like forever.) and that honestly made me felt soooo much better than before. So now I'm willing to work for Halloween decorations aka Home Decor and a Netflix subscription. (Still Fuck Capitalism because it's the reason why my mental health is down in the first place.)

I'm going to try my best to keep my mental health decent because I love being spooky and I love Devil May Cry. I can't wait to decorate my first place and watch the new upcoming anime. It's things like this that makes it worth living for to me.

[miochimochi]

I fucking hate how "allies" treat autism. They always seeing it as some "omg neurospicy!" quirky ass shit aesthetic to fetishize and fantasize about and not something that is struggled with every day. They also only see one manifestation of autism and apply that to every autist. Autism is a spectrum of neurodivergent disorders. If I could take a pill right now that guarantees I'll be neurotypical I'll take it. But you know what I've seen from "allies" in response to this position? "That's literally eugenics! You want to kill autistic people! There's nothing wrong with autism! 😭😭😭" They don't fucking know, they don't want to fucking know, they want to feel good about themselves for their fetishizing the struggles of real people.

[the-new-kiddo-on-the-block]

Heyo guys!

Since my friend made a post about it, I figured I should make a separate post of it as well that could hopefully grab the attention of more of you out there. Especially since it's now not only become a recurrent issue for myself, but millions others like me; whose voices and pleas for help are often met with silence and no aid when it's needed more than ever.

My friend made this with the hopes it would get the attention of a lot of people. And the few that have so far responded, with boosting my signal, it's truly appreciated.

So, I figured I'd best give my story here.

For those who know me, they know that I've been through this before, not that long ago. For those that don't:

This isn't my first rodeo with my dad. This isn't his first offense, and I doubt it'll be his last. But, even my boyfriend commented that it's really like I'm Cinderella.

Which, would make my family Lady Tremaine and her daughters, Anastasia and Drizella.

Surprised?

Yeah, not the most fun people to have in your life as family, let alone be analogous to your own.

But, for at least my brother on the matter, he doesn't mean to intentionally be cruel- if anything, he is just trying to survive from becoming the next target. Which, I get entirely. I oftentimes do the same for when a fight breaks out between my bio father and my stepmom.

But, that's besides the point-- the fact that they are even akin to that family dynamic is absolutely atrocious.

I'm often seen as a black sheep in my nuclear family- a dark horse, a scapegoat, pariah, outcast; hell, I'm almost synonymous to fucking Bruno Madrigal from Encanto, with a little bit of even Luisa for that matter with how bad her anxiety is.

Sure, that sounds pretty awful, but that's like, a surface-level perspective of who I am and what I've been through. And I'm not gonna give you my whole life story here, but, as my grandma would always famously say:

So, here are the said facts (bullets are Bruno related, indents are Cinderella)-

People used to see me as a gifted child when I was little, y'know? Like, my talents had no bounds. My way of being so empathetic and friendly to even the most awkward stranger was renowned by my extended family. I was awkward with communication, and often was very blunt but honest when talking to people, but I was a happy kid. And it's not like I'm not seen for my talents now, but they're brushed to the side more now as an adult because "you can't be living in a fantasy".

Since my dad and stepmom started living together, I've been made to become the maid of the house, doing most chores because the boys won't do it and my stepmom is incapable of handling all the chores and dishes on her own, so she's dumped most things onto me as a "way of covering for part of your rent". Which, I still have to pay upwards of 660-880 a month for. For one small room and a bathroom. For wifi use. And I still have other bills to pay, like for my car, insurance, credit cards, and stuff like that.

It wasn't until I was starting in my teens that my dad saw me very differently. I would often lie to try and keep the peace, because I feared that telling the truth would only hurt everyone more.

