Do any #autists out there have experience of living with & caring for a relative with end-stage #dementia?

I'm finding it very difficult. Any tips or advice, please? 🙏

#AskingAutistics
#ActuallyAutistic
#ADHD
#AuDHD
#dementia
#carer

@actuallyautistic On a related note to my last post, I came across this today... Wow!

My 35-Year-Old Son Is Learning to Drive. It’s Complicated.

Sam Huber’s autistic mind processes every moment and movement in technicolor intensity as he struggles to get his license. For his father, Robert, the question isn’t can he—but should he?

By Robert Huber and Samuel Huber· 4/27/2025

Excerpt: "I look down at the controls, and I get a little dizzy looking at all of the knobs, gears, pedals, and the steering wheel. The thought of having to move my hands and feet in sync to get this bucket of bolts going is scary.

"After checking that all the mirrors are to my liking, I start the car, which roars like a lioness on the hunt. I want to scream, Why does this seem so loud when I am in the driver’s seat?!?! I reach into my pocket for my trusty headphones to block out this horrible noise, but they aren’t there. Sweet baby Jesus! Am I going to have to listen to this car the whole time? How can anyone focus on driving with that noise?"

#Autism #DrivingWhileAutistic #Autists #RulesOfTheRoad #Distractions

@actuallyautistic

So, I'm finding these lists pretty relatable. Learning how to focus and multi-task were a bit challenging, but luckily, I had mastered the gas pedal / brake pedal / gear shifting on my grandfather's riding mower, and then had Driver's Ed classes when I was 17. And yes -- I am a STICKLER for the rules of the road!

From: Can Autistic People Drive? published in 2022

"Research suggests that drivers who are autistic may experience the following difficulties:

- challenges with concentrating on own driving while paying attention to what other drivers are doing on the road
- slower detection time for road hazards
- being easily distracted
- becoming too bound by rules
- inability to identify social cues, like tailgating
- nervousness related to comorbidities, like ADHD or anxiety
- reduced self-confidence

Strengths associated with autism and driving

On the flip side, research also shows that autistic drivers have certain strengths that other drivers may not possess. These include:

- desire to strictly adhere to driving rules
- obeying traffic rules
- limited risk-taking, like speeding
- paying closer attention to their overall driving environment
- being able to remember details and information for long periods of time"

Source:
https://www.healthline.com/health/autism/can-autistic-people-drive#is-it-legal

#Autism #DrivingWhileAutistic #Autists #RulesOfTheRoad #Distractions

If #RFKjr starts targeting #autists we'll have to protect the contributors lists of @WiGLEnet @wikipedia @openstreetmap etc...

🐬🐋🐳 Have a fruitful & wonderful #Autism Acceptance Month to all of us! #AutisticActually

🎊🍾🎆🎇🍹🎶👑

IMG: Autistic/Autism symbol by MissLunaRose12 under CC-By-SA 4.0 International License. (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Autism_Symbol_Proposed_2.png)

#Autistic #Neuroatypical #ActuallyAutistic #Autist #Autistics #ActuallyAutistics #Autists #Neurodivergent #Neurodivergents

@autistics @actuallyautistic @actuallyautistics

🐬🐋🐳 Have a fruitful & wonderful #Autism Acceptance Month to all of us! #AutisticActually 🎊🍾🎆🎇🍹🎶👑 Like & pin today! ♾️ bsky.app/profile/did:... #Autistic #Neuroatypical #ActuallyAutistic #Autist #Autistics #ActuallyAutistics #Autists #Neurodivergent #Neurodivergents

RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:bpotnohnlgcj3fbmp7ugx4en/feed/aaaj7qkwceak6

#Autists (and others too ) might find this consideration of #honesty interesting...

#AskingAutistics #ActuallyAutistic
#ADHD #AuDHD

https://mas.to/@PatternChaser/114234417230736799

Apparently today is a strange pray for #autists day.

I can't speak for any other @actuallyautistic , but please:

Don't pray for me allistina 🎶...

