#herobrine asks

[autism-asks]

My neutral expression is to furrow my brows and frown a bit, sometimes I don't even realize I'm doing it. Also, no matter my emotion, when there's someone in the room I smile. Are these autism things? // As a child I would cry if water was splashed on me, even a drop, even though I loved swimming. Would this count as sensory issues? // Iiaat to not know why you're crying? I get frustrated with myself for crying bc I feel like there's no reason to // -herobrine asks

Not being aware of your expression could be an autism thing but I also think it’s just a people thing because everyone I know (autistic or not) has a neutral or “resting” face that they’re normally not aware of. Although, depending on the situation, it could also be related to mismatched facial expressions/emotions which is an autism thing (smiling when sad or frowning when happy for example)

The smiling at people in the room no matter your emotion could be an internal rule you’ve come up with for how to socialize. In which case, it would be an autism thing.

Crying if water splashes on you could be a sensory thing if you don’t like some sensory aspect of water and that’s why you cried. It could also, again, be internal rules about not liking water on you. For example, I’ve always loved water. But I have an internal rule about it not getting on my face if I’m anywhere but the shower and get upset if my face gets wet say, at the pool. Both of these reasons would be autism things.

Not knowing why you’re crying could be due to alexithymia, which many autistic people experience. So, yes it would be an autism thing.

-Mads

[autism-asks]

I was going over diagnostic criteria and found in one of the sections something along the lines of, "must cause significant impairment in social, occupational, or other areas of functioning". what does "other" mean? -herobrine asks

Other could include home life, such as your ability to tend a home (cleaning, cooking, etc) which is often impaired in autistic people. It could also refer to self-care, including being able to clean oneself or use the bathroom unassisted. School is another area that may be impaired. Other is the catch-all for the different kinds of functioning that may be affected by autism. 

-Sabrina

[autism-asks]

(sorry for all the spam) I was wondering if these can be called SpIns? Everytime I see a bird I'll point it out and say "birb!" or squeal and talk about how pretty birds are, but that's about it. Also I'm really like !! about stimming and love to see other people stim (specifically body stims bc those are the best <333) and seek out stimming vids and gifs bc it's !!! and i lOve learning new LGBT+ labels and learning new ones like i know All The Labels all of them -herobrine asks

Those could definitely be special interests. While some autistic people collect information about their SpIns, others just get really excited whenever they interact with their SpIns and can talk endlessly about them. 

-Sabrina

[autism-asks]

I'm worried I won't get a diagnosis (or that I'm not autistic) because over the course of my life I've trained myself to naturally act NT to the point where I don't feel like I'm assisting im suppressing any autistic need and idk how I feel about it -herobrine asks

Many autistic people learn to act neurotypical over time. A competent evaluator will be able to recognize this. However, I would advice that before you go for your assessment, start letting yourself behave more autisticly. Let yourself stim when you need to. You may need to relearn how to tell what your body needs. Practice listening to your body and moving in ways that feel good. Let yourself avoid eye contact, speak more naturally, and do all the things you’ve suppressed over time. Then, when it comes time for your assessment, just let yourself behave naturally. Also, when answering any questionnaires, answer as you would on your worst days. 

Good luck with your assessment!

-Sabrina

[autism-asks]

itaat? whenever im listening to music (or hearing any sound) and its more on one ear than the other, suddenly its very painful to hear. even just the buzzing of the clippers against my head when im getting a haircut is bad :< but if its a noise thats balanced between ears then its ok?? even if its loud -herobrine asks

I could definitely see how it might be an autism. This seems like it may be a sensory issue. Plus, at least anecdotally, I’ve noticed that autistic people tend to have a need for things to be even/balanced. 

Followers, does anyone relate to anon’s experience?

-Sabrina

[autism-asks]

itaat to only really feel temperature when you come into direct contact w/ it?? so only feeling hot air when youre in the sun or only feeling cold air when youre sitting in front of a fan

It can be. Temperature is one of our senses so just like any other sense, you can be hyper- or hyposensitive to temperature. From what you’ve described, it sounds like you might by hyposensitive to temperature. 

-Sabrina

[kinhelping]

as H did I ever live in a cabin? or was it another kin? or is it nothing? (I can't be bothered to log in so can u just tag this as herobrine asks kthx)

Lala says you lived in a cabin as H.

[autism-asks]

hi!!!! ^0^ i hope u mods + consults are havin good day/week/month/yeAR so far!! <3 // i was wondering if stimming and stim toys could be special interests?? im looking for stim toys for a sensory room (fibre optic lamps and liquid timers top of the list!!!) and i jusT!!! start spamming amazon links into the group chat that im in bc i want to show them off and for people to look at them and also so "whoa!! cool!! fun!!" and ughh i lov stim toyssss <3<3<3 im so happy -herobrine asks

Pretty much anything can be a special interest, so yup they can be, and from what you said, it sounds like it too.

- Os