actuallyautistic

This morning I experienced something, which is a good example of sensory issues not being a minor inconvenience for autistic people, but a major aspect of making autism a disability for many of us. They can have a huge impact on our everyday life, restrict our mobility and ability to work and can sometimes put us in danger.

At the end of my morning walk with Lumi, I couldn't cross the street at the pedestrian crosswalk like I usually do, because there were landscape gardeners with very loud machines working close by and they already made me feel overwhelmed and disorientated from the distance.

When I wanted to cross the street at another point of the road, while still disoriented by the noise, I stumbled and fell down at the middle of the street. I didn't hurt myself much, because I was wearing a lot of clothes and I made it to keep hold of Lumis leash, but I felt kind of shocked and couldn't move for some seconds, looking paralyzed at an SUV coming closer. Luckily the driver saw me too and stopped and I was able to get up and walk home.

#ActuallyAutistic #autism #AuDHD

Diary of an AuDHD Squirrel. Day 770 , Saturday 06/12/2025

Saturday started at around 7am.

We had a quick breakfast then organised ourselves to go & make a start on sorting out my MiLs stuff.
This is such a huge job, but as with all huge jobs the approach to take is to take it step by small step.

There was also the opportunity to have a hot shower while we were there - oh the bliss of hot water to wash in!

We did achieve a decent amount today, but there will be many more days before it is all done.

We got home early this afternoon & having sorted out some of the paperwork & items that had been brought back we settled down & caught up with a couple of TV shows.

Final Thoughts.

How is it so much of adulting is not taught in school - there are so many things that one has to deal with (& I can’t even speak of all the extra duties that fall on the shoulders of those who have children to look after) with almost no training & very little in the way of help & guidance other than applying goodly amounts of common sense & a willingness not to drown in a sea of paperwork & asset management! Not to mention the mountains of rubbish that suddenly appear as if by magic!

I am clinging to the life raft of hope that is the promise of a new heating boiler being fitted on Wednesday!

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

I've come to understand that when I'm low on spoons, eating healthy, especially cooking, is the first thing to go.

#ActuallyAutistic @autistics

Still one of my favourite songs for dancing and to listen to on repeat (rich brain food). It took me quite a long time to recognise that this song isn't actually about dancing 🙈

https://youtu.be/2wzXQ8Mbrhs?si=6UWOfp7RX7z6nhEl

(Slow - Chemical Brothers remix)

#ElectronicMusic #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD

I've thought of another analogy for autism/neurodivergence. (That makes what, 6 or 7 I know now?)

Neurotypicals are helicopters, while autists/NDs are airplanes. Helicopters can take off from and land many more places than airplanes can. All they need is a landing pad, or a decent patch of ground. Airplanes require a landing strip.

So since most people are helicopters, they usually only build landing pads. They also tend to make tall buildings that make it hard for airplanes to fly around, but helicopters have no problem.

But when an airplane has a decent landing strip to take off from and land, they can go farther and faster than any helicopter can. Some can even carry more passengers and/or cargo.

And the funny thing about landing strips: helicopters can land there too. They just have to be willing to put in a little more effort in order to be accommodating. (The "Curb Cut Effect")

#ActuallyAutistic @autistics #neurodivergent

TIL the @ actuallyautistic Fedi group is just... gone. WTAF???? #actuallyautistic @autistics (but I found this other group...)

@autistics
@simonjust

When your wife knows you very well and he knows what your autistic ass loves...

#actuallyautistic #AutisticFood #darkchocolate

@autistics #ActuallyAutistic couldn’t say it any better…
https://mas.to/@skeletor/115390399527421968

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@autistics

As some of you may know. I have a chronic lower back issue, which normally ranges from, just wishes to let me know that it's still there, to, oh, I think you over did that a bit dear boy, have an extra dose of pain for your effort. But, ever so now and again, normally as a result of doing something really stupid, I'll enrage it completely. Somehow, and this time I'm not entirely sure how, I did this last Monday and since then I have been suffering from a level of pain, that I haven't managed to reach before. To the extent that, even I had to contact the Doctor's (and if you know me, I only do this as a pretty much life or death choice).

Now, this post isn't really about that. It's slowly getting better and I am managed to at least function enough (when you live alone, you don't really have a choice). It's about my sneaky autistic/Audhd brain that has latched onto this and seems to be demanding that I pay back some of the massive sleep debt that I almost always live with. Now, I suppose it could be the industrial strength painkillers the doctor has put me on, but, I'm pretty sure, may cause you to be drowsy, doesn't mean, will put you to sleep if you are stupid enough to close your eyes for even a couple of seconds.

No. I'm pretty sure it's the sleep debt and the fact that my brain sees this as a perfect opportunity to demand pay back. After all, I doubt if sleep debt is unknown to most of us, in one form or another. We either don't realise that we are building it, or have become very adept at ignoring it. Either through hyper-focus, or sheer bloody mindedness. In part, it's often something we've trained ourselves to do. The days are never long enough to fit everything we want to into them and, I suspect, many of us have a trauma related and perfectionist fear of not doing enough, or basically, not justifying ourselves enough. We're also not beyond taking on far more than we should, simply because we don't like to, or know how to say no and often, simply, because we like to help people.

What, I suspect for many of us, all this means is that adequate rest can be somewhat of a foreign concept and sleep debt builds up. Which is why I think our sneaky autistic brains take every opportunity they can to impose it on us. How many times, when you are finally on holiday, are the first few days a wasteland of barely staying awake? How many weekends, when you really want to get things done, do you just not have the energy? It's like every time your mind relaxes, or we can't really resist, the bill for the sleep debt that we've built up, will get presented, with all the subtlety of a hammer between the eyes.