I started failing in math; I never got a grade higher than a C-average after sixth grade, because the teacher that year not only made me look like an idiot, but several times painted me as a villain and treated me like I was evil. Simply for standing up for myself amongst a group of classmates who would often bully me

I have little to no privacy in my own room. The only time I do is when I sleep, and that's even temporary at best. My father will routinely inspect my room and if it's not meeting his standards, he has me clean it or threatens kicking me out onto the street because he won't let me live in this house if I can't "do what I am required to do in order to keep living here" shit I wish I actually wish I had recorded him saying fr

He's taken off my door several times in the past as a punishment for not "adhering to his rules"- not okay as a teenager, even more not okay as a fucking twenty-four year old adult

(literal screenshots from conversations with my dad below)

My bio dad started seeing me less as an honest and good person, because during my sixth grade years and beyond I'd struggle with being honest with myself, let alone my parents, about my personal and educational issues.

I've had to be the one to call out when things aren't right, and be shut down for it. I've been the one to call out my family's bullshit, only to get side-swept with the realization my perception of how they treat me is cuz they do believe something is inherently wrong with me for retaliating.

I'm often accused of mishearing things- like, my parents will say one thing, and then the next day, or weeks or months later, when I repeat that statement, they go and say "Oh, I never said that."

I've walked out of my parents' lives once. It only lasted two weeks, but I did have to take a step back from it all. Because I could see what it was doing to everyone in my family. And I love my family, despite their shit. But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna walk out again- in fact, I'm working on a way to do so.

I relate more to pets and small children and even teens than I do older people.

I still have anxieties and fears over my talents and what I'm capable of, thinking I'm not good enough or that it's just the same old thing. The difference is I know it's not, and I know I'm worth more than this.

I have always liked the color green, and it was always a more mysterious color more than an evil or menacing color.

I often have had foresight of future events and get deja by when they do happen. Though, other times I just notice things going awry and I try to warn others of like, a possibility that they don't want to accept.

I lost friends and people who I actually enjoyed being around because of how I was growing up, and it was until I became an adult that part of it wasn't even my fault. A lot of the kids noticed my parents and didn't want to be around that kind of behavior with adults, because they could sense what I couldn't at the time, which was that my parents' behavior towards me was absolutely uncalled for, and rather controlling.

I was only recently properly diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and ADHD; but before then, as an adult, I had more difficulty talking. Difficulty expressing how I felt. Trouble with finances. Being in the right headspace. Being able to take a step back and be like "whoa, now hold on- pointing fingers at me is only going to point three right back at you, let's not assume shit here". And it took a lot of support from my support systems and my boyfriend- @constant-state-of-self-discovery - to get a truly more accurate diagnosis. Cuz I've had three different diagnoses over the years, with the third being my most accurate one but I digress

I have echolalia and repeat funny phrases, hum music, etc.

When my brother was born - and I hate to use this comparison, but - almost immediately he became the Golden Child of the family dynamic. I was ten when he was born- and yeah, that's unfair for a baby, toddler, and little kid. But flash forward to when he's a bigger kid, when he's in his pre-teen stage and now a fourteen year old, who's gotten more educational advantages than I was ever offered or even given when asked. Who has had more positive experiences with his parents than I ever did. Who got the chance to actually go to the highschool he wanted to without having to worry about who I was really zoned for. Who is getting to work on his passion and talents. Yeah, that's totally not favoritism there.

I draw. I write. I legitimately can see myself voice acting one day.

I have often proved my family members both right and wrong about things in their lives, but I'm still the bad guy. Interesting how that works.

--------

See, these are the facts that just have me relating to just Bruno and Cinderella alone, with how my life is. There's plenty of other shit to add on about my stuff, but that's enough dirty laundry to get the ball rolling.

The fact of the matter is this: I cannot live in such a place like this anymore. And if anyone can help, I'd seriously appreciate whatever cash, boosting, reblogging, sharing that can be done.

I'm tired of living a life like this. I want to move forward. I want to start my next chapter, away from abuse.

And I'm really hopeful for the first time ever that something good might come out of this.

(thank you @savythenillerwaffer , @nystiaa , @oswinunknown , and @anne-of-crows for reblogging along with the others who have spread the word.)

