I saw this 'autistic survival pipeline' explained on TikTok, and thought it was useful to share. It is described in detail on lots of websites.
#Autism #autistic #neurodiverse @autistics #AutisticBurnout #ActuallyAutistic
actuallyautistic
@autistics
Announcement: #Voxelibre multiplayer casual game tomorrow (Sat) for 4 hours in the late afternoon to evening (North America).
Voxelibre is a free and #OpenSource #Minecraft clone. More details here:
https://docs.autis.toque.im/
Damage has been turned off. People with #Autism, #ADHD or #AuDHD are invited.
Diary of an AuDHD Squirrel. Day 861 , Saturday 07/03/2026
The day started around 07:40, it being the weekend & all!
I made us both breakfast & then did my chores.
I spent some time battling with the holey walls in the box room, armed only with my spreader & a tub of Polyfiller™!
Finished watching ‘Hijack’ with Idris Elba, which I have enjoyed enormously, although I was struggling to concentrate on it today.
We had a Chinese takeaway for tea & I trued duck in orange sauce for the first time. I normally love oranges but I don’t know that I will have it again, or perhaps if I do I will have it with boiled rice rather than egg fried rice because the flavours of the orange & the rice really did not do anything for me.
Final Thoughts.
Despite the weather being grey, dark & generally uninspiring its not been a bad day!
Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you! 🫂 🫶🐿️🖖
@autistics
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves
@autistics #ActuallyAutistic left button, every damn time
Edited 247d ago
#ThatAwkwardAutisticMoment when you’re asked for advice on how to proceed in a professional interaction
Diary of an AuDHD Squirrel. Day 874 , Friday 20/03/2026
Friday started just after 7am, not sure why but even after a full nights sleep I was dog tired.
It’s been a quiet day, I managed to do a few bits and pieces including fixing the catch on the bed that stops the storage draws opening of their own volition! I caught it the other day but it’s all fixed now!
I managed to watch ‘Prometheus’ all the way through, although the alien at the end looks slightly comical!
Chinese takeaway in the shape of Duck in plum sauce for tea, very nice!
Final Thoughts.
I’m struggling at the moment, peopling, even on here is a very conscious effort, & multi tasking is dead & buried to all intents and purposes.
Getting things done is also something of a struggle & fighting the door demons is a bit of a non-starter!
Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you! 🫂 🫶🐿️🖖
@autistics
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves
Katta's new fringe, AuDHD edition.
After decades of not having a fringe, I decide that I want one. I resit the ADHD impulse to do it myself and make an appointment at my hairdresser, bringing pictures of curtains bangs.
After less than an hour later sensory issues drive me crazy, the hairdresser doesn't answer the phone. I remember where I actually saw the fringe I wanted, look at old pictures of Jane Birkin and cut it myself. Now I have the fringe I wanted an no sensory issues, because the hair doesn't touch my eyelids. Happy End.
Edited 244d ago
Diary of an AuDHD Squirrel. Day 1014 , Friday 07/08/2026
Friday has been a day & a half!
Woke at 06:30 & having hung the laundry out I headed to the gym.
Not a bad gym session, managed to do all my reps without feeling like I was being tortured (except the warm up on the bike which always feels like a form of masochism!)
Had to head back pronto to give Mrs S a lift into the office - then a quick breakfast before heading across to my late MiL’s for the (hopefully) penultimate time!
Got back just before 2pm for a late lunch & then, after finding homes for all the stuff that came across I settled down for a couple of hours exploring the galaxy.
PIzza for tea with a couple of eps of Babylon 5.
Final Thoughts.
A very busy day, hopefully next week will be quieter!
Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you! 🫂 🫶🐿️🖖
@autistics
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves
RE: https://mastodon.social/@filmfreak75/116223682044162230
@autistics #ActuallyAutistic in addition to the "over extended" accusation, i was also accused of a power grab (since people do not read in advance) which will result in an off-cycle review and vote...