In other words, our autistic/audhd brains may be weird, but they are not stupid.

#ActuallyAutistic
#Autism
#Audhd

@autistics #ActuallyAutistic 1,000%…
https://mas.to/@skeletor/115310940132056231

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@autistics #ActuallyAutistic

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okay so, i want to knit some wool socks for charity this month. i also want to make dragons.

so to keep my AuDHD attention spam, PDA and brain stimulated enough but not too hard i made a plan.

1. knit socks down to the heel.

2. finish a tiny dragon.

3. knit sock until narrowing for toes starts (or half way there, these are some big ass socks).

4. work on tiny dragon.

5. finish the socks.

6. dragon.

7. new socks.

etc. #audhd #actuallyAutistic #pajusCreations @autistics

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@autistics #ActuallyAutistic anyone else getting ready for their annual vacation in the next 7 days like me…

https://www.instagram.com/p/DPTxA3Xj4-L/

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So tomorrow is that "mixer" I've mentioned, organized by my local autism employment assistance organization, for Disability Employment Awareness Month. Naturally, I'm still nervous.

But I was thinking, that the employers that will be there are there specifically to meet autistic people as prospective employees. So they should be at least somewhat aware of what being autistic entails. And if that's the case, then masking is surely a big enough issue to know. Therefor one could surmise that they are prepared for meeting unmasked autistic people, because really, not to do so would be unfair.

So given that, I should go tomorrow wearing my favorite autism t-shirt (pictured). 😁

(And this part of the text should really go below the picture, but whatevs.)
Ok, I'm joking. I won't. I wish I could, but even my RSD won't let me. I'm just kidding around to help deal with the stress.

#ActuallyAutistic @autistics

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#ActuallyAutistic #Autism #Autistic #AuDHD #AI #GenerativeAI #ClimateChange #Environment #GlobalWarming

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Hey @autistics can you please chip in with reasons why CBT is bad for Autistics? I have a follow-on appointment today (edit: in a couple of hours!) to talk about alternatives to CBT, because I had an NHS "Talking Therapy" phone appointment yesterday about my ongoing #AutisticBurnout due to work stress. The lady was very nice, but told me that essentially what they offer is CBT, to which I said "no way", but I now feel I need a bit more information to be able to defend my decision. #ActuallyAutistic

UPDATE: Thanks for all the input. After discussing further, they have referred me to some Autistic-specific services, I think mainly because CBT is the only thing they can do. Going to follow up with their recommends and see where it leads.

Ello sweet and lovely Friendos

Another Toot that goes out especially to my #NeuroSpicy 🌶️ #ActuallyAutistic Friendos!

Yesterday I shared a bit of info on Autistic Burnout, as I realized that I am currently struggling with it... 😔 I got some very sweet replies, fankoos for that! and I noticed the Toot getting some likes and boosts.

For those who aren't familiar with #AutisticBurnout, I found some info that I'll share here, with the link to the original source.

> Recognizing the signs of autistic burnout is the first step towards recovery. Some common indicators include:

1. Increased difficulty with social interaction and communication
2. Heightened sensory sensitivities
3. Extreme fatigue that doesn’t improve with rest
4. Loss of executive functioning skills (e.g., planning, organizing, decision-making)
5. Increased meltdowns or shutdowns
6. Difficulty performing tasks that were previously manageable
7. Increased need for alone time or reduced tolerance for social situations
8. Feelings of overwhelm, hopelessness, or being “stuck”

🔗 https://neurolaunch.com/autistic-burnout-recovery/

There are many tips on this page on how to deal with the burnout in the "best way". There are many tips for different types of situations, and they could help you to find a way to recovery (or help you to find help for recovery).

Hope this helps a bit to those that, like me, feel like they're "not doing well" at the moment...

Much 💜 🫂 in your journey to recovery...

@autistics

@autistics

If you're autistic and struggle with making phone calls, what is the major challenge for you?

- Getting started (inertia)
- Delayed processing of audio input (need for clarification requests)
- Anxiety (fear of missing info, being rude, bothering sb, relying on notes taken...)
- Something else (please comment)

Or all of it?

Please comment if you don't struggle with this (anymore).

#actuallyautistic #autistic

@autistics #ActuallyAutistic never believed in the "Success is the best revenge” and this seems a bit more resonating…
https://mas.to/@skeletor/115333560878611054

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@autistics #ActuallyAutistic

I have never found the standard advice about autistic alexithymia very useful - for example those rainbow coloured emotion wheels. My problem isn't that I don't know what word to attach to the emotion I'm feeling. And I also don't think it's "people have always invalidated what I'm feeling so now I don't trust myself".

I just learned about "emotional marbling" and this makes a lot more sense to me. The idea is that I feel a lot of emotions at the same time, all mixed together in a way that seems contradictory. Using the emotional valence chart while keeping in mind that I'm feeling several things at the same time seems like a more useful approach in my case.

Article about how black and white thinking and emotional marbling can be confusing, and how to find your way through:
https://caitklein.com/blog/finding-the-middle-way

Video about emotional marbling by Sol Smith (who is amazing)
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-l8QpPCnpZo

The arousal/valence chart
https://neurodivergentinsights.com/arousal-valence-model/

@autistics #ActuallyAutistic my new fantasy “drop the mic” moment for work...

https://www.instagram.com/p/DO8oKdFjre3/

@autistics #actuallyautistic

They always say show your work.

My brain makes leaps, conjectures, multiple outcomes, feverish attention to detail, long chains of gibberish that suddenly result in just the right answer, everything explained.

Talking it through, even after the right conclusion is obvious, makes me seem crazy. Nobody exposes their thought processes.

Somehow I invariably choose a good path.

Better to just quietly give the correct answer and hope someone listens.