i'm autistic. and like a lil bird.

[autisticbird]

Re: hiatus + personal blog

Hey everyone! I don’t know how many of you are still active here, but I wanted to make a post for those who still are. I made a new personal blog and will be using it instead of this one. As for not using this blog, it just became too difficult to figure out how to only talk about being autistic. It ended up feeling forced and then I eventually gave up on posting regularly. I’m also abandoning my old personal blog because people who know me IRL follow it and I felt like I couldn’t be my authentic self in that situation as not all of them are understanding about me being autistic or non-binary.

If you would like to follow my new blog, it’s solvague.tumblr.com. My interests include but are not limited to: cats, Star Wars, history, poetry, Animal Crossing, Disney, Avatar (Last Airbender/Korra), names, Bastille, photography, travel, being queer, whales, Neopets, fanfiction, Community. I’m probably forgetting some important ones, but that’s kind of the gist of who I am.

No worries if you don’t want to follow me, I just wanted to let y’all know. I will still be posting about being autistic, but it won’t be the bulk of what I post about. If anyone ever wants to come over and ask me questions or anything related to autism or anything at all, please feel free! I would love to maintain ties to other autistic people I’ve connected with over the years and help out with advice if I can. I won’t be deleting this blog but it will no long be maintained (not that I’ve been active for a long time...).

I’m come a long way from when I was first diagnosed and made this blog. You all have helped me so much along the way and I deeply appreciate it. I’m finally in a place where I am a mostly happy and confident autistic person and I couldn’t have gotten here without your support, especially in the early days. Thank you.

With love,

autisticbird

[autisticbird]

Ultra Super Important Question for Autistic People:

How do you feel about ketchup? :) Vote in the straw poll! 

https://www.strawpoll.me/16709391

[autisticbird]

I just want to remind you all that you matter and have worth, no matter what. No ifs or buts. 

[autisticbird]

what about autism acceptance month

I do love Autism Acceptance month and celebrate it! It’s just hard to ignore all of the Autism Bewareness stuff. I let it get to me too much. 

[autisticbird]

If you’re already tired of Autism Awareness month and you know it, flap your hands! 

[autisticbird]

Hi this is @robirdspin (I always go on anon bc idk which blog it'll use to send the ask) birds are my main soecial interest for 3+ years and I wanted to say I LOVE BIRDS I LOVE BIRDS I LOVE BIRDS and also your blog is v nice

Thank you so much, robirdspin! Birds is such a fun special interest. What are your favorites??

[macawstrel]

Here are my 2 current favorites! The top is a horned parakeet and they’re very cute and fat as you can see. The bottom is a white-throated magpie jay and theyre as smart as a parrot, can talk like one, and are from costa rica! (Also very beautiful)

[autisticbird]

Ooh, those are wonderful birds!! Thank you for sharing! 

[autisticbird]

Those who work full time:

Do you have any coping mechanisms that you can share? I’m about to start my first full time job and am so worried about how I will do. I need all the tips I can get because I need to keep this job. 

[autisticbird]

Nice username it's nice and simple. Also do you have aspergers or are you somewhere on the spectrum?

Thank you, I do love my username! 

Asperger’s is autism, so it’s not an either or situation! I was diagnosed after Asperger’s was removed from the DSM in the United States, and even if I was I would prefer to use just autistic anyway. So, I’m autistic! That’s how I prefer to refer to myself.

[autisticbird]

Hi this is @robirdspin (I always go on anon bc idk which blog it'll use to send the ask) birds are my main soecial interest for 3+ years and I wanted to say I LOVE BIRDS I LOVE BIRDS I LOVE BIRDS and also your blog is v nice

Thank you so much, robirdspin! Birds is such a fun special interest. What are your favorites??

[autisticbird]

RE: Menstrual Cycles (okay to publish): About half the time I know I'm gonna get it. Sometimes I'm fine, but other times I will become terribly upset and mood swingy. Small things will make me angry and I will sometime cry for three hours. When it's bad my stress levels go through the roof, and I can't handle the smallest bit of stress. I am often prone to mood swings but when it hits that time of the month there is the chance that any feelings of negativity are almost uncontrollable.