[selfdxculture]

Self DX AuDHD culture is pleeeaaassseee please turn on the subtitles. Idk if it's because I can't make eye contact with the characters so I need somewhere else to look or maybe it's cuz I have to focus on both the movie and the 10 million thoughts going through my head just PLEASE SUBTITLES PLEEAAASSEEE.

.

[freedomsystema]

* We don't really wanna get diagnosed on DID/OSDD , especially cause we're already getting misdiagnosed on our ASD (idk how to word everything correctly mb...) and it's already making my mother spend useless money, so in future I don't wanna spend money on that... I'm too afraid of getting misdiagnosed after months of giving money on money for getting the wrong answer so...the only thing we're going to pay in future is our (my/mine...the host) gender affirmation therapy that it has to be better.... (Ik wasn't really necessary to know just wanted to share this, we're still bodily a minor but whatever is in future this is it...) -Rey

[anazen333]

Basically a board of facts I’ve found about Autism as I work through my own neurodivergent experience

(Above image was me talking to someone about my Masking all the time... and their brilliant response lol)

[shiningstarr15]

‼️warning: the post I’m about to make has heavy topics pertaining to mental illness and disability. Please view at your own discretion‼️

I want to come on here to talk about something that I don’t feel gets talked about enough. And that is mainly thanks to social media that has advocated to the understanding of mental illness and disability to the point that it is immensely glorified. And while I would rather choose the lesser of the two evils than deal with the ableism and discrimination, I think it needs to be addressed on why glorifying it is also very problematic.

As you know by now, I am on the autism spectrum, and with this came a slew of other mental health conditions that I have suffered from for a long time such as anxiety and depression. One thing I would never want to do is beg for pity. I am still a functioning human being and do not wish to be treated as a charity case. However, I think it is important to showcase the darker side of being diagnosed with such a condition as Autism.

What you see, you may see awkward social interaction, you may see unusual movements of my arms and legs and even my whole body(stimming), you may see high emotional sensitivity, you may see aversion to loud sounds, and so forth. And these are things that, in of itself, are not inherently bad. Yes I am prone to accidental inappropriate social interaction, but there is ways of accommodating and advocating for it while still holding me accountable. Gentle approaches and positive reinforcement go such a long way. And the more people learn and accept that, the better quality of life you make for me and my community.

What you don’t see, is the struggles that come with it.

Being autistic comes with many many processing issues. Auditory, sensory, information, visual, cognitive, etc. And like the disorder itself, they all live on a spectrum and affect us all differently. One of these things that we struggle with due to this processing issue, and the one we usually get the most abuse from, is personal hygiene.

I took a shower tonight, which is something I struggle with due to the task of having to wash myself, having sensory issues such as too strong of smelling soap and the water temperature not being right, but also the transition from being wet to cold is something I hate. I hate drying myself and the water from my hair dripping down my back. I don’t like water on my face. The entire thing is an absolute hellscape.

But it needs to be done, so I got in. And I noticed that my hair felt heavier than usual. After shampoo and conditioner, I ran my fingers through my insanely thick and long locks. And.. it got stuck.

With conditioner, it was stuck.

That is how bad the tangles were. As a result of having not brushed it for weeks. Yes, weeks.

Over the course of the shower, I pulled out probably a dozen knots, all around this size..

I’m tender headed, brushing my hair hurts my neck and my arms. So I wear hats to cover it, it also helps as an impromptu noise buffer so it’s a win win in the moment. However, it just adds on to the ever growing tangles and become more and more prominent until I actually do something about it.

This is something in it of itself, I’ve grown used to.

But as I ran through the tangles, yanking out knot after knot, the hair piled in the drain.

When I looked down and saw the result, I couldn’t believe how much hair was caught in the absolute rats nest that had accumulated for weeks.

And I cried.

