Autism extra crispy

Marko, he/they | I'm an autistic psychology student and this is my side blog. I post mostly about autism and queer stuff. Pro informed self-dx. My own posts are tagged as #dev rambles. Most of this blog runs on queue but I'm always happy to answer asks.

[autismus-obscurus]

Nothing like jumping on lumps of half -frozen leftover snow in the middle of campus. Is it inappropriate and childish for an adult? Maybe. Did people see me? Yes. Do I regret it? No. CRUNCH CRUNCH BITCHES HERE I COME

[quinn-push-for-hugs]

A Lesser Known Sensory Issue

So when people think of ASD or SPD, they think of the usual suspects: Light sensitivity, auditory sensitivity, touch aversion, etc. These are fairly common among those with ASD and SPD and I have some of those myself, however, there are some less common sensory issues that you don’t hear about as often. I’m going to write a bit about mine because when I was looking for information about it - I found very little. I hope some day this will help somebody out there who does a google search on why they feel the things they feel.

One lesser known sensory situation is vestibular hyposensitivity (Hypo, not Hyper). People who have this usually like spinning around, moving their body around a lot, and can often spin and spin without ever getting dizzy, as if they’re immune to it. People with this usually love movement and seek it out whenever possible. I am the opposite of this. I have vestibular hypersensitivity and… it’s a royal pain in the arse.

You know that weird sensation you get when you’re on an elevator and it just starts moving? Now imagine that sensation but amplified by 500x and then you get what I feel. Any sort of up/down motion absolutely messes with my head in very unpleasant ways. Elevators, escalators, theme park rides, airplanes, bumps in the road while driving, etc. I can even trigger it just by bouncing up and down on my feet or, hell, even just walking can cause it sometimes. I’ll just be walking along and suddenly get this immense feeling like the world beneath me is gone and I’m about to start falling for a fraction of a second. Or it’ll feel like a rug was just yanked out from under my feet or that I was thrown across a room, all because I had too much vertical movement in my walking. 

Once it’s been triggered really badly, my sense of up and down goes all wonky. I basically stumble and limp around until I can find somewhere to sit, where I’ll curl into a ball until gravity seems normal again. It can often feel like gravity is pulling me in another direction that isn’t straight down. Usually it’s kind of an upward top-left direction but it can vary a bit. I am pretty useless until this sensation passes.

But anyway, that’s all I wanted to say. I hope this is informative to somebody out there!

[autismus-obscurus]

Quiz: What animal are you most afraid of?

Me: PEOPLE!!! >.

[autter-pop-old]

Look.

Scripting is real. Scripting is important to autistics. 

Yes, personally i speak mostly freely. but i still have a databank of go-to words, phrases, and appropriate reactions that I conciously check.

So yeah. You can’t tell. But I’m still petrified. I’m still reviewing every mistake for next time? I’m still revising and editing scripts in my head all the time just so I can pass???

it doesn’t come naturally. it will never come naturally. i will always be terrified. i know that. 

There’s not much I or you can do to change that. So please, just make it a little easier by listening. Please don’t dismiss this. Please. Please. 

[autistic-culture-is]

“that was funnier in my head” is autistic culture

[autismus-obscurus]

Honestly you know what the most ANNOYING, UNNECESSARY part of autism is?

Getting irrationally attached to inanimate objects

We’re getting a new car tomorrow because our old one is slowly dying and the seller was like "we can’t sell it here anymore but it still runs so it’s gonna be shipped to fuck knows where” (paraphrased) and I’m just...

Don’t touch my fucking car It’s mine

[autasticanna]

[gahdamnpunk]

Please read this!

+

[autismus-obscurus]

Ah fall! it’s time for my favorite game again:

“Is this a butch lesbian or a trans dude?”

[nyxtheautisticbean]

Tips for Autistic Travellers?

It’s been over a decade since I travelled to another country. I managed it a few times as a teenager since I was visiting local boyfriends/romantic interests. Back then I was a bit more Devil-may-care. Now, I struggle with non-verbal episodes, heightened sensitivity, and a degree of agoraphobia. But I’ve decided not to let it stop me.

In a week’s time, my partner and I will be flying to Rotterdam together. I lived there for a year in 2017 - 18 and I want to go to a music festival I attended. Also, we plan to go to the zoo and visit the metaphysical shops.

I’m older now and less well-equipped. Years of being undiagnosed have taken their toll and my partner has only just been diagnosed himself. We’re also going to be staying at a hotel and won’t have the assistance of my Dutch ex as we don’t talk.

My partner has never been out of the country. Last year we spent a few days in a wee cabin in the highlands of our native country and it went well. I’m sure this will all be fine and my best friend/carer has been helping us prepare.

But I thought I’d ask you all whether you had tips for travelling, either alone or with other people.

Pretty sure we’ve covered the basics, etc. This is more to ease my partner’s mind. Still, I’d love to hear anything you’d suggest, as I think it is a useful subject for everybody who might be able to manage travel. Being autistic shouldn’t immediately mean we (any of us) can’t travel if we want to do so.

Some of my own tips:

Phone or email ahead to airports, train stations, hotels, etc. and let the staff know you may need special assistance.

