#fuck functioning labels

[clownrecess]

(TW functioning labels, ableism, meltdowns, doctors, etc.)

I was diagnosed as autistic when I was 10, and I was more specifically diagnosed with "High functioning autism". The person my psychiatrist saw was me on easy days, on days when I was fully calm, on days when I could easily communicate, and had no other job than to sit and do what she told me to do.

She hadn't seen me go fully mute for months on end, she hadn't seen me fully unable to take care of my basic needs, she hadn't seen me have violent meltdowns, she hadn't seen me hit and bite myself because I couldn't identify my emotions, she hadn't seen me run into the street because I have nothing in my brain telling me not to, she hadn't seen me unable to change clothes for multiple days, she hadn't seen me only able to shower once a week, she hadn't seen me unable to properly exist in gened, she hadn't seen me have severe meltdowns over a change I liked just because I didnt expect it, she hadn't seen me put a small hole in a wall during a meltdown, she hadn't seen me as a full time AAC user, she hadn't seen me as a part time AAC user, she hadn't seen me unable to sleep without an intensely large amount of nightlights, she hadn't seen me unable to bathe myself until age 9 or 10, etc.

She saw me in a calm state, once every few months, on days when I could communicate easily and do what she asked. That is all she saw of me, her asking me questions, having me do things, and asking my mom questions.

If she saw me, and I was the way I described in front of her, my diagnosis would probably be closer to something like "moderate functioning autism".

But here's the thing, ON DIFFERENT DAYS, I FIT DIFFERENT CRITERIA FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF AUTISM DIAGNOSES.

My ability to "Function" varies so so much, and this makes functioning labels extremely inaccurate.

Now, let's use support needs to describe me. I am a person who's support needs fluctuate from med-high. I have med-high support needs. This is accurate for me, and it is not ableist.

I wanted to talk about this to describe how functioning labels suck, and also to talk about how support needs fluctuate; and that is okay.

[la-esmerqlda]

I would like to thank Elon Musk for breaking the stereotype that “high functioning” autistic people are geniuses, because he’s genuinely so fucking dumb I can hardly even fathom it.

[punkitt-is-here]

how do you go about getting DEI training? i wanna work in counseling w other queer ppl at some point in the future, and DEI training seems like it'd be vital to doing smth like that

It was part of my job to do some of it, actually, and I know some college classes actually count as it. I took a class on Race and Power that really opened my eyes to intersectionality with oppressed groups! If you get the chance and you're in college, even a community one, I guarantee there's probably at least SOME classes that'll cover most of the ground you're looking for. I would specifically advocate for classes that discuss things like race and power, because understanding how race intersects with other things like gender, sexuality, culture, and presentation is IMO vital to understand the big picture of how we're all affected. I think a lot of the time we can get hung up in viewing things like queer rights, racial inequity, and class as completely separate entities or isolated issues, but in reality they're all super connected and understanding those connections is going to let you understand basically everything surrounding it as well.

[hideawaysis]

Please stop using functioning labels to describe yourself. They're extremely ableist and by doing so you're perpetuating ableism. Use support need labels instead, please. Sincerely, a low support needs autistic person.

are you fucking shitting me right now

[red-rover-au]

Ok, so what does Don’s mystic staff do?

Functionally, it works exactly the same as Donnie’s tech bo did

Transforming multitool!

Because, i mean look at this thing

A halberd with a flail on the opposite end?? My conspiracy theory is that they drew it like this to make its multi-weapon function more obvious when it isnt being used. And later on, Donnie’s mystic powers focus on transforming weapons more than anyone else's

If I remember correctly, one of the writers said that originally Donnie was going to embrace mystic magic fully like his brothers, but it didn't feel true to his character. So in my au I play with WHY he still doesn't like using magic over science, despite being trained with it from a very young age

[intertexts]

coming out as an aro* who likes valentines day.... its cute!!!! its fun!! idgaf i love having an excuse 2 cover everything in hearts n pink and white n see chocolate and flowers and silly lacy fancy shit everywhere..... o7ing 2 the allos who give everyone an excuse 2 be kinda cute n whimsical for a day :-)

[icannotgetoverbirds]

saw an exclusionist post so here's a reminder

specifically in reference to transmasc lesbians and trying to draw lines in the sand on who can and can't claim the lesbian label, about how being a lesbian is exclusive of loving men, with someone referring to the people they're attempting to exclude as "fandom gremlin transmascs and neo-mogai crazies."

I don't have the spoons for a proper response but i do feel like i need to make something clear.

on this blog we support fucky genders, fandom gremlin transmascs, and neo-mogai crazies. reblog if u love ur fellow fandom gremlin and neo-mogai crazy queers.