…and 5 days after the follow-up was sent, someone is asking what the status is since, again, no one fucking reads in advance…
…the one thing the neurotypicals around me need to lean ASAP...
…do not ever question my veracity
Edited 236d ago
@autistics #ActuallyAutistic as a cat caregiver for the past 25 years, they do make things better…
Diary of an AuDHD Squirrel. Day 878 , Tuesday 24/03/2026
Tuesday started slightly later than Monday but not by much, I was up & downstairs making breakfast before 07:30.
I had hoped that there might be lie ins given Mrs S is on her hollibobs but no such luck!
Did my chores & worked on reorganising my desk, I think I have it cracked!
Lunch, in the shape of a black pudding scotch egg, courtesy of Chatsworth’s farm shop was followed by an expedition out to Costco™, partially for shopping & partially to get a couple of new tyres. Mrs S had booked us in for a 2pm tyre change which essentially gutted the afternoon.
I’ve done something to my back & right leg, both of which were objecting to wandering around the store!
Got back just after 4pm, unloaded & then we watched Jurassic World - the 4th in the JP fest & one of my faves.
We had a naughty takeaway for tea, Mrs S had her usual scampi & chips and I tried something new - Peri peri chicken (the garlic & herb one) with chips. I quite enjoyed it although it was a little spicier than I normally like my chicken. I might try it with rice next time. I do think I prefer it to fried chicken.
Also booked tickets to go see Project Hail Mary at the IMAX next week!
We had a really windy & rainy late afternoon / evening despite there being no storm warning or indeed any weather warning at all.
Final Thoughts.
There were definitely signs that my brain was not overly happy with me while I was in Costco™, mostly a little dizziness & the feeling that I needed to ‘pop’ my ears. Hey ho, I made it home in one piece!
Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you! 🫂 🫶🐿️🖖
@autistics
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves
@autistics #ActuallyAutistic me every time i need to go to the office to “check
the mail”…
…the most ridiculous requirement of my work accommodation…
…because we rarely, if ever, get physical mail anymore
If I can have my current lifestyle, it is because I made sensible decisions in the past, and that I did not go overboard with spending money.
Sometimes, I look at my younger partners and I feel that they haven't had this lesson inculcated into them, and I worry about their future.
Note that I never felt that I was restricting myself. I just don't play the social game well. I don't need to keep up with the Joneses. Sure, sometimes I do feel envy at what others possess, but that's a fleeting feeling.
I haven't been restricting myself. At the same time, the decisions that I've made were, for the most part, sensible.
Back when my ex-wife and I were looking to buy a house, the bank was ready to lend us enough money to buy a mansion, but we did not. The first house we bought together was a town house that cost way under what the bank was ready to lend us. We knew that if we took the bait, we'd be working insane hours just to keep the house. We then moved to an almost 9-acre lot in the woods, but again, we were reasonable.
My car is a reasonable car too. Oh, I owned a truck, and a UTV when I lived in the woods, but there was a reason for it. I sold that truck shortly after my divorce. It was too big, and too costly for my lifestyle.
Most days my lunch is breakfast cookies and two mandarins. I don't need anything fancy. My breakfast is not any fancier. My suppers are a bit more fancy but not by much. I still go to restaurants when I have the opportunity.
Needless to say that I have never had credit card debt. I still have a student loan, but it is at a super low rate. (Yes, I was lucky.)
I don't know how much of this will resonate or not with other autistic folks, but that's the way I roll, and this way has allowed me to not end up homeless after my divorce and cancer.
Again, I think my younger partners (who are also ND) have not learned how to manage money, and I'm at a loss as to how to inculcate this in them.
@autistics #ActuallyAutistic nothing more powerful than being seen…
…happy 2nd diagnosis day anniversary to me
Is empathy political?
An article on autistic empathy.
#Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent #AuDHD #Neurodiversity #Empathy #DoubleEmpathy
@autistics #ActuallyAutistic been really enjoying Josh's reels and this one was affirming and enlightening
🇨🇦Does anyone like to hear anecdotes of autistic joy?