Pack a special travel stim pack (remember to check if anything is unfit to be carried on as hand luggage).

If concerned about panicky sensations during travel, speak to your doctor. If your doctor doesn’t prescribe something like diazepam then you should still be able to purchase valerian tablets from a pharmacy. Make sure to talk to the pharmacist first about any possible interactions with your usual medications.

If you personally can’t make phone calls or speak to people, ask a friend or relative or carer to do so on your behalf.

Check up on the general manners and customs of wherever you are visiting.

Do you have anything to add?

[autismus-obscurus]

Good post! I recently traveled out of country for the very first time alone, and while I don’t get nonverbal episodes I have social anxiety and prefer not to talk to people if I don’t have to.

Some tips:

- Plan routes ahead (do NOT rely on google maps alone in case the connection is bad, in the best case you know where to go with only a screenshot.)

- when you use busses/trains take a later connection over a very close one - if you think “but I can make this if I run” don’t. A tiny delay can throw you off schedule entirely. It’s unnecessarily stressful, and waiting for a bus is easier than having to schedule a new travel on the spot

- Anything you need for travel, have it sorted and in a spot where you will find it without having to go through 2647437 items (that does not mean easily accessible, you don’t want any pickpockets coming near your stuff)

- maybe check out the most common street signs in the country if you’re unsure you’ll find your way

- if you’re worried about leaving your stuff in the counry if you leave, make a list of your belongings and keep them sorted in a system that works for you

That’s all I can think of right now, if I get more ideas I’ll add on.

[universally-interested]

my autistic experience with food: I eat the same thing every day for months, and then one day without warning the food makes me so sick I almost throw up.

[0phanim-deactivated20191006]

I do the same exact thing! It frustrates my mom so much because sometimes it’ll last weeks sometimes months I’ll pretty much ONLY eat a certain food and then after that phase passes I’ll be absolutely repulsed by the food and won’t go near it

[autistickeely]

I do this too!

[autismus-obscurus]

Same here, and it’s frustrating af.

One time in my life I ate gurkins and peppers and turnip cabbage so much that now I get stomach cramps whenever I eat more than one little bite. Same with most veggies, which makes eating healthy pretty difficult.

[unknowndespair]

Does anybody else find statistics interesting, or is it just me? The data doesn’t even have to be particularly useful. Like, “is the song you call your favorite actually your most listened to song?” and “what’s your most listened to song on Tuesdays at 8 am? Is it a different song than your all-time most listened to song?”  Neither of those is helpful, but I’m super interested to know the answer.

[autistickeely]

Yes, I love knowing!!

[autismus-obscurus]

Well now I gotta check my playlists....

[autismus-obscurus]

Info!

For the people who tag me in stuff/ send me asks:

I’m not on tumblr very often these days because I get stuck here for hours on end. BUT I do check in regularly.

The problem is that tumblr doesn’t show me when I get asks or tagged. It just doesn’t show up in my notifications.

So, if anyone is still waiting for a reply, sorry. Either I overlooked it or it got eaten. Just shoot me a message and I’ll get back to you. If you have instagram, my study account is azeria_rebane, you can shoot me a message there as well.

[autismus-obscurus]

@ that last anon, there are some sounds that make me shiver and gag to the point where I have to plug my ears? not the same sense but yeah I think it could be common!!

About this post

Same here. Cutlery on plates for example, Big Yikes.Thanks for the input!

[autismus-obscurus]

Am I doing something wrong? I've always been told that stimming is supposed to feel super great, but aside from having an impulsive need to stim, i don't get any great feelings from it. i just do it because my body says i need it, so i keep trying to find ways to stim in hopes of finding one that gives me a rush. But so far... nothing.

Tbh, same? I don’t get a “happy rush” from stimming either. It’s interesting that I’ve never seen anyone talk about it on here.

Most of the time when I stim I do it because it feels natural. It doesn’t even necessarily communicate something. I often start stimming without even noticing. It’s just how I am. Otherwise, I stim as a result of feelings, not really the other way around. I flap and jump when I’m happy or I flap short and angry when I’m frustrated or am trying to remember something.

As far as I can tell, stimming is just how we naturally behave. I never get a happy rush when stimming, but it’s relieving to do, especially after having to suppress it for a while.

[autismus-obscurus]

Is it an autistic thing to hate nicknames? I dislike using them for others (but of course I do so if it's important to them) and I forbid anyone to use one for me (both birth name and chosen name). Like, that's not my name, you can't just change it? Why would you use a different name than the one given?

I’ve never actually thught about it, so I can’t give you a definitive answer, but I have a feeling it would be. I went by many nicknames but what bugged me most was when people didn’t stick to them or used names I already said I didn’t like.

I got a lot of nicknames in life because I have a long, uncommon and rather oldfashioned deadname that you can very easily twist phonetically, so maybe that’s something to do with it. Another reason could be due to internal rules. A lot of autistics, including me, find it hard to divert from set rules. As you said, why would you use a different name than that person has for no good reason?

[mythicallydeactivated-deactivat]

Found this gem in Link’s likes and I love it, it’s so accurate

[autismus-obscurus]

Since many autistics get accused of mansplaining when we ramble, even if we don’t want to be rude, I thought this might be helpful