Thank you for your answer! 

And thank you to everyone else’s answer on the post as well! 

[autisticbird]

Those who have menstrual cycles: 

Do you end up having a hard time with your autistic traits or mental health at the same time of the month? If so, when do you usually experience these challenges and do they differ from what you usually experience the rest of the month? 

If you don’t have enough room in the comments section of this post, please feel free to reblog and add your experience or send me a message! If you send me a message please clarify whether or not you would be alright with publishing it on the blog or not. 

[autisticbird]

I am not a mistake. 

I am not broken. 

I am not ashamed. 

I am not unnatural. 

I am not in need of a cure. 

I am Autistic. 

[autisticbird]

You know what I have discovered through my job search that I didn’t know before? In order for a person to become an ABA therapist (also often labeled behavior therapist, behavior interventionist, among others) you don’t have to have anything higher than a high school diploma. All but one of all the listings I found for these positions only required taking some college courses, with some being in the field of psychology. And I found many postings for these positions.

This seems wrong to me. 

(This is wrong to me in addition to the PLETHORA of other things that are wrong about ABA - this is just a new specific thing I didn’t know about it before)

[autisticbird]

Hello friends and fellow birbs!

I have been quiet lately as I have been not only enduring the events of the holiday season, but I have been looking for a job - which has not only been one of the most stressful things I’ve ever done as nobody is looking for a disabled person who has a history degree so there is not much to apply to, but has also turned up fruitless. I’m still looking but it has been difficult.

How have you all been? Please let me know. I want to hear from you all. 

[autisticbird]

What are some things autistic people do? You know like what makes them "look" autistic like in public? I've been diagnosed and I was just wondering? Like I get stimming, but like do we stand out by the way we look or act? And how do we act different??

I think some of the physical signs of autism could be the following:

Lack of eye contact

Appearance that may be a little less “put together” than allistic people 

The same clothes worn often (if the person has seen you more than once or twice)

Meltdowns / Shutdowns 

Facial expressions / physical indicators may obviously indicate a person may be having difficulty with sounds or other sensory issues (scrunching up face, putting hands or headphones on ears, etc.)

Monotone voice or not realizing voice is “too” loud

Some of these are true for some autistic people, but they aren’t true for all autistic people. Many autistic people can pass as allistic. Sometimes people can tell something is ‘different’, but can’t specify what. Those are just some examples I can think of without looking at some lists of traits and stuff. And for the record, I don’t think that if someone has a less “put together” appearance people will think they’re autistic, but it’s just one possible physical indicator. And by less “put together” I mean that sometimes autistic people don’t have the same views as allistic people about physical appearance, I don’t think it’s “less” or negative, but that’s how it’s often viewed by allistics in my experience. 

[autisticbird]

I'm sorry, I'm autistic and am really confused. Why are people on this blog "birbs"? And wants the difference between birbs and birds??

When I started this blog, I feel like it was a bit of a trend if you were autistic to have a username of autistic + a noun. I love birds so I decided to use that! I especially loved the fact that for birds to fly, they need to flap their wings. Well, many autistic people flap arms to stim! So it seemed to fit. So after calling myself an autistic bird, people who discovered this blog wanted to be autistic birds as well! So it’s become just a little fun thing for us to share and have fun with.

And there is no difference between birbs and birds, birbs is just a fun/silly alternative name. Similar to people saying doggos for dogs! 

Thanks for asking! Hopefully that’ll clear up any confusion for you and anyone else who was wondering. :)

[autisticbird]

Ahh I just found your blog and I wanted to let you know that I love it! I have PANDAS syndrome and I'm autistic (self-diagnosed), and I'm feeling pretty bad atm. Sensory issues and tics. But your blog made me smile!! Thanks for being awesomeeee

Aw thank you so much, Carys!! I’m so sorry you’re having a rough time, but I’m glad I could bring a smile to your face! Thank YOU for being amazing!!

Also, I love your name! The meaning of ‘love’ is so sweet. I’m very fond of Welsh names!