#proud autistic adult

[spookietrex]

[rotteneldritchhorror]

One of my favourite things about being disabled is the excitement and happiness when you can do small things that others might find easy

It’s such simple joy to be able to make yourself a cup of tea for the first time (or the first time in a while!) or to just make a simple meal that you couldn’t before! Finally figuring out how to make something that doesn’t overwhelm you, etc etc

It’s a joy in the mundane that ableds need to learn from sometimes /lh

[starfallsystemsblog]

Autism and Anxiety

Autism

Medical Visits and Autism: A Better Way

Strategies to reduce anxiety during doctor visits.

(Posted on emojicombos April 6, 2019(I am not OP)

Going for a medical visit can be a scary proposition for any child. A child on the autism spectrum has to cope with all of the usual fears associated with seeing a doctor. However, for the autistic child, there are a host of other factors that can make seeing the doctor not only unpleasant, but also downright terrifying. Some of these factors are:

Waiting

Waiting is unpleasant and difficult for most children to do. However, for the autistic child, waiting can result in very high distress. Children on the spectrum may struggle with the concept of time, and thus may not find comfort in being told that they will be seen in X number of minutes. Waits at the doctor's office also tend to be unpredictable, and this unpredictability often creates high anxiety for autistic kids.

Abrupt Transitions

Doctor's offices are busy places. When it is time to move from one part of the visit to another, there is often pressure to do it quickly, without advance notice. These types of abrupt transitions can be very unsettling for the child on the autism spectrum.

Sensory Sensitivities

Doctor's offices are not very sensory-friendly places: bright lighting, unfamiliar sounds, unpleasant smells, and multiple intrusions on the tactile senses (e.g., blood pressure cuff, feel of stethoscope) can be very difficult for an autistic child to process and cope with.

Language Processing

Being asked multiple questions—often at a quick pace—can quickly overwhelm the language-processing capacity of a child on the spectrum. The use of abstract language and unfamiliar medical terms can further contribute to anxiety.

The Consequences of Health Care Anxiety

Health care-related anxiety can have serious consequences. The child on the spectrum may be distressed not only during the visit, but for days (or even weeks) before. Challenging behaviors during the visit (due to anxiety, not intentional) can prevent health care providers from conducting a thorough evaluation, and may make it difficult for parents to ask questions or to express their concerns.

A Better Way

Fortunately, there are a number of strategies that parents and health care providers can use to substantially reduce the anxiety associated with medical visits. Ideally, parents and providers should work together in developing a plan that will target each individual child's needs.

These strategies include:

Bring comfort items. A favorite toy or stuffed animal can help to reduce anxiety during procedures.

Use distraction. Distraction can divert attention away from fear-filled procedures. Distractions can be physical items (such as toys or video games) or the use of a familiar person that the child feels comfortable with.

Do a "dry run." Visit the office and meet the staff before the first official appointment.

Use clear language. Health care providers should use concrete terms and a conversational pace that is manageable.

Bring communication systems. Ensure that communication systems include words and phrases which may be used during an appointment.

Use a visually supported schedule. This can help the child to understand what will occur next during a visit.

Use familiar staff. Ensure that staff the child feels comfortable with are available on the day of the appointment.

Get paperwork done ahead of time. Office staff should send forms and other paperwork home for completion ahead of time to avoid unnecessary waiting.

Address sensory sensitivities. Health care providers and office staff should address all sensory aspects of the visit and minimize unnecessary noise, smells, and other forms of stimulation.

Summary

Health care visits can be really scary for kids on the autism spectrum, but it doesn't have to be this way. With some minor accommodations, health care visits can become a much more tolerable experience for autistic children and their families

Christopher Lynch, Ph.D., is a psychologist who specializes in stress and anxiety management for children with autism. He is the Director of the Pediatric Behavioral Medicine Department at Goryeb Children's Hospital.

[crazycatsiren]

The thing is.

As an autistic person, even when I mask, I'm still going to appear "weird".

Allistic people are going to find me weird no matter what I do or don't do. No matter how much I mask, they're still going to think I look, act, and talk weird.

So I might as well just not bother with the mask and be myself.

[ilikecarsandlike4people]

Finally had a few extra spoons to clean uhhh like half of my apartment. I know it's not much but I feel very proud I could manage to get up and handle the things that have been bothering me for so long. Whole place feels a lot more like home now and I can stop worrying about it.

[swolesome]

...I made a video!

[unordinarygirl]

Being autistic is so lonely. We struggle to make friends.we start to connect with others through work, that’s why we care so much.Employers will never understand how passionate autistic people are about their work. If you fire autistic people, not only do they lose their job, they lose their social connections as well.