*Evita tune

#Autists think differently from NTs.
#Autists speak differently from NTs.
But...

...do we speak differently *because* we think differently?

#AskingAutistics
#ActuallyAutistic
#ADHD #AuDHD

So, just curious... Any other musically-included #Autists out there? Like being able to re-create songs by listening to them, or seeing notes in your head? (I experience both, since I have near-perfect pitch and can read / write music -- which is a mathematical language I can relate to). Anyhow, as you can tell by previous post, music has been a big part of my life and passions.
@actuallyautistic

So, true #ActuallyAutistic story. When I was little (and even now, though not as much) I was a toe-walker. My grandmother, naively thinking that perhaps I wanted to be a ballet dancer, enrolled me in ballet class. And I was a pretty good dancer. Except I danced to my own drummer, and could not do group dances. My grandmother, who was my saintly advocate, not-so-saintly gave the dance school instructor a helluva talking to -- and the instructor let me do solo pieces, which I excelled at. And then got bored with it. Lol. My grandmother indulged me in a lot of "hobbies" -- bless her heart. I know not everyone has had supportive parents. I lucked out with her (and my grandfather, and my mom who was more my buddy than a parent -- but that's a story for another day).
@actuallyautistic
#Toewalking #ConstructiveParenting #Autists

So, I'm realizing that behavior that NT's think is "upstaging" is actually a way that #Autists I know communicate. And it's not upstaging, it's our way of RELATING to the other person! Can anyone else relate? #ActuallyAutistic #ND
@actuallyautistic

@actuallyautistic A while back we were discussing weird food combinations that #Autists like and I forgot to mention my peanut butter and banana sandwiches... My probably NT wife just called me weird, as did my 12yo #AuDHD kid. They don't know what they're missing!

@deriamis Social rituals have a purpose — they reinforce the insanity of NT communication. 😢 Meaningless idioms; hidden implications; lies and provocations hidden between the lines, thereby retaining deniability... 🙄

I wish they could speak, write, and *act* #honestly as #autists (mostly) do.

#AskingAutistics
#ActuallyAutistic
#AllAutistics
#AuDHD

RIP Steve Silberman.

His husband has announced his passing away at https://bsky.app/profile/wardqnormal.bsky.social/post/3l2uljphb2p2e

Very sad news. He was such a kind person and a great ally to #Autists. With a colleague we had a lovely chat with Steve during one of his visits to London in 2019: https://www.flickr.com/photos/acrostich/48127822607/

@actuallyautistic #stevesilberman #neurodiversity

#UK #Autists, and other #ND people: spread this around!

#AskingAutistics
#ActuallyAutistic
#AllAutistics
#AuDHD

https://www.thecanary.co/global/world-news/2024/08/27/dwp-pip-back-dated-payments/

"Others have proposed that individuals with autism are more prone to reject ideas they perceive as flawed or logically inconsistent (Kristensen & Broome, 2016), such as social conditioning and social norms (Ansara & Hegarty, 2011), and this facilitates 'coming out.'"

@Autistrain @actuallyautistic @neurodiversity

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/06/autistic-people-arent-being-fooled-into-being-nonbinary-we-see-past-the-binary-that-fools-you/

#GenderBinary #NonBinary #Autists #ActuallyAutistic

Some deep-thoughts about #autism and #monotropism.

My only comment is that many #autists also have #ADHD — not meaning #hyperfocus, but *butterfly-mind*: #attention flitting all over the place!

#AskingAutistics
#ActuallyAutistic
#AllAutistics
#AuDHD

https://www.bps.org.uk/psychologist/me-and-monotropism-unified-theory-autism

There's a meet-up for #autists at #MIND in #Ashton, this afternoon between 2 and 4. You coming?

#AskingAutistics
#ActuallyAutistic
#AllAutistics
#AuDHD

A great documentary film! Hopefully will be seen around the world.

#neurotypes #neurotyypit #autists #autistic #neudodivergent #neurodiversity

https://nordiskfilmogtvfond.com/news/stories/docpoint-film-festival-is-asking-if-democracy-is-in-crisis