I just read a post talking about autistic people's love of trains, and while I don't share that particular one exactly, I do have one or two other loves when it comes to infrastructure.
When I was in elementary school, we had a vending machine for milk, but it was always out of order. This made me sad because there was just something about getting nourishment from a machine that captured me. It wasn't until the last day of school that, on my way out with my mother, I noticed that the machine was now working. I insisted that she buy me some milk from it, which I'm sure seemed weird, but even by then I was used to being unusual.
The apex of this particular love came when my older brother took me to the college he was going to (I was still pre-teen at that point). I don't remember why we went there, but he took me to the lunchroom (or whatever it was called) to get something to eat. All along one wall was a bank of vending machines of every kind. And along another wall were floor to ceiling windows overlooking the airport (we were a few stories up).
The high I felt, eating my favorite soup* from a can both from and pre-heated by a machine while watching planes come and go was indescribable. I desperately wanted to go back but alas, never got to.
* Actually I'm not sure if it was my favorite soup at the time, or if that's when it became my favorite soup. 🤷
what we thought we knew about autism and... whatnot
'For decades, researchers had been measuring the wrong thing. Conflating communication style differences with empathy deficits produced dramatically inflated effect sizes and an illusion of empathy impairment'
Diary of an AuDHD Squirrel. Day 873 , Thursday 19/03/2026
Thursday was another early start, at just before 7am. Today I managed to get myself up & organised in a weekly personal best of 10 minutes!
I have been tired all day even though it’s been sunny, I guess without the sun I would have been near catatonic!
I’ve done bits & bobs but not been able to settle into anythingor very long.
I did do a search for one of my fave phillips head screwdrivers that went missing in the last room rearrangement, it must be in there somewhere but feck knows where!
We had pulled pork in a bourbon sticky sauce & chips for tea, a nice treat!
Final Thoughts.
I’m struggling to get stuff done again, no doubt I just need some patronising health professional to tell me to pull myself together!
Thank you to all those who are helping me on this journey, in a myriad different ways. I am thankful to each & every one of you! 🫂 🫶🐿️🖖
@autistics
#TimsASDjourney #ActuallyAutistic #Neurospicy #TheMammutMoves
Another anecdote of autistic joy.
This one takes place after the first Addams Family movie came out. Two neurodivergent friends and I (one was autistic, one ADHD, with me audhd; funny how we tend to form these trios) would go to the same dollar theater several times a week to go watch this movie. The employees there came to recognize us. We'd fill the time before the movie singing the lyrics to the TV show's theme song (with appropriate finger snapping of course). I even started bringing printouts of the lyrics in case anyone else wanted to join in. No one ever did though. In fact, there was seldom more than a few people in the theater with us. Maybe for the best? 
And since the three of us were also playing the Vampire ttrpg at the time, our GM decided--after us having watched the movie one afternoon--to play a game right afterwards where our characters were invited to an Addams party. What a blast that was!
@autistics #ActuallyAutistic personally been waiting for over 30 years and still nothing...
One thing that bothers me a lot, is when people misrepresent my position in a conversation.
What makes it worse, is when people do it to end the conversation and expect me to just let it stand.
Not only is the conversation not "finished", it ends on, at least from my view, a lie about me.
To me this feels as hostile as spreading rumors in front of my face and then acting like I'm impolite for dispeling them, when staying silent can seem like a concession.
1/
I want to see a new cooking show: "Autistic Iron Chef", where 3 neurodivergent cooks compete to have the best mis en place for the weekly meal, as judged by organization, cleanliness of area when time is called between prep and cook phases, and efficiency of the cooking process. The final result must be correct, but the points are not on taste and presentation but on process.
Who can make this happen?
Ever since I read Wild of Brain, I've been thinking about the concept of "situational mutism". Anissa's preferred term for what's often called "selective mutism", and definitely mine now I'm aware of it.
(1/?)