[bot-thoughts]

[*BEEP boop DING!*]

Overstimulation detected. Implementing primary therapeutic safety measures

[*hits the bong*]

[i-spit-on-your-garage]

Mama didn't raise no bitch but she did raise an undiagnosed autistic

[the-trans-dragon]

Added a fourth ingredient to my most complicated food dish I can make >:3 I even wished I had some butter to add! Ill have to remember to buy some ^w^ I don't think I've bought butter in months

[spookietrex]

You ever just get the feeling that you're bothering people by simply existing?

[masarukitkat]

This amazing thing is called “Speech Assistant”. It’s the Augmented Alternative Communication (AAC) application program that I use when I cannot seem to vocalize my words (like right now for example). It speaks for me and I can set different categories to organize my phrase and word buttons and with my keyboard, I can type out full on paragraphs and things that I want to say. And ahead of time, if I have something that I want to say, like a speech or a poem or something, I can pre-record it and attach that to a button and have that ready to go on a button with my own voice. I can do that for any phrases that I want when my voice is actually functioning the way that I want it to.

I’ve tried a few different kinds of AAC programs and so far, this one is probably my favorite one. Mainly because of how well it works, how customizable it is, user friendly it is, the fact that it doesn’t make me feel like I’m a child (which is important because I am a 35 year old autistic person and not a child), and it didn’t cost me a small fortune. It cost just under $50, a one time payment which is exactly what I was looking for as far as a price range. There are some AAC programs out there that are also one time payments but most of them are well over $100 or even a couple hundred dollars and over that. Plus needing the device itself which can run several hundreds of dollars as well, depending. And then, you can also find some AAC programs that have subscription services which…well, those ones I do not recommend. Mainly because then you have to worry about being able to afford the payments every single month or every single year. And that can get very expensive very quickly and then you have to worry about losing your ability to communicate because of not being able to afford the subscription fee and that’s…not great.

This is also a really good one because it can be used both on an iPad and an iPhone. I am not sure if this app is available on Android devices or not. If it is, then awesome! Because I highly HIGHLY recommend this AAC program. It’s very easy to use, it isn’t infantilizing and I find it to be so very very helpful. It hasn’t failed me yet and: you can choose voices from any of the available voices that you have at your disposal on your device (like for Siri, for example). It’s wonderful and I love it and it has been allowing me to communicate so very freely with my spouse today and it’s just…it’s so freeing and I’m so very happy that I can still communicate and talk even when I cannot vocalize my words 🥹💜

[ravenousnightwind]

Some people think why would you be proud to be disabled when it's difficult for other people. Because all my life I've been disabled. Everyone treated me as if abled when I wasn't. They knew something wasn't right but tried to force me to be like them anyway.

Yes, I understand it's hard for people to take care of disabled people, but that's not the real issue here. I acknowledge that separately because there's an issue that makes me proud to be who I am with my problems despite the fact it may hinder others.

The biggest issue about it is that people tried to erase me or make me feel awful because I'm different. I have problems, people didn't like it and so they wanted to demean me and critique me for just existing, even as a young child. People grabbed a 4th grade mentally ill child because they didn't understand why he didn't like school or why he had difficulties. I was abused both physically and verbally.

So yeah, I am proud. Proud of myself for withstanding it, proud of myself for enduring. Proud of myself for simply existing and having to deal with adults who obviously didn't know how to deal with children who have problems. I understand it's not easy for them, but it isn't easy for me either, and I don't have to put up with bullshit like that just because it's hard for people to understand.

I'm not afraid to publicly say I have mental illness. What's there to be afraid of? I'm proud I'm like this. It doesn't mean that it's like super amazing or wonderful or like an achievement to be mentally ill. To be disabled. It just means that I don't look down on myself for having problems. No one should. No one chooses to have problems.

That doesn't mean I can't try to be happy and enjoy my existence.

[crazycatsiren]

Kid in a candy store? Nah, more like adult in an airplane museum.

[rebeccawritesbooks]

I LOVE MY CHILD LIKE STIMS!

I spent my whole life suppressing my child like stims in fear of judgement, and ridicule and I was bullied enough during school I didn’t want to give them another reason.

But since being diagnosed with Autism & ADHD, I’ve realised how important those stims are to me, and to let myself do those stims is in a way setting younger me free, setting her free into a world full of love and acceptance.

For me: I dance, and jump up a down in the same spot, or in a circle, a flap my arms and more… and all of these make me happy, and I will not be ashamed or discouraged to do them or to share them!

What are you’re favourite childhood stims?

If you like my work and want to support me as an autistic and adhd creator, then cash app & Kofi is in my linktree ( https://linktr.ee/neurodivergentwriter )

[hypersis84]

YESH! I’m PROUD TO BE AUTISTIC!!