Honestly? The absolute worst part of autism would have to be that getting better looks like getting worse. Let me explain. There is no recovery with autism. It’s just part of you, that’s all. But neurotypicals and society at large force autistic people to try and fit in as much as possible. Don’t stim, don’t use echolalia, speak how we want you to, etc. etc. The way that you grow as an autistic person and avoid depression and anxiety and other negative side effects of autism is by giving those expectations the finger and being your true autistic self. But…this becomes a predicament. The people around you see you stimming more, speaking less, using echolalia more, whatever it may be, and they think you’re getting “worse.”
I’m gonna use myself as an example.
I’ve always appeared more neurotypical than many autistic people because that’s what I was forced to do growing up. I got really depressed and suicidal. I never let my autistic behaviors out and I got depressed. Holding in your autism, your true personality, will do that. Then, I started stimming more. Some stimming at school, a little stimming in public, lots of stimming by myself. I started to let myself avoid eye contact and be okay with that. I got less depressed. I got less suicidal. But, now I was visibly autistic, and therefore it looked to everyone else like my mental health must be getting worse. But it wasn’t. Those things that looked like me getting worse were actually me getting better and being myself.
The reason this is on my mind is that I’ve kind of reached a plateau in my recovery from the bad stuff in that now that I’ve had a taste of what being my true autistic self is like, I want it all. I’ve been stimming in front of people, but that’s starting to not be enough. I want to talk how I need to, I want to do my verbal stims, I want full body stims, not just my hands, but that’s another big step that’s gonna look like I’m getting worse and that, more than anything, is gonna get me a lot of judgement. Fidgety hands and mild bouncing aren’t tooooo weird or noticeable. Vocal stims, stomping, walking on the balls of my feet, being semi verbal, all that stuff…that’s what I need. That’s what I need to feel comfortable. But, the more autistic you appear, the “sicker” everybody thinks you are, when really, that’s what’s healthy for autistic people.
I guess what I’m getting at is that I just want to exist as my true autistic self without fear of judgement. More specifically, without causing people concern or even having people notice.
This is a *really good* article that both handles anatomy concerns and presumes zero background makeup knowledge. Well done.
It’s amazing that the cover photo is showing both older women and people of color, something that the media consistently ignores regarding the trans community.
reminder that if you’re trans there’s a good chance your local planned Parenthood not only does HRT but also does informed consent so you don’t have to get a note from a therapist! i would absolutely recommend looking into your local planned Parenthood by calling them or seeing the services they offer online. i thought hormones would be a huge lengthy process for me but when I went i got my prescription more or less the very same day i went in. transition IS possible and its closer than you think.
any white at a protest who tries to go against police and deliberately provoke a response from them is not to be trusted and does not have the safety of black and brown people in mind.
there is a good chance that they are police too. if anyone, especially a white dude, ever randomly gets your attention and conspiratorially tries to convince you to jump a police officer, then dude is a cop. They have been using this technique and script for at least 30 years.
Check their fucking shoes. They’re always too afraid that their little toesies will be hurt so they’ll usually still be rocking the exact same boots as the guys on the other side. This was what gave the cops away when they provoked riots in Toronto a while back.
@talesofalamia, remember when I pointed out the shoes of the two well-dressed informants near us?
Similar note: IME, unmarked cruisers have five distinguishing traits:
1. They’re one of the department-issue models. 2. They’re always white, black, or dark blue. 3. They always look like they just rolled out of a car wash. 4. Usually rocking restricted plates. 5. Most reliable if present but hardest to spot: Their mirrors are bulkier, to fit the light rigs in.
In Austin the under cover officer that tried to convince me to set a cop car on fire had a convincing fake beard.
Be careful out there and read up on common tactics used against protestors before going.
You can usually see the stealth lights if you look into the grill.
Besides the old obvious as fuck Crown Victoria, be suspicious of 2013+ Ford Taurus and Explorer, 2006+ Dodge Charger and Dakota, 06-13 Chevy Impala, 11+ Chevy Caprice and both the Tahoe and Suburban.
