Autism Relatabites

A blog dedicated to people with autism who need to be reminded that they are not alone. DISCLAIMER: I am not a professional at all, merely just a person with ASD who wants to help others with ASD as well ^^

[burntblueberrywaffles]

I LOVE being autistic and trying to communicate because every time it’s

[autismrelatabites]

Autism Relatabite 112

Deciding you're going to do something, then when someone tells you to do said thing… well… Now I Am Not Doing It >:c

[wolfertinger666]

I am autistic if I haven't made it obvious enough but, I'm not a baby who does wholesome and cute stimming and acts quirky like what most Neurotypicals want, I'm kinda the weirdest and sometimes off-putting motherfucker ever and my stims(mainly vocal) are annoying as hell and I lack volume Control and I am also very horny and kink positive. I also can dump rabbit facts to you

[autismrelatabites]

[autismrelatabites]

Is self diagnosing ok? I think that I have autism but I won’t have any chance to get proper diagnosis anytime soon. If not, how can you get professional diagnosis without leaving your house

Many people self diagnose for many different reasons! It's not something to be shameful of <3

[sirwombat]

I used to be anti-self-diagnosis. I changed my mind after realizing how much of a privilege it is to be able to get an assessment in the first place. Even if you do get a professional to see you, I've seen way too many horror stories where someone who is very obviously on the spectrum gets told they're not autistic based on a completely made-up criteria that isn't actually in any mental health manual, like having too many friends, making eye contact, being able to hold a conversation, etc.

However, I would STRONGLY advise doing a bit of research before applying the label of autism. By that, I mean do more than just watch a few videos about autism, especially on platforms like TikTok. Just like some psychiatrists will invent criteria to disqualify you from autism, some content creators will invent criteria that make you autistic, presumably because they hope to make you keep watching them to learn more about this condition you might have.

Read the actual diagnosis criteria, take self-assessment quizzes (with a grain of salt), consume content made by a variety of different people to see the range of the spectrum.

Self-diagnosed people are valid and have a place in the community if they desire, but informed self-diagnosis is greatly preferable! It's okay to call yourself "questioning" for a bit before fully integrating that label into your identity.

[triforce-of-mischief]

saw a terf reposted this, so i'm doing a service and now there's a source too: _lakenzo_ on tiktok

[amtrax]

I’m gonna be thinking about this for a while

[autismrelatabites]

Is self diagnosing ok? I think that I have autism but I won’t have any chance to get proper diagnosis anytime soon. If not, how can you get professional diagnosis without leaving your house

Many people self diagnose for many different reasons! It's not something to be shameful of <3

[gentleaffirmations]

Even if you were a difficult child, you didn't deserve to be hurt.

[gentleaffirmations]

I hope this message reaches all the neurodiverse and disabled people who were made to feel like their abuse was justified because they had "behaviors".

While this message is true for every child, you are who I had in mind when I wrote it.

[labmousegirl]

one of the things that makes autism a disability (and why some of us choose to label it as such rather than an “alternate neurotype”) is the stress. 

part of autism is just being incredibly stressed. overstimulation? stress. holding a conversation? stress. something happening to our schedule? stress. people talk about how often autism is recognized and diagnosed via our stress responses (like meltdowns) because it is just so common to see autistic people stressed because of lack of accommodations to how our brains work.

and this matters because stress kills. stress causes a lot of health issues, or it can trigger pre-existing ones by making certain chronic conditions flare up. i once had a psychiatrist very unhelpfully tell me i “just need to manage my stress” when the stress i was describing was things i could not avoid in neurotypical society and can’t “just get over”. i can do “self care” all i like but i cannot at the very base level change the way my brain inputs information and reacts accordingly.

[wuxiaphoenix]

Thiiiiis. Augh.

[m0untaing0ats]

People on the internet treat autism like it's some cute, childish thing, but like, autism and the trauma that comes with it have literally lead me to severe alcoholism, anger issues and a criminal record.

This post goes out to autistic addicts and autistic people who have personality disorders and autistic people who have hurt people during meltdowns and autistic people who have been in trouble with the law and autistic people who have been diagnosed with every mental illness under the sun only to find out it was autism all along.

You are loved. Your trauma and your reactions to it do not make you a bad person.

