I did not sign up for this planet

Autism blog. I'm autistic, dyspraxic and queer... she/her. I follow from @asocks, I use Tumblr mobile so I can't view your About :( sorry!!

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HELLO AUTISM COMMUNITY!

I’m sorry, but I’ve gotta rant. The other day I was in New York, and I saw this billboard:

Look a little closer:

Yep, you’re seeing this right. Autism Speaks. On a billboard with Julia. Sesame Street has joined forces with our “pals” (and by pals I mean enemies that we wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole) over at Autism Speaks. Julia, a character who has been embraced and loved by the autism community, is now the face of Autism Speaks, an organization that has hurt our community more than it has helped. I am heartbroken. This character has made me, as an autistic person, so happy and gave me hope that autism is starting to become more accepted by society. And although I don’t speak for everyone in the autism community, I know that there are many people who felt the same way. But now that this character is the face of an ableist movement which pushes the idea that autism is a disease in need of a cure, that hope is gone. PLEASE reblog this to get the word out, whether you’re on the autism spectrum or not.

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Seasonal special interest right now...

... is birdwatching 🔭🦆

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I wrote before about how being autistic can put you at odds with a job in medical research publishing.

Now I'm working in medical education, and once again I'm finding myself (metaphorically) shouting at medical professionals.

The authors of the educational manuscript gave 4 examples of patients:

4-year-old boy

11-year-old boy

Newborn baby boy

10-year-old autistic child

So they called all their patients "boy", except the autistic kid, who is just "child".

Alarm bells were already ringing, but then the authors said a particular surgery was indicated in the case of the autistic child because "he may lack the ability to look after himself independently".

Sorry to repeat myself incessantly here, but you can make no presumptions about somebody's ability to perform daily tasks based on them being autistic.

I have advised we change the wording to "A 10-year-old autistic boy who relies on his parents to clean and dress him". I'm hoping my supervisor will agree with me here.

I didn't tell my new colleagues that I'm autistic, but I feel there's many small tics that could potentially give me away. If my supervisor doesn't want to let me change the wording, I may have to tell them that I'm also autistic, and I'd prefer to avoid that until they know me well.

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Hi my name is ash and I’m 18 years old and autistic. I was wondering why ppl find person first language dehumanizing? I have no personal preference either way and in my brain it feels like one of those rules that doesn’t click? I’m really confused by it? I’m sorry if this is a cumbersome ask

Hi Ash!! I'm Ren.

You can call yourself whatever feels comfortable to you. It's your choice, lots of people don't have a preference in favour of identity-first language (e.g. "autistic person") for themselves.

The following is what I think about person-first language, other people probably have more to add or different reasons.

Phrases like "person with autism" are typically used by the medical community, and the families of autistic people. Putting "person" first makes the implication that despite having autism, the subject is still a human being.

This may seem like a noble intention, but it contains a value judgement about autism; specifically, that autism is a bad thing that is to be overcome, rather than a thing to be accepted as an unchangeable aspect of a person's being. It is part of me. If a person refuses to see me as autistic, they're refusing to see and understand me.

It may also imply that it's wrong to be proud about being autistic, and that being proud of your personhood outside of autism is of higher priority. I can't help but be proud. If I wasn't autistic, I'd be a completely different person.

Hearing person-first language may upset some people because it is used by those involved in the abuse of autistic people, such as ABA therapy (aimed at forcing autistic children to suppress themselves and act "normal"). It can also be a useful "red flag" for identifying those neurotypical people who don't listen to autism self-advocates.

I hope this is the answer you were asking for. Please feel free to PM or Ask anytime, I'll get around to reading it eventually!

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I was diagnosed with autism as an adult, long after I was independent from my parents, and my parents don't accept the diagnosis.

I was talking to my them about how sometimes, finding a label for yourself can be very empowering and validating. I gave my autism diagnosis as an example.

My mother got very annoyed with me. She told me "you've always been so creative! And empathetic! Autism means not being creative or empathetic at all!"

I mean, what a thing to say. I know so many autistic people who are very much creative and empathetic.

It's true that sometimes empathy and creativity work differently for us, and some autistic people's strengths are not creativity, the same way some non-autistic people aren't inclined towards creativity.

Roleplaying, programming, research and art communities come to mind as being rich in talented and creative autistic people.

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Seal expressions

I thought seals usually had expressions similar to mine (😐) but here they are with their faces in a range of different expressions 😯

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Just in case it wasn't immediately obvious, I am a strong believer in Liking Pinnipeds being the HEIGHT of Autistic Culture.

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I tried to think why this is

Default facial expression looks sad

Prefers to live in a featureless white void

Eats the same food every day

Limited dexterity due to comorbid dyspraxia/lack of legs and hands

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Just in case it wasn't immediately obvious, I am a strong believer in Liking Pinnipeds being the HEIGHT of Autistic Culture.

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Okay so I went to Toastmasters this week. It's an international professional development society that focuses on public speaking. And if you're autistic you might really get a kick out of it:

1. You learn to speak in public

2. You learn to give and receive criticism (my biggest flaw for sure)

3. You can give them a talk about your favourite subjects!

4. Everything is super-ordered and scheduled and you will always know what happens next

5. Everybody there has to be nice to you because they're trying to learn to engage with people.

I never knew this was a thing until a few weeks ago 😊

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I admire this person who seems to dislike me, I've no idea what I'm doing wrong and if that's not a Big Autism Mood I don't know what is

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it’s “end cringe culture” when it’s about things that come back into fashion like minecraft, but when someone has a hard time communicating, or they don’t pick up on social cues, or they like something you think is dumb (but is harmless), or they dress “weird,” or they talk “weird,” or they act “weird,” or they talk to themselves, or they have a hard time with grammar and spelling, or they have a mental illness you haven’t seen someone accessorize, or they stim in a way that’s noticeable and hasn’t been romanticized by tumblr, THEN it’s fine to tear them a new asshole, right? 

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Do any other autistic people out there just Really love cleaning??

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5 Guidelines to keep in mind during Autism Acceptance Month - AssistiveWare

The words, symbols and campaigns we see during this period remind us of the common mistakes people make when writing about autistic people.

Yesssss tell them, comrade!

I love how the author has used language that neurotypicals would understand and acknowledges their good intentions while accepting No B.S. whatsoever

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Has anybody else read Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata? (Minor spoilers below)

*

It's clear that the protagonist was neurodivergent in some way. I'm unsure whether she was intended to be read as autistic or otherwise, but she clearly had many of the typical hallmarks of being autistic:

Adherence to routine

Perception of normal society as having many rules that are never written down

Mimicking the behaviour of neurotypical people

Discomfort with the enforced "norms" of romance, sexuality and relationships

As I'm curious about the author's intentions, I'm going to look for interviews/reviews and report back 👍

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That feeling when you're in a job interview mentally counting how long you've made eye contact for until the quota is met for a few seconds and you can have a rest

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Some cool news! I'm now working as a research assistant for the same team that made the banner for this blog (it was painted by bees)!

Now I'm involved in a really cool project about bee vision, cognition and social intelligence, and how our understanding of these things can be used to build an AI.

I'm a cancer biologist, I legitimately have no idea how I've ended up in robotics...

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Well, you're not wrong... :'D