Autistic Opinions

My name is Erin.  I am Autistic. This blog is intended to help educate people about Autism from an Autistic perspective.

[autistic--author]

A couple of other Autistics and I run a Facebook page known as Autistics Against Curing Autism, along with a recently opened blog by the same name.  Our team is currently small and, quite frankly, understaffed.  Our team members all have outside obligations that sometimes prevent us from making regular posts or responding promptly to comments and messages.

In order to keep the Facebook page and the blog running as smoothly as possible we would like to expand upon our current team.

Any Autistics looking to be part of a team of individuals working to spread the word that Autism doesn’t need a cure should follow the link below, read the guidelines, and fill out the application.  We are only accepting Autistic applicants at this time, but if you aren’t Autistic you can still help out by sharing this post and the corresponding Facebook post.

http://autisticsagainstcuringautism.blogspot.com/p/meet-aaca-team.html

(The image in this post is the same as the image found in the blog post that’s linked above.  If you need an image description one can be found directly below the image on the aforementioned blog post.)

[strangesunicornsparkle]

Autism stims - who has them and do they ever drive you crazy?

[autistic--author]

As an Autistic teen I find the idea of being irritated by one's own stims really hard to understand (not talking about self-injurious stims -  that is a whole different topic).  

Stimming is, in essence, the Autistic equivalent of neurotypical body language and facial expressions, combined with self-regulatory behaviors.  What could possibly be annoying about that?

The only thing that I find irritating about stimming is other peoples reactions to it.  If people stopped acting like stimming is a bad thing then Autistics would be able to stim comfortably, without embarrassment.  The abusive practice of "quiet hands" would also be eliminated if stimming was accepted.

In short, yes, I stim, but no, it doesn't annoy me in the slightest.  Stimming is a natural and predominantly positive Autistic behavior that should be embraced, not looked down upon.

[gildedpheonix]

Would anyone mind linking me to a master post of apps for autistics?

[autistic--author]

http://autisticapp.blogspot.com

[autistic--author]

Hands In Motion: Disability and Personhood aren't Mutually Exclusive

"When I say that I am Disabled I am not reducing myself to a label - I am embracing a personal and cultural identity that affects every aspect of my life."

[jjsupremacy-deactivated20230913]

Nobody said ‪#‎AllLivesMatter‬ until we said ‪#‎BlackLivesMatter‬ Nobody said ‪#‎HeterosexualPrideDay‬ until we had ‪#‎GayPride‬ Nobody wants ‪#‎WhiteHistoryMonth‬ until its ‪#‎BlackHistoryMonth‬ Nobody mentions ‪#‎MensRights‬ until we talk about ‪#‎Feminism‬

This shows me that you don’t actually care about these things, you just want all the “minorities” to shut up so the status quo never changes.

[autistic-answers]

How to Cope with Loud Fireworks if You're Autistic

To neurotypicals, fireworks are a fun way to celebrate a holiday. To autistic people, fireworks may range from bothersome fun to a painful, dreaded occurrence. Here is how to fight the noise, get some sleep, and remain calm despite the...

Reblog to help an autistic American sleep tonight.

[neurowonderful]

☆ A neurowonderful giveaway to celebrate 10k tumblr followers ☆

The prize!

1 purple “Totally textured Metallics” Tangle

1 green/yellow/black textured Jr Tangle

1 aqua blue Dulcimer chewable pendant from Stimtastic

1 turquoise green/purple/pink zip bracelet

2 large fidget rings from Stimtastic, one with smooth rainbow beads, the other with faceted jewel-toned beads

14 stickers printed by Redbubble and featuring designs by me

and

1 shirt* of your choosing from my RedBubble shop!

To enter!

This contest is open to anyone who is aAutistic, neurodivergent, or otherwise disabled, and a fan of stimmy things and my content :)

(Self-diagnosis totally counts! So you don’t have to be professionally diagnosed with an ASD to enter.)

You must be willing to give me your home address so that I can send all these goodies to you. When you pick out a shirt, that will ship to your home address as well. This giveaway is open to international friends.

To enter, reblog this post.

You may reblog as much as you like, but each blog gets one entry.

I will draw for the winner on Autistic Pride Day, which is June 18.

Celebrate with me!

While not mandatory to enter, I’d love to hear from you!

If you yourself are aAutistic, what is something (or what are some things) you love about yourself? If you are non-autistic, what is a video or post of mine that you enjoyed, found helpful, or learned from?

And finally, a super flappy thank-you to all of my followers here on tumblr. Your support, reblogs, likes, and messages make my life and keep me going. Good luck in the giveaway draw!

This is an updated repost of my giveaway post from June 11, which has now been deleted. If you have already entered, your entry has been recorded and you don’t need to enter again. More info here.

*If shirts aren’t your thing, you can pick any available notebook, mug, bag, etc. from my Redbubble instead.