Look for oversize mirrors, plugs on the roof and/or A pillar, lights inside the grill, extraneous lights inside the headlight assembly, lights tucked up behind the rear view mirror, steel wheels with or without wheel covers, and plugs or short antennas on the trunk lid.
Reblogging this for two reasons: 1. So people who have reason to be afraid of the police (which is pretty much anyone with significant melanin) see it. 2. Uh, good writer reference for describing undercover cop cars…
– They clean your air – They give you something to name – They give you something to take care of – They teach you about care, needs, and resources – They make you look like you’re good at decorating
Here are some of mine:
But some people, because they’re overwhelmed or simply can’t figure out how to start, think that plants are out of their reach.
A Message to my Followers who are going to be impacted by Hurricane Florence.
This hurricane is dangerous.
Please, take it seriously.
It is not just a thunderstorm.
Take it from someone who went through Katrina and saw the damage a hurricane can do when it sits and builds.
It changes entire landscapes.
It kills.
Get gas now. The gas stations will begin to either run out, or put a limit to how much gas you can get. Get it now while you can, because I remember distinctly the way the abandoned cars looked on the highway while we were evacuating.
Once that storm hits, the gas stations will shut down. There will be no gas for a week, at least.
You will be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic. Make sure your car is in good working order. The amount of cars left behind on the highway is astounding.
Bring your pets in case of flooding, don’t leave them behind or in a shelter.
Take a picture of every single thing in your house the way it is. Ever dresser. Everything. If it floods, this will help with the insurance.
Power will be out for a week, possibly more. Take anything that will spoil, eat it now/bring it with you/throw it out. You don’t want to come back to a house that is 80°+ inside with spoiled food. It smells disgusting. I know from first hand experience.
Pack as much clothes + whatever else you need as you can. You don’t know what you will be returning to, if anything at all. I hate to say it, but there were so many homes lost in Katrina in mg area to flooding & I didn’t even live in the Soup Bowl.
From what I’ve seen, the outer bands are strengthening. They’re red at this point. This hurricane is getting stronger, and it’s well built. There are no winds to tear it apart. It’s eye is holding together, and that’s terrifying. A well built storm like this one can ruin lives. It’s not a joke.
Please, please stay safe. Evacuate ASAP if you’re in the direct line.
Don’t wait until it is here. That is how you get killed. Do not evacuate in the middle of it. Don’t wait until last minute.
It is always better to be safe than sorry.
Please stay safe.
Listen to the news. Follow their advice.
Leave while you still can, before the highways get clogged up. Go as far in-land as you can. Leave the state entirely if you have to.
We did. And we still felt the effects of Katrina.
Please, stay safe.
I’ve also heard that it’s a good idea to put things you don’t want destroyed in the dishwasher bc it’s waterproof and it’s attached to the cabinets.
A little PSA about ASL for ‘Thank you’! I’ve had all of these signed to me accidentally hahaha. And whenever I sign thank you to non signers, sometimes they thought I was blowing a kiss to them. T_T
Oh oh! Make careful how you sign work too. Left hand faces down when you bring your right hand over your left to tap your wrist just twice. That means work/job. If your left hand is facing up so the inside of the wrists come together you’re asking somebody if they want to fuck.
“move this sign one inch to the left and you’ll be signing ‘penis’“
this is the purest video you will see all day, it includes not only practical advice on how to make cats feel comfortable but also:
the most patient and long suffering clawdia
bob ross, but a vet
squish the cat
squish the cat, but with a towel
absolute unit mr. pirate
a little chubby but quite beautiful
please watch this immediately
Pidge is most emphatically not a shoulder cat, but using proper holds has definitely improved her outlook on getting picked up and carried around for short bursts.
Fuck, my sleep schedule does naturally fall into the 4am-12 pattern, doesn’t it
What fucking else about ADD/ADHD don’t I know?
