When autistic people are having a meltdown, it is like having a huge flight or fight adrenaline rush. Even if you offer help that is exactly what we need, we will fight it and resist, being extremely oppositional when we don't want to be. I have barricaded myself in a public bathroom before with security officers trying to get in, and I was horrified by myself as the crazy lady, but I am just a horrified passenger with no control. The best thing to do is offer help in such a way that the person in a meltdown uses their own agency to receive the help instead of you micromanaging them. Asking us a bunch of questions and therefore adding more stimuli when we are over stimulated is not the way, so don't ask us what we need-- we can't think straight, much less process what you are even saying. Just focus on reducing stimuli-- less talking, less touching, fewer things to process or rebel against. If we need something, silently make it available instead of telling us to take it, because we'll only scream NO. If it is just there, we'll take it. Take everything down a notch: quieter, darker, etc. #ActuallyAutistic
2/2 Now imagine someone calling the police and what that entails. A disproportionate number of people killed by police, especially Black people, are autistic. #ActuallyAutistic
We suggest specifically that attenuated Bayesian priors – ‘hypo-priors’ – may be responsible for the unique perceptual experience of autistic people, leading to a tendency to perceive the world more accurately rather than modulated by prior experience.
Hold on, shoppers! Sales are here (or coming soon) in the EU.
It's time to rethink our fashion choices.
Before you buy, ask yourself: do I really need this?
Fast fashion is harmful. It is resource intensive, emits greenhouse gases and uses a lot of water.
By 2030, our goal is clear: all #EU textile products will be long-lived, recyclable and made as much as possible of recycled fibres, respecting social rights and the environment.
Let's redefine fast fashion and create a sustainable future.
"Before you buy, ask yourself: do I really need this?"
Very often, I'm in a situation where I can honestly answer that question by a resounding "no!"
However, the entity that does need me to dress in a certain way is society. If society had fewer requirements, then I'd be able to buy less clothing to satisfy society's arbitrary demands on me.
Absolutely agree. NT librarians are also more likely to only know about well-reviewed and bestseller autistic authors like Grandin and Robison, and autism parent books, and think that's good representation.
It's not that they can't do the research, it's that the librarians doing the selection work are frequently overworked, and have limited time and a lot of pressure to make every penny count. The lowest hanging fruit is usually the mainstream stuff.
Requesting a few specific title/authors and linking to reviews can really help. Introducing resources like ASAN so they know why these voices are so important is also a plus.
Then spread the word that the books are available locally. If they don't check out, the odds of them getting more goes down because shelf space is finite.
This message is brought to you by a long time library worker who wants to see more #ActuallyAutistic authors on the shelves! ;)
I stopped using mastodon completely when I migrated to neurodifferent.me and lost ALL my follows/followers. It just seems so exhausting to start again. Any ideas fellow #actuallyautistic friends?
Look I am not a train autistic, but it's undeniable that trains are freaking cool. Trains are interesting, and maybe if more NTs were train people, more cities would have functioning public transport systems. Just saying.
A couple of months ago, hot takes on "AI" were all the rage. I abstained, because I didn't have anything to say that hadn't been said just fine by someone else.
Then I had an insight that I haven't seen elsewhere. So I wrote an essay -- late to the party, but I hope valuable all the same.
Do my #ActuallyAutistic comrades see themselves fundamentally as happy people who are sometimes/often sad, or sad people who are sometimes/often happy?
Sometimes it is difficult for me not to bring up a special interest in conversation. And I can’t read when others aren’t really interested in hearing about it.
Are you limited in what foods you can eat? I was considered a picky eater when I was growing up. I still habitually eat the same things over and over again.
I am working on a short talk (~15m) for work about #AutismAwareness.
Any advice, things I definitely should/shouldn’t cover? Web resources with examples of such talks done well?
On the docket so far: identity- vs person-first language, under diagnosis, masking, executive dysfunction, sensory processing, special interests, truth/veracity, alexythemia.
Boosts appreciated to get more reach/advice. Thanks!
Have you ever been told that you need to “open up more”? I didn’t understand what that meant for a long time. And it never went well for me when I did.