#level 2 autistic

[asexual-amanita]

Autism actually can make people violent and aggressive, and I’m tired of “autism advocates” saying it can’t. Many autistic people, especially higher support needs people lose control of their bodies during meltdowns and times of high emotion. Some autistics have limited control of their bodies at all times. This body brain disconnect is a prevalent associative feature of autism. This is not to say that measures shouldn’t be taken to protect and teach the autistic person and others, but you can’t erase real, but stigmatized parts of a condition, and then dare to call yourself an advocate. Just because a symptom is unpleasant or unpalatable doesn’t mean it’s not a genuine part of the disorder. Stop ‘cleansing’ your autism advocacy.

[the-sun-system]

Hey, here’s a concept. What if we stopped saying “but autistic people CAN do all those things” (erasing high support needs) and instead started saying “not being able to do those things doesn’t impact someone’s value as a person nor does it make it okay to commit eugenics”.

[autisticghostss]

”autistic people don’t do [ extremely common higher support need , higher level autistic trait / symptom ] , that just stereotype”

you need include us too : you need include childish autistic person , you need include nonverbal autistic person , you need include autistic person who drool , you need include autistic people with intellectual disability , you need include autistic person with loud messy public meltdowns .

can not hide behind “it just stereotype” because that not true . there are many people very disabled by autism , you need remember us and include us .

[ieatratsyummy]

I feel like the idea of flat affect has been so watered down for people. Flat affect doesn't just mean having a "bitchface", and it never has been just that.

How flat affect presents for me:

Limited expressions, I need to be actively thinking about making an expression to have it happen. Additionally, it often takes multiple tries to get the expression I intended. This isn't limited to positive expressions, I also struggle to make expressions conveying things like surprise.

Practicing facial expressions as a child. Being told my smile is "fake" by adults when they wanted a picture.

Having limited tone, I struggle to convey different emotions through my voice unless I am actively attempting. This presents for me mostly as, I will make a joke and people will think I am being dead serious. Multiple times I have made something I thought was very obviously a joke, and then someone will ask me later on if I was being serious.

Shocking teachers and counselors when I do show emotion, but also not showing negative emotions how people without flat affect do. I had a panic attack, and one of my counselors managed to walk right past me crying, because I had a flat expression despite being actively sobbing. The day after this another counselor pulled me to ask if I was ok, she said she was so worried hearing that I'd cried because I "never show much emotion".

I take selfies over and over, because I cannot get the "right expression", which has resulted in me giving up and just taking selfies with my resting face. Of course if I show someone a selfie I took, the conversation always is about how I am not smiling, and how weird that is.

If you have flat affect, please feel free to add your experiences in the comments/reblogs!

[wheelingwithgrace]

This is a not friendly reminder that autism is not a quirky fun disorder.

It is a very real ADA + globally recognized neuro developmental disability.

One of the criteria’s to be diagnosed is that it has to quite literally in disable you in some way shape or form (argue with the wall on this one)

Furthermore, not every person with autism is capable of masking!

- coming from a person who cannot mask + is significantly disabled by their autism with medium support needs

[only-knives]

I really dont see enough people talk about how hard it can be to do things that you enjoy when you're autistic, especially if you have higher support needs.

It's not just that it's hard to do things that have to be done, like managing appointments, grocery shopping, cleaning, self care, eating, communicating, etc. These are important, but at least someone can help by communicating on my behalf, for example.

What can hurt more is... There are so many things I want to and love to do... but I often can't do them because I get overwhelmed so easily. Videogames. Playing with my cat. Watching a video. Listening to music. Making art. Going outside.

All these things can cause autistic meltdowns for me. I can get sensory overload. I can get confused and struggle to do the steps of the task. I can get cognitive overload from excitement. I often have even worse meltdowns with these tasks - I'm not only overwhelmed by the thing, but dysregulated because I love the thing and can't do it.

I love art, cats, music, videogames, nature. They're my special interests, but that doesn't mean they're all sunshine and rainbows. They're not immune from my other autistic traits & symptoms. It's hard being autistic for me, no matter what it is.

I wish more people understood that, and.. if you struggle the same way, you aren't alone. It's okay to struggle with your special interests. It's okay to be disabled by autism.

You're not doing anything wrong. There's nothing wrong with you. You're just neurodivergent & disabled. And even thought that sucks sometimes or a lot: it's also okay. You still deserve support and respect as much as anyone else.

[stuffieautism]

over six months no functional speech. over six months nonverbal.

mom still won’t accept it. still hear her on phone every week talking about how she just wishes i were “back to normal”. it was only ever normal for her

she says “you are like a ghost to me now” to my face while i sit there with device. i have no response to type. i am not a ghost? i am your kid and i sit here in front of you. i am still me? why don’t you understand? why can’t i be the same person who you have said you love. because i don’t talk.

[catboykatebush]

I hate posts of this genre so much. God forbid your DISABILITY actually DISABLES YOU???

If you genuinely think like this, you need to unpack why you think being an autistic person who can easily mask makes you so much better than autistic people whose autism DOES make them “weird”.

For fucks sake. Stop treating autism like it’s just a fun silly quirk that makes you better than everyone else (including MSN/HSN autistic people, who some of y’all basically treat like we’re a different species) instead of acknowledging that it’s a fucking developmental disorder. I’m not saying you can’t be proud of your autism, but trying to separate yourself from people who are more obviously disabled than you just makes you look like an ableist piece of shit. If autism is somehow not what you’d consider a disability for you, okay I guess, but you need to acknowledge that it IS a disability for MOST of us.

I’m so so tired of LSN autistics acting eager to put down and judge every autistic person who struggles more than they do. When these types of people say shit like “the world would be better if it were run by autistic people” they’re never talking about people like me and it shows. A lot of y’all only support or care about other autistic people if they have LSN like you do and it shows. Do better.