I still have plentiful hair, but I didn’t want to lose that much. I hadn’t even realized it had gotten so bad. As I got out I immediately noticed the lightness on my head and panicked, thinking I may have a bald spot (I don’t) bc so much was gone now..

I may be used to it, but I hate it still. Every time. But it happens over and over again, bc I hate brushing my hair.

This.. this is the true dark reality of living with Autism.

I love my hair, and me not liking to brush it does not mean I don’t care. It is a physically daunting task, it fucking HURTS, and it sucks bc I KNOW it’s not supposed to!

Everyday I wake up, the lights are too bright and I can hear every sound like a siren. It takes excess energy just to get out of bed, even more to change clothes, and if I am lucky, even more to brush my hair. I have 30 min to decide before I get to work what my support needs are today bc they change DAILY. Some days I have enormous amounts of anxiety, some days I have sensory overstimulation, some days I feel literally touch starved, some days I can’t find the right words to say, or barely want to say anything. I have to figure out what I need, what will get me through the day, what will allow me to survive. And even now, I am struggling to find my place in the workforce due to the lack of resources and currently on the verge of autistic burnout that I’m desperately trying to avoid.

Every time I brush my hair, there are knots. And when I brush my teeth, there is blood in the sink.

This is my reality.

I am imploring you to PLEASE consider these things when you say things about how hating autism is “internalized ableism” or glorify it to the point that it becomes a trend that everyone wants to have bc it’s “cool.” I do NOT like being autistic. It has caused me immense heartache, trauma, struggle, and being in constant survival mode. It FUCKING SUCKS.

I have accepted that I am autistic. But I do not enjoy it. It is still, in its own right, a DISABILITY. It is not something to be glorified and praised. It is not something that is “trendy” and something you WANT to have.

Wanting answers is one thing, I understand that. That’s how I got my diagnosis. But I am begging and pleading, DO NOT ASK FOR IT. If you have it, learn to accept what is and learn what you need to do in order to live your best quality of life. It is not something to be taken as a joke, it is not a “gift” and it is not a trend.

It is a disability. It is a disorder. A brain disorder. A processing disorder. And it fucking sucks.

[smallmouthfrog]

[juliadaunt]

BLAME IT ON THE AUTISTIC

I’ve had quite a few reminders over the last few days about something that has troubled me on and off for literally my whole adult life (I’ve just turned 40!) but I felt now was the time to share these thoughts with you all. Bear with me while I try to explain…… So the title: Blame It On The Autistic, what do I mean by that? Well I mean just that. At many points throughout my life both friends…

[justautisticandstupid]

i think "masking privilige" is a difficult argument.

on the one hand yes, masking autistics can access spaces and things easier than non-masking autistics and are at a decreased risk of bullying/harassment/abuse.

on the other hand, masking is a trauma response forcing autistics to conform to not be seen as less than and recieve negative repercussions for being "less than."

masking is inherently harmful to the masking autistic person. it causes burnout which can lead to supposedly "low support need" autistics becoming "mid/high support needs." (though personally these labels can be reductive as autistics support needs fluctuate and can differ based on the day or situation, but are useful as many have a baseline of needs that can be higher or lower.)

so like.. is it a privilege to have a trauma response that harms you? probably not. but is it a privilege to have access and safety that other nonmaskers wouldnt? yes. but that privilege is like, very thin and can be removed at any time due to the unsustainable nature of masking.

(and i havent mentioned like, the added factors of ethnicity or gender etc that can effect the outcome of masking /not masking bcus i dont feel educated enough on it)

[grymoria]

To my fellow Neurodivergents, if you want a job, a boring office one may not suit you.

Hello, I am a neurodivergent who works as a Survey Research Interviewer. My job contains of me calling people to see if they would like to do a survey and if they agree to do it, then I have to read out the questions to them in order for the respondent to answer them, which is the interviewing part. The problem is because of my ASD (Autistim Spectrum Disorder), it's hard for me to do my job.

