autism and other things

This is my main blog where I talk about my personal experiences and reblog stuff I like. I also run @actuallystimming where I make more general posts about autism, usually with a focus on stimming.

[autisticjoy]

i'm looking for some chew jewelry (chewelry?) and since you seem pretty knowledgeable on the subject i wanted to know if you have any good websites that sell that? (preferably european because shipping is cheaper that way)

oh i feel this pain. most of the well known/reputable/commonly recommended stim stores ship from the usa, which sucks.

chewigem has a uk store [link]

stimsensory is also an online uk store [link] (seems to have similar stuff as stimtastic?)

through some googling i found exploreyoursenses [link] and sensoryeducation [link] (i have no experience with either so i can’t vouch for them at all)

these were easiest to find searching for english words; if you (general you) live somewhere other than the UK, you can try searching for autism/adhd/anxiety/sensory type stores in your languages and see if anything good comes up. it’s also worth checking out baby stores for teething stuff - it might feel infantilizing  but if it gets the job done then so be it. i’ve also had some luck with jewelry stores/silicone beads, but there you have to make sure it’s a safe material.

i hope this helps. if anyone else has any other good suggestions (please for the love of everything not stores that ship from the usa) feel free to add on with them. and if you know of any good ones outside of europe, i’m sure people would appreciate knowing about those too!

[hawthornthoughts]

I’m in the UK and buy most of my stim toys from a website called tinknstink, they’re not autistic owned and are aimed at teachers/medical professionals/parents but the website isn’t overly ableist so I don’t mind that too much. The prices seem reasonable and they've always been reliable in the past (over many orders, I have stim toys that wear out and need replacing frequently) but I haven’t ordered from them since before COVID. 

They have a large selection of chewlery (which can be found here), mostly from ARK Theraputic but there’s a few other brands as well. Most of the photos of people wearing their chewlery are of children so if (like me) you’re bad at judging sizes I recommend finding an object the size of the listed dimensions to see how big it will really be. I didn’t do that the first few times I ordered from them and ended up with chewlery that was too large to comfortably fit in my mouth.

Edit since I forgot, they ship from the UK.

[schrodingers-slut]

Ok so can anyone who’s been officially diagnosed with autism or asbergers tell me how it works bc like I’ve taken those multiple choice things for depression and anxiety and adhd and I love multiple choice things idk why but if it’s like a thing where ppl have to observe u and determine weather u have it or not idk if I can do that like I might just have a panic attack or shutdown bc there’s too many ppl watching me so can anyone fill me in on that

[hawthornthoughts]

I was diagnosed as a teenager (going through a child asessment, although an adult assessment would likely have been more appropriate at that point). I know that it does vary between country, so it might be different where you live.

For me it was a combination of a multiple choice form my parents had to fill in and an “observation”. I put observation in quotes because it was sitting down and talking to the person who was diagnosing me about what I experienced. The final report with my diagnosis discussed my speech and body language during the observation but was also based on the things I’d talked about. 

From what I’ve heard you’ll likely be asked to have someone who knew you as a baby/small child fill in a form like the one my parents filled in even if you’re being assessed as an adult. Autism affects how your brain develops so the input of someone who knew you when your brain was developing can be important, particularly if the autistic traits you have can also be traits of other forms of neurodivergence.

I don’t know if people going through an adult assessment are asked to fill in a multiple choice form themselves, I think in some places they are. 

I hope some of this was helpful, good luck!

Edit: This is five years old and Tumblr’s “most recent posts” feature really is broken. I’m sorry!

[babyanimalgifs]

Puffins in a flower field 

(via)

[bravelittletayster-deactivated2]

What them puffins look like penguin me like them lot

[hawthornthoughts]

@tayistrying Puffins do look like penguins with big orange beaks! Like penguins they are birds that live by the sea and eat fish, but puffins live in different places to penguins. 

Puffins dig burrows in the ground to nest in. Once a puffin has dug a burrow they will come back and nest in it again the next year. Puffins are very good at making and fixing their burrows!

This video is from an island where puffins nest. The island is small and no people live there, just lots of puffins. The puffins on this island have never met scary people and so they are not scared of people. This is why the person taking the video can walk so close to the puffins.

[hawthornthoughts]

Tumblr has Changed and my autistic ass is Unhappy. 

[hawthornthoughts]

I just made a post describing a meltdown and had to think carefully about what my most recent one felt like to write it. Now I feel shaky and sick, I hate my brain sometimes. 

[yankenpop]

Heroes Crossing: New Adventures

[mothrflower]

Aww

[chibird]

[chibird]

Your version of a good day can evolve over time too, and that’s okay. 💛

[valtsv]

the best part of being a kid was when you realized that birth is a curse and existence is a prison but instead of being sad about it just ignored it entirely for months or even years by roleplaying being a horse or a mythical creature or a warrior cat or something 24/7

[valtsv]

oh to be 8 years old and capable of ignoring all my questions and insecurities about my body and identity by simply imagining that i'm a feral cat living in the woods again

[aspie-os]

[eva-chiwu]

[thatcollegeflowyo-deactivated20]

In case anybody needs to hear this

Use your accommodations.

You are NOT taking advantage of people by using accommodations. You are NOT placing yourself ahead and giving yourself an unfair advantage. You are NOT taking the "easy way out".

You are getting accommodations because you are at a DISADVANTAGE. Your accommodations make you equal.

You deserve them.

You are not lazy for using them.

[hawthornthoughts]

I love this scene so much, it’s so beautiful

[msd0rit0o]

this is a reminder from me to me that kipo is not a cat, she’s a ferocious jaguar.

[hawthornthoughts]

I love video calling with my friends but I have to be actively listening and interacting the whole time in a way that I don’t IRL, I always feel so wiped out afterwards.

[hawthornthoughts]

I love how excited she is 

[shapesandcolours-aficionado]

I just wanted to remind everyone:

You aren’t doing something bad if you aren’t a perfect conversationalist

Maybe you said something with the wrong tone of voice and they understood you wrong

or you couldn’t think of something to say and the conversation came to a pause 

or you started talking about something and realized your conversation partner found it boring

And that doesn’t make you a bad person. Subjecting another person to you being less than 100% perfect doesn’t make you a bad person and isn’t a bad deed.

As long as the things you say in conversation aren’t said to cause others pain or hurt, you aren’t doing anything wrong by not having perfect social skills 24/7.

Maybe you said something awkward and then spent the rest of the day saying “ugh, why did I do that?!?!”, but remember, the point of having conversations isn’t always to be entertaining, it’s an attempt to connect with another person, and having an awkward time while attempting that isn’t immoral.

This post can be reblogged by anyone, but it’s especially intended for my fellow Autistics. You’re okay. I’m okay. We’ll all be okay.

[hawthornthoughts]

Person: What's that?

Me: It's a tangle, it gives me something to do with my hands while I talk

Person: Can I try it?

Me: Sure! *hands them the tangle*

Me: *retrieves a second, smaller tangle from my pocket to hold until they give it back*