[autismrelatabites]

hi! i dont know if you can help with this but i was wondering if you could offer me any advice? i struggle with sensory issues relating to cleanliness, meaning i hate the feeling of clean hands and hand sanitizer. i really want to stop being unsanitary but every time i wash my hands with soap i want to crawl out of my skin and i feel like a slob now that people are noticing :( i can power through it but i just wanted to know if you knew any ways i can get clean without feeling horrible

I understand completely. Sensory issues can be a nightmare, and something as common as handwashing is something really tough to have to force yourself through multiple times a day.

In terms of the actual feeling or sensations, I don't know how many things you've tried, so forgive me if you have already done this and it didn't work:

Trying different water temperatures

Buying and using lotions after washing your hands (gets rid of the dry sensation and gives you a barrier for your skin)

As a last resort, buying and using one-use gloves for when you use the bathroom or do anything that causes you to pick up germs

However, I cannot understate how important it is to wash your hands semi-regularly, not just for your own health, but for the health of everyone you interact with. Not washing your hands can cause hepatitis, gastrointestinal infections like norovirus and salmonellosis, and respiratory infections, such as influenza, colds and covid, which can spread very quickly.

If you have a friend who is immune-compromised, someone elderly like a grandparent, or even someone who is sick or on their period, you are putting them in danger every day, not to mention every person who may use a door handle after you, eat food prepared by you, shake hands with you, be handed something by you.

Sensory issues are hard, I hate washing dishes for example, I don't like any part of it, the entire experience is awful for me. However, it needs doing, because otherwise I risk mold and other diseases. There are some things you just simply cannot avoid doing because you don't like it, both for your own safety, but for the safety of others.

[pigeon-cave]

Diagrams are helpful to me

[autismrelatabites]

Autistic people, do you prefer having your fingernails long or short?

Long

Short

Somewhere in the middle

Other (tags)

Voting ended onDec 22, 2023

[inthesensethat-deactivated20240]

Incredible

[thanook]

wait so

all this time it was not normal

because all the time I have something playing in my head

(Most recently its usually Lagtrain, Loopspinner or a remix of the two)

[redvelvetrevolver]

its completely normal. 92% of people get songs stuck in their head.

[smolbeerke]

#next on tiktok: did you know having THOUGHTS is ABNORMAL and a sign of BPD???

[thatwhichresemblesthegrave]

this feels like a good time to plug this study:

The Reach and Accuracy of Information on Autism on TikTok - PubMed

The informational content about autism made available on TikTok reaches a wide number of people. Most of the information provided, however,

"An examination of the top 133 videos providing informational content on autism, which totaled 198.7 million views and 25.2 million likes, showed that 27% of the videos were classified as accurate, while 41% were classified as inaccurate and 32% as overgeneralized."

[kiran-wears-science-blues]

Here is a link to a free full-text version of the article mentioned above!

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Early Warning Signs of Autistic Shutdowns

Neurodivergent_lou

[autismrelatabites]

Is there any way to make my life less lonely, even if there aren't many people around me irl (I live in such a place, almost in the woods), and there is no autistic people either...? I don't wanna use Internet because that's how I survived until now, maybe something to make me feel like being on my own is enough...

I am admittedly unsure. I do not know your situation very well beyond what you've told me, and it sounds like you're in a bit of a tough spot. This might not help but I'm going to throw out the idea of getting a pet (only if feasible) or some plushies you can name and hug when you feel lonely. Also remember that the internet is the home of millions of people and it's not shameful or less-than real life. There's also always discord/phone calls with online friends, sometimes hearing their voice instead of just seeing messages on a screen can really help. Thank you for the ask ^^

[autismrelatabites]

hi, i recently took the raads-r and ASQ evalutaions and the results were that i'm very likely to be autistic. I also took an emptahy quotient evaluation that said due to my concerningly low levels of empathy, i might be autistic. what do i do? how do i go about getting diagnosed? i dont even know where to start

Diagnosis for autism varies a lot by country, and I'm not super familiar with those outside of my own. My first point of recommendation would be to google it and see what others are saying, add "reddit" after the search if you want to avoid potential bad faith articles. From what I can tell though, getting therapy or speaking to a psychiatrist or GP is a good starting point. Thank you for this ask!