[Image description: The first image is a screenshot from my tumblr activity page that shows that I have 10,007 followers. The next two are photographs of the prizes and stickers that I listed. The last three images are mockup photos modelling shirts from my Redbubble shop. The three shirts shown are “Disability is not a bad word”, “Autistic Möbius”, and “I love someone who is Autistic (it’s me)”. End of image description.]

[coffiend-jackalope]

Me Before You will kill people

Disabled babies will be aborted because potential parents will go and see that dead is better than disabled.

It will kill disabled children whose parents or caregivers will go and see that death is better than disabled.

It will kill disabled children and teenagers who struggle with self worth and think that death might be better than disabled.

It will kill newly disabled people who think their life maybe already over.

This movie will kill people.

[sparrf-blog]

this baby chick is almost too perfect shes got eyeliner and look at those cheeks… she is so round and beautiful

[sparrf-blog]

4 days old and already a star

[endyandenby]

if you use or want to use aac, what are some features you love or want?

[autistic--author]

If the user chooses which words go where then I’d suggest having empty buttons laid out ahead of time.  Adding buttons tends to change the position of buttons that were already there and/or change the amount of scrolling it takes to find a specific button, both of which interfere with motor planning.  

Being able to choose whether or not to use images along with words and phrases would certainly make the app more versatile.

If the app comes with preloaded voices they should be good quality and they should be of different ages, genders, and backgrounds.  One complaint I’ve heard from a few AAC users is the lack of certain accents, particularly country accents and New York type accents (I’m sure there’s more, those are just the ones I’ve heard are particularly hard to find).

A pronunciation correction feature is one of the most helpful features to include, given that any voice is likely to mangle some pronunciations.  

Speak For Yourself has some very good features, but if you’re looking for an app for personal use the price can be a barrier, especially if you don’t already have an iPad.

[disabilityhealth]

Ableist phrase of the day

“Stop slouching, you don’t want to have a hunchback.”

[autistic--author]

With low muscle tone and hypermobile joints slouching is my default posture.

[autistic--author]

I’m at home, sick and tired with a potential fever, and what am I doing?  Am I laying in bed resting so I don’t miss school?  No, I’m dealing with a bunch of ignorant ableists who are against the #CripTheVote campaign because accessibility costs too much, and apparently disabled people have already been given more than we need.  Would it be too much to ask that stuff like this not happen on the few days when I am sick?

[thedoctorisautistic]

Autistic!11th Doctor fic: “Speechless”

SUMMARY:  The Doctor (Eleventh) loses speech while wandering the TARDIS at night after the main events of _The God Complex _ and Rory comes to his aid by introducing him to a communication app that allows them to converse even without speech. The Doctor’s decision to provide Amy and Rory with a house and a life of their own is also explained

RATING: All Audiences

GENRE: Angst, I guess?  Anyone have a better idea for what to label this?

LOCATED: AO3 | Under the cut on this post (only some of it, not the whole fic)

SERIES: None

NOTES: The app I modeled the one in this fic after is Speech Assistant AAC, which I highly recommend for any Autistic people who need an augmentative communication app.  

Keep reading

[bookipsies]

Shout out to all my autistic friends who hate the warm weather. Who hate how the heat drains all your spoons twice as fast, how everyone is outside and loud and there’s shouting and animals and you can’t hear yourself think anymore. Shout out to all of you. We’ll get through summer.

[autistic--author]

I really just need the weather to alternate between fall and spring, perhaps with short and mild winters and summers in between.

[vegancowplant-blog]

Web survey powered by SurveyMonkey.com. Create your own online survey now with SurveyMonkey's expert certified FREE templates.

Hey everyone, i’ve made a second survey for my university work. Its about preferences for stim products and is 6 questions long, they are multiple choice. The answers will help me to come up with new product ideas that are more tailored to the Autistic community. 

[slimeandsensitive]

Autism $peaks claims pollution causes autism and has increased diagnosises which is completely untrue. They ignore the fact that the DsmV has expanded criteria and allowed more people to be diagnosed. You think with their 21 million dollars in research they’d figure that out..

[autistic--author]

Correlation versus causation is a concept that continues to elude A$ and their supporters.

[slimeandsensitive]

Don’t shop at Game Stop during April… They’re supporting Autism $peaks.

[snailchimera]

Oh. Joy. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/gamestop-partners-autism-speaks-autism-140428640.html

[shadyuck]

you can still shop at gamestop just fine, theyll just ask you if you want to donate to AA when youre at the register, which you can decline

[slimeandsensitive]

The problem with still shopping there is supporting a store that supports autism speaks. Sure your money isn’t going to autism speaks but the company literally agrees to abusing, murdering, and hurting autistic people. Supporting them in anyway isn’t okay.

[autistic--author]

I feel like going into one of those stores (the ones that ask you to donate to A$, not the ones that automatically do), bringing a bunch of expensive stuff to their counter, and then leaving it all behind, along with a packet of information on A$, the second they ask me to donate.

Of course, if they don't ask until after they get paid that would fail miserably, but it's nice to think something like that could be pulled off.