All I'm doing is calling numbers all day and I call them until I find someone who wants to do the survey. Even when I'm done interviewing them, I still have calls to make. That's all I do, nothing else. Some of you are probably saying that I have an easy job and I do, but it's so easy that it gets boring. So boring that I take power naps during the middle of the work shift even when I try to fight them. (The cold air blown doesn't help either.) Plus sometimes my speech impediment can get in the way of doing my job properly. So yes it's an easy job but mentally, it's exhausting.

"What's the purpose of this blog?"

The reason why I'm making this blog, is because I want others to understand how having a boring office job, or a boring job in general, can affect your mental health. (Plus I'm so bored at my job, that writing this is helping my mental health.)

I'm sure some of you have heard of the term "burnout" and if you haven't, burnout a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. Well there's a term similar to this but instead of being overstimulated, you're understimulated and it's called "boreout". Boreout is chronic boredom at work. When you are so bored at work, that you are less likely do to your job and just like burnout, boreout can cause depression, stress, and anxiety but it can also cause insomnia.

How I deal with my boreout is being on my phone. Even though where I work we aren't allowed to be on our phones, I do it anyway because my job is that boring. But sometimes the phone can't even help me especially when I'm on social media. (Constantly being on social media all the time can also be bad for your mental health.)

They're other ways to make yourself entertained at work. Like for example, if you are a figity person, bring things that you can figit with. Like for example, a stress ball, a figit spinner, and any other type of figit toy out there. You can also have a puzzle book and solve a few puzzle, or you can draw, you can journal, or read a book. Even chewing gum can decrease your chances of being stressed, anxious, and/or depressed. I suggest you only do any these if you are able to. (My job doesn't even allow me to have puzzle books...)

Even if that isn't enough for you to deal with your boreout (or burnout), then I suggest you take a mental health day which is a day off from work so you can improve your mental health doing things that you enjoy doing. But I suggest you do them next to a day or days that you will be having off anyway. For example, I don't work on the weekends so if I wanted a mental health day, it's best if I do it on a Friday or Monday.

Me personally, I feel like working 4 days and having 3 days off a week can make someone's mental health so much better compared to working 5 days but having 2 days off a week. I prefer you do this as much as possible only if you can afford it and only if you won't get in trouble by your workplace for doing it. I would usually do it monthly. (For bonus, you can do whatever house chores that need to be done after work so when your day/days off is here, all you can do is relax and do the things that you enjoy.)

So I know that because of my neurodiversity, this job isn't meant for me. I need a job that stimulates me well and the job that I have now doesn't do so. The reason why I still have the job is because I live in a city that doesn't have much entry level office jobs so it's difficult for me to find another job. Even though I don't recommend the type of job I do or any other boring office job to anyone that's neurodivergent, I don't blame you if that's the only type of job that you can get.

There are office jobs out there that is perfect for neurodivergent people and even though the office job you have now is boring, at least you have experience with an office job and that can lead you to the office job you actually want. Like for example, I enjoy typing (obviously), so I hope to find a transcriptionist/transcriber job but I also would like to make a career out of being a journalist. I may not be suited for the office job that I have now but I've been working here for over a year so I need as much experience as I can get.

In conclusion, no job is worth the boreout or even burnout. If you need that job then get it, but do anything you can to make your mental health decent. Our well being should always come first because the work force will always find someone to take the previous workers' positions.

[byash]

Being aware and mindful of autistic traits is so so important.

Autistic individuals are people like everyone else, the difference is they are neurodiverse while others are neurotypical. This means that what works for a neurotypical person might not work for a neurodivergent person and vice versa. This is also the case among neurodivergent people as no two are the same.

While many people think quality amongst individuals is what is needed, equity may be more helpful.

Equality means everyone gets the same resources and opportunities. Equity recognises that everyone has different circumstances, meaning that resources and opportunities should be given out fairly to obtain an equal outcome.

It is important to ensure that we can make our world accessible to everyone and not just the neurotypical