Autism
April 22nd: What are some things allistic people can do to better support/accommodate autistic people? I guess listening would be a good starting point. Asking and then listening. Asking what we need makes us feel seen, and then listening to our requests makes us feel heard. Autie-J — 30 Days
Autism
April 21st: Do you stim? If so, what are your favourite ways of stimming? What does stimming feel like for you? I don’t consciously stim, but I don’t know if anyone does. I guess some people do. I find myself stimming. I pace a lot when I’m
Autism
April 20th: What are some things that allistic people do that you find confusing? * want to talk about their emotions * Feel better after talking about their emotions * Understand their emotions well enough to talk about them * Want to talk with their friends about their emotions * Want to talk with their
Autism
April 19th: Do you enjoy music, or do you find it overstimulating? If you do like music, what kind of music do you prefer? I do enjoy music, though my early listening was colored by my inability to distinguish words in conversations and my echolalia, which led me to mishear
Autism
April 18th: Talk about identity. Is being autistic an important part of your identity? What does being autistic mean to you? Which do you prefer: identity first or person first language and why? Being autistic is an important part of my identity. It’s a part that informs all of
Autism
April 17th: How do you feel about terms like “special needs”? I think they’re kind of ableist. While I can appreciate the use of a positive adjective, the idea that my needs are so outside the pale that they need to called something more than just “needs” is pretty
Autism
April 16th: What did it feel like when you interacted with other autistic people for the first time? What does the autistic community mean to you? How important is it? I still remember this moment of joy when I was with another adult who had recently been diagnosed and I
Autism
April 15th: Do you work? If so, what is that like for you? Are you open about being autistic at work? Alternatively, how open are you about being autistic? Do you tell a lot of people? Or just a select few? How do people normally react when you tell them?
Autism
April 14th: What do you like about being autistic? This question has come up a couple of times lately, and I haven’t been sure how to answer it. As a late diagnosed adult, I feel like I have spent more time identifying the problems and weaknesses in my life
Autism
April 13th: How much preparation and planning do you need before doing new things, or even for familiar things? Do you need to be totally prepared ahead of time or are you more comfortable with being spontaneous/just going for it? Does it vary for you depending on the thing
Autism
April 12th: Is there anything you find hard to do because of being autistic? Is there anything that you find easy? Talking on the phone is really hard. Calling to make an appointment or place an order or do something with customer service I just dread and put off. I
Autism
April 11th: What are your thoughts/feelings about masking (a term for when autistic people hide their autistic traits)? Do you mask? Yeah, I masked for so long. I would go into pretty severe depressions burning out from masking. It’s weird, because I didn’t have the autism diagnosis