awww tysm

autism stuff goes here so i don't flood my main

[notlayingroses]

Everything I read about recovering from burnout is like “it takes months or even years to fully recover” and it’s like okay…. I have a weekend before I gotta clock in on Monday

[infiniteoreos]

undiagnosed autistic people will be like "I don't get upset when my routine changes though!!" and it's because they've built a set of if-then loops in their head to pick from one of 6 different strict routines and they do get incredibly upset when they're unable to keep to any of the 6 scripts. I'm john normal

[un-monstre]

In hindsight being a “gifted kid” is so funny. You have substantial difficulties with socializing and fine motor skills, but we’re going to ignore that because you’re really good at reading chapter books

[orcboxer]

autism tests are so funny. I'm extremely literal most of the time, but people don't tell me that generally, so I'm inclined to answer disagree. because I'm taking the statement too literally

[mycroftrh]

I think a lot of autistic taking-things-literally goes under the radar because what the diagnostic tests and shit ask about is not what that generally looks like in an adult and often not in kids either and much more importantly it’s not what generally actually causes problems in real life instead of being irritating for caretakers or funny to bullies or easy to diagnose

I have absolutely no issues understanding metaphors or idioms. When someone says their heart is on their sleeve they mean they’re emotionally expressive and openly display their feelings, not that they have a chunk of cardiac tissue on their shirt. I very rarely have issues with sarcasm. I sometimes have issues telling when someone who’s said something mean is about to say “just kidding”, but tbh I think that’s more on them than me.

BUT

My grandmother asked me “Do you know when the trash was taken out last?” and I said “I think Eliot took it out yesterday” and a few hours later she yelled at me for “not taking out the trash when I asked you to” and I was like???? You didn’t ask me????

I dread filling out forms and am crap at filling out diagnostic tests or personality quizzes because there are always questions I don’t know the exact answers to (how am I supposed to know what day I got dental surgery seven years ago?) or don’t understand exactly what they’re asking or the wording’s unclear and they could mean this or the wording says this but I’m pretty sure what they actually meant was this and should I answer what they said or what they meant, and how does everyone else just whip through the form when surely they can’t know all the answers either? Does everyone else remember the day they got dental surgery seven years ago?

I get tangled up by bureaucracy because the rules on the website say that for this you need that and for that you need the other and for the other you need something else for which you need the first thing, and I go in circles for hours or days or weeks or months or years because their stated rules say there is no way to get what I need, and when I talk to somebody else they’re like “just call them?” and I’m like “how could that help? the rules say that what I’m trying to do is impossible”

And all of that? That’s how “taking things literally” ACTUALLY affects your life as an adult. It’s not “haha you think ‘getting under your skin’ means parasites”. It’s “you have real difficulty functioning in the world because everyone else is conveying things through implication and assuming that you know that rules are flexible and questions are approximate and you’re supposed to lie on job applications, and you don’t”.

[twinsfawn]

anyone else feel like there will always be a veil of separation between them and the rest of the world and that they’ll never actually be understood or is that just me

[callali1y]

every time someones says "hey how are you" and i say "good" and forget to add the "how about you?" i feel like i've missed a quicktime event

[just-a-little-dead-inside]

[aw-tysm]

Some autistics have an odd view on what a special interest within autism actually is, and it's a very damaging take.

Special interests within autism can cause clinically significant impairments in one's life.

Special interests can borderline obsession and addiction and compulsion. They can even run inline with addiction, obsession, and compulsion.

Special interests aren't always knowing everything about it, researching it, and infodumping, or engaging in it in multiple ways.

Sometimes autistics don't know much about them, some will not research them, some autistics won't infodump about them. Some autistics only every engage in their interest in a very restricted and fixated way, a very limited way.

I honestly think some autistics get special interests and hobbies mixed up. You are allowed to have hobbies you are very passionate about, love to talk about, and have a vast knowledge on them. There are many allistics in this world who have hobbies just like that and with such an intensity.

Special interests for autistics aren't always cute and quirky and fun. They can be damaging and impairing, and cause stress/anxiety. They can be inappropriate, dangerous, or bad.

[itsaspectrumcomic]

A 2pm appointment can take all day when you're autistic

[writer-ace]

I feel like portrayals of autism mostly always default to "don't understand social norms/boundaries and so cross them" rather than "don't understand social norms/boundaries and so overcorrect in the other direction to avoid the possibility of crossing them."

Like I don't understand social norms or people's boundaries around casual friendly/familial touch--so I don't touch my friends ever to avoid crossing a potential boundary or violating a potential norm.

And obviously the whole spectrum happens, but I feel like when I see "don't understand social norms" portrayed, it's really just in the direction of "so violates them and doesn't notice and/or care."

[wordfather]

huh. something small but unexpected happened and it threw me off my rhythm. the whole day is ruined now. its gonna take me 3-5 business days to recover

[catilinas]

you should be able to wash your hair and it stays washed. what do you mean i have to do it again

[bebsi-cola]

all my love to other autistic people who just know jack shit. the ones who have no "infodump" locked and loaded, nothing they can rattle off the top of their head. the ones who have a specific interest in certain things but still not knowing a lot about it. autistic people who will never be able to memorise fun facts about something no matter how fundamental it is to them as a subject. the point of autistic interests are not being a secret expert on random shit, you just like it a real big amount

[kuromiusagi]

“Don’t infantilize autism” should be used when people who aren’t autistic treat autistic adults like children.

It should not be said when people who are actually autistic have “childish” interests or stuffed animals and such. Autistic adults are allowed to find comfort and express their autism in ways that works for them (without causing harm), even other autistic people don’t get to tell them not to enjoy those things just because they dislike stereotypes or don’t want themselves to be infantilized.

You can’t tell someone else their life should be breaking a stereotype you dislike. That’s not up to you.

[theconcealedweapon]

You take wild guesses at how to talk to people. You sometimes talk about your special interests too much and people find you annoying. You sometimes underestimate people's interest and avoid people who would have liked you. You sometimes overestimate people's interest and continue to try to talk to people when they want you to leave them alone. You sometimes talk to someone too often and end up being clingy and turning someone off who otherwise would have liked you. You sometimes go out of your way to think of something to say and end up having an awkward and forced conversation. You sometimes accidentally say something rude and people hate you for it. You sometimes say something and it gets misinterpreted.

You ask for advice. The advice you receive is "talk to people".

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Autism Diagnosis Criteria Explained:

Category B

Neurodivergent Lou