[nexus-nebulae]

we figured out recently that the reason we don't really want to put any -genic labels on us is because to us they function exactly like how agab labels do now. they're pretty much useless because all it tells you is a snapshot of your early days, and doesn't necessarily tell you who you are or how you function now

[clownrecess]

To fellow autistics (or like anyone else) with little to no internal sensation, this is a reminder to:

Eat

Drink some water

Go to the bathroom

[redshirtcarmine]

With the whole “live now snoozes for 30 days” update I’ve had to update my app for the first time nearly a year because the toggle no longer fucking worked and now, instead of live disappearing for 7 days, it’s permanently on my fucking menu bar and just not showing up on my dash. I hate this.

[levi-dayne]

being autistic -> 🫠

vent in tags

[enbycrip]

Just got back a Merit (60%) for an assignment for my Master’s degree I missed the window to do the group part of and thus missed the opportunity to get 15% of the credit for.

I had a complete meltdown when I realised I’d missed the window, but I *did* manage to speak to my tutor and get the extension to still get a more-than-decent grade on the individual part of it (I had a trapped nerve in my back during the period I should have been working on it. I was Not Okay.)

I have *really* bad issues with perfectionism and avoidance still. They interact absolutely *terribly* with my chronic fatigue and my executive dysfunction. I’m reminding myself I actually *did* negotiate that issue successfully for someone with intersections of physical and mental chronic illness and neurodivergence - it hit really bad triggers from work that came up in the week and meant I really melted down about it last night and scared my OH badly. I managed not to self-harm last night and nowhere near as badly as I wanted to when I found about missing the window to do the group interactions, but I said stuff to my OH that was not okay that I’ve apologised to them for a lot.

I’m posting this because I try *really* hard to be open and transparent about badly these things affect me. A lot of this is really hidden in folks like me viewed as “higher-functioning” by society (functioning labels are so bloody harmful), whereas it’s constantly displayed without consent in folks viewed by society as “lower-functioning”. This affects *all* of us badly - it’s used to deny capacity in folks classified as “lower-functioning” and difficulties and to deny the need for help and accommodations in folks classified as “higher-functioning”.

It’s also used to deny how intersections of co-occurring conditions *and* the effects of trauma affect us. The intersections of my chronic illnesses with my neurodivergences are *incredibly* difficult - the coping mechanisms that got me through school and uni and to an extent through working no longer work for me with chronic fatigue. I simply do not have the capacity to do about five times as much work as everyone else to make up for my lack of executive function any more, and this is *difficult*. I was also triggered by a post made by a friend about issues he is experiencing during the week, which meant two nightmares about the workplace I became ill while working in and thus experienced the worst torrent of disableism in during the week. That was a *huge* factor in last night’s meltdown.

This is *so* fucking hard to write. The impulse to hide all this is huge. The shame about it is enormous. That’s why I need to do it.

[hideawaysis]

i fucking hate how autism advocacy is so largely populated by late-diagnosed high-functioning autistics that forget that some people can't mask because you get takes like fuckingnfjdjdj "stop using functioning labels they're ableist" (they're not saying you're low/high-functioning is a neutral fucking statement just like saying ur disabled is) or god forbid fucking "well actually autism doesn't inhibit people that much and people like the stereotypes don't really exist" fuuuuuck you i AM the stereotypes, i use diapers as a disability aid and struggle to take care of myself without help, my "job" can barely be considered a job because anything else exhausts me too easily or i fail to understand it, i almost didn't fjcking pass high school, the only thing keeping you from immediately branding me as what i am (severely disabled) is the fact that i can type coherently fuck yoooouuuu. like i get it you all want rights i want rights to!! but the shit that you say in an attempt to get rights for yourself makes it so much less fucking likely for people like ME to get rights too. you're not taking a step forward by ignoring the fact that we exist you're just taking twenty fuckin steps back for god's sake

[strixhaven]

“are you nd or nt” this is stupid as hell and i’m opting out of that framework entirely

[queerstudiesnatural]

ok well. just went to see a neuropsychologist and all she asked me were the standard questions you find in every internet autism test. which i KNOW don't apply to me ("do you find it difficult to infer people's intentions", "do you find it difficult to read between the lines" etc) and like she was literally reading off of her computer and asking me to pick one of the options between "strongly agree" and "strongly disagree" and it's like girl i could have done that at home. sure hope she's not stopping there and that she's not gonna just look at what i said but at the way i said it. idk it irked me that she just pulled up the old (as in outdated and reductive) standardised test on her computer and acted as if those questions would make me question myself like girl i've done this test fifteen times. not only is it not going to tell you anything about me but it's not going to tell you anything about most people. and most autistics. and she did suggest i come back for a more formal and global assessment, but she also kept using the words "cognitive deficit" to describe autism. which i realise is a commonly used term, but it feels reductive idk. so overall i'm not overjoyed with how this went lol.