Do you sit weird in chairs? Apparently that’s one.
Does criticism really REALLY really upset you, to the point that you get upset and consider walking away from whatever the thing you were criticized for was?
Is your sense of time utterly fucked?
Oh fuck. I was recently diagnosed but all of these things have been true my whole life lol
Imagine my surprise when I had this plus all the standard symptoms and got diagnosed at 31! *Fingerguns*
More Adult ADHD symptoms that people don’t know:
“Hyperactivity” can include chattiness, or an obsessive focus on one topic that you’ll happily go on about for hours in a conversation with *anyone* at the slightest provocation (last week someone brought up pockets in women’s clothing near the end of a small-group workout session and I may have spent the rest of the session giving an impromptu lecture about pockets while doing hammer curls)
Zoning out and staring off into space because you’re thinking really hard about something and then not noticing that people are talking to you
Hyperfocus is a symptom of ADHD. There’s this pervasive myth that folks with ADHD can’t pay attention but sometimes the problem is you can’t leave something alone.
Random impulsive shopping sprees that leave you wracked with guilt can be part of ADHD
Interrupting or talking over other people
P R O C R A S T I N A T I O N (because you can’t feel bad about failing a project that never gets started)
Worrying that you’re going to get fired every time your boss wants to speak to you privately (this is a sign of rejection sensitive dysphoria and emotional hyperarousal)
Anyway, that’s all I’ve got the attention to look up for now so ttyl, if you think you may have ADHD check out some of the blogs dedicated to it, read up on symptoms, and talk to your doctor, bye.
Everybody raise your hand if you developed a mnemonic as a kid where you flexed your right arm to remember which was right and which was left and kept that into adulthood because I’ve now spoken to three people who have a half-second “right-flex-okay-it’s-this-one” “left-flex-okay-it’s-the-other-one” process for figuring out which is right and which is left.
Oh my god. When I was being taught right-left as a kid my dad bought me a ring to put on my left hand to help me remember. To this day when I think right-or-left I run my left thumb against my ring-finger to confirm that it’s left even though i haven’t worn that ring for over 35 years (!!!).
I have so few of the popularized symptoms of ADHD and so many of all the less-known ones associated with it that l have no idea if I qualify for a diagnosis, but I’ve got to say it’s a bit of a relief to know how many other people have these issues at all. Like…it’s not just me??
Oh thank ghu there is someone else out there who reads these symptom lists and goes “well, that all sounds familiar, but I don’t have the Important Signs, so I can’t diagnose.” B/c I don’t want to claim something I don’t have, but at the same time some of the pieces fit…
Same. I never know if these things are unique to a particular issue, or universal but people wont fess up, or just me.
And I reflexively have to put my hand on my heart to know right from left..but….your left hand makes an L when you look at your index finger and thumb. My son taught me that one.
This is part of why get a diagnosis was a relief. I had an explanation for all the odd behaviors, and i wasn’t just lazy or stupid.
ADHD tends to have a genetic component and while I don’t think my paternal side has it, I do know my maternal grandfather couldn’t tell left from right, so I wonder if it maybe it came from that side.
Yep, another person who has difficulty with left and right over here. I’m better at it, at age 32, but sometimes I still double-check by turning my left hand into an L.
Also weirdly, when I was in the Navy, Port and Starboard was easy. I think it’s because port and starboard are not arbitrary nor do they change based on which way you’re facing. On a plane or a ship, the nose is the front, port is on the left, and starboard is on the right. Always. Doesn’t matter if you’re looking at the tail of the plane, the port wing is still in the same place it was when you were looking at the nose of the jet.
Thats a good point about port and starboard and I found the same thing to be true.
Also I totally do the L thing too. If i have to give directions in a car from the passenger seat i tend to point left and tap the window for right because if i try to verbally tell you left or right I will probably get it wrong.
For my grandpa it was ‘papa’s side (driver’s side, so left) or B’s side (since grandma sat in the passenger seat)”
DarkestElemental616 