"If we all worked under the assumption that what is accepted as true is really true, there would be little hope of advance." - Orville Wright
True in science, as well as personal growth. What have you been told is true that you've found out (or suspect) isn't?
I'm working to group and curate the massive collection of info I have on topics relevant to the later identified autistic journey, so it's easier to find and sort through. (Over 200 blog posts and 350 videos.)
Which topics are you interested in?
#AskingAutistics #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Neurodiversity #ND
What if you could talk to a version of yourself 20 years from now? What would they want you to know? What can they tell you that will help you right now?
One of the current diagnostic criteria for autism is a lack of imagination.
Would you say you lack imagination?
Whatever way you answer, I'd love to hear more detail - if you've time & inclination.
Reposts also appreciated āŗļø
#AskingAutistics #ActuallyAutistic #Diagnosis #Neurodivergent
#AskingAutistics any of us actually like the physical act of kissing (with tongue involvement)? I rarely am in the mood for it and mostly don't really care for it. A peck on the forehead on the other hand... #ActuallyAutistic
In what ways do you find it difficult to function that neurotypicals often don't notice or think about?
Anyone else with very sensitive feet that hate most shoe and sandal textures? For me it's because they feel sticky. What do you wear when it's too hot for socks?
I need to understand why masking is not sustainable in the long run.
The same way the french youtuber Za explains how the adhd meds work on the brain, I would like to really understand what makes masking exhausting, why it can't last.
I see it, I feel it, I don't understand it so I can't really heal from it.
Do you have any ressources on that topic ? French or english
#askingautistics
Je n'arrive pas Ć comprendre pourquoi, chimiquement, physiologiquement, le masking ne tient pas.
Je le sais je le vois je le vis mais je ne comprends pas ce qu'il se passe dans le corps ou dans le cerveau.
J'ai besoin de comprendre, comme quand Za explique le fonctionnement de la Ritaline versus les amphƩtamines dans le cerveau.
Avez-vous des ressources ? Fr ou en
#askingautistics
I'm adding the #AskingAutistics hashtag, because lots of us are sensitive to such things.
Many of us are sensitive to the noise produced by cheap LED lighting, so you might want to make sure that yours is silent as well as free from visible flickering. If you go with 16kHz, as has been suggested on the thread, then you might want to get a youngish child to listen.
Speaking only for myself, 60Hz is visible; 120Hz probably wouldn't bother me, but I don't have any devices that let me check.
Many thanks for asking the question!
Do you get, or have you ever had, recurring nightmares?
If so, what were they about? What was the atmosphere like? And - if you remember - what were your feelings in them? Was there anything else notable about them, or making them different from other dreams?
Interested in your stories.
What would your interactions with people be if you didnāt have the trauma responses, but you had the ability to attune?
Iām also working on getting to a simple explanation. Yesterday I had another two chances to test out my explanation (yay Christmasā¦)
I know Iām taking liberty with many definitions, but Iāve found exactness gets in the way.
A little more structured than I could in the conversations:
My brain thinks more, my brain and body feel more than ānormalā people do. Where feel is not only touch and the internal feelings of my body, but sight, sound, smell, taste, and emotions.
With think I mean not only cognitive analysis, but also remembering, planning, daydreaming, worrying, fantasising, etc.
And both thinking and feeling are not only more often, but also more intense.
This landed.
Then I explained that I lack the ability to ānumb downā on most of the impulses I get.
I used the example of how I keep getting jump scares from fireworks explosions long after other people are just watching the show. Or how I canāt filter out the noise of vacuuming, or that irritating label in my T-shirt.
So, everything, all the time, at the highest input they can imagine, without a knob to turn it down.
What I didnāt say in either conversation yesterday:
This is why I like my quiet time, this is why I donāt like crowds, this is why I have a hard time falling asleep, this is why I either canāt focus/ get lost in thought, this is why I like predictable things, this is why I ājust think too muchā, this is why I like the numbing drugs, this is why I donāt have many friends.
It helped me, hope it helps someone else too.
Iāve been trying to explain two autistic / AuDHD experiences that I have to a non-autistic loved one for a couple of years now, but Iām finding it really hard!
1. The first: difficulty with uncertainty.
I explain this like it is an anxiety that diminishes the more information I gain that reduces the levels of uncertainty. But the word āanxietyā makes my loved one interpret it as always being about fear, just like anxiety usually means more generally. E.g. fear, on any level, even minor, of a potential negative event happening in the future. But I am not always afraid or worried, so this interpretation doesnāt work. Itās purely the uncertainty itself I find hard to deal with, and I can experience this around things I enjoy and when know there will be no negative outcomes at all. It relates strongly to disliking surprises. E.g. if I am walking from A to B and someone suddenly bumps into me, I HATE that! But if I choose to walk in a busy crowd, I expect people to bump into me and itās totally fine. I hate being uncertain whether someone will bump into me or not, too.
2. The second topic can be totally separate or experienced together with the first: anticipation!
I have also tried to explain this as like a form of anxiety, but I have frequently felt this anticipation before hugely and purely positive events! It relates to something coming up soon that I am not familiar with. Familiarity in this sense usually only happens when I have either done things so frequently in my life that I canāt forget it, or Iāve experienced it about 3 or so times in the last month. This means revisiting a favourite restaurant that I havenāt been to for a year would cause this type of anticipation. The anticipation often stops me from being able to sleep the night before and my mind is often running through how the event might unfold, planning and so on, even if all the plans are already made and all preparation already done. As I said before, this often happens with purely positive events, so itās so strange to explain it!
I suspect that these two experiences are very common for autistic people, and the latter, anticipation, probably affects lots of neurodivergent people. I wondered if my ADHD is influencing the anticipation, for example, and maybe Iām just wanting to remember what I need to do for the event since I likely canāt use a routine for something unfamiliar to me? I donāt know! In this case, perhaps anticipation WOULD be classic anxiety since it relates to fear of forgetting something important or losing track of time. But sometimes itās just an impatient feeling.
What do you think?
Does anyone else experience these two things? Perhaps in a different way to me? If so, how would you describe it to someone who has never experienced it?
What can someone do about all the times when one was bad, and/or inadequate, and someone else was hurt ?
It was autisme, partially. But still...
What if a meltdown wasn't a "bad" thing, but a signal that you're having trouble coping with something? Or that you need something you're not getting?
#AskingAutistics #ActuallyAutistic #BurnoutRecovery #Sensory #Interoception
Can you read while there is audible language around you? Talking, shows, music, etc.
As for me, thatās a strong no.
#AskingAutistics #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Neurodiversity #Sensory #Interoception
I struggle to rest and recharge as an #AuDHD because I need mental stimulation and I get bored easily with classic rest (watching a show doing nothing elese ? NOPE)... But maybe there is a form of active rest ? Activities with low sensory input ? What do you think ?
#actuallyautistic #askingautistics #actuallyadhd #askingadhders #askingadhd #askingaudhd #askingaudhdists
(Edit to replace "Netflix and chill"... Seems used to say something else š¬)
#askingAutistics - It has never come to mind that it could be a hypersensitivity connected to being autistic, but my scalp has always been super sensitive to pulling on my hair (e.g. while brushing, which is why I have perfected my technique!). How are you fellow #ActuallyAutistic peeps experiencing your scalp?
What's the autistic version of the ADHD tax? How does it cost you more to go through life because you're autistic?
