I Had Heard About Audism Before, But Never About Oralism.

in case anyone on here needs to hear it:

if you're hitting yourself during your "panic attacks," that's more likely an autistic meltdown not a panic attack

if it's really really hard to speak when you get overwhelmed, that might be verbal shutdown (you might have heard "going nonverbal" but those who are nonverbal - all the time - have asked not to use that phrasing)

if you get really angry over seemingly little things like people making noise, too many things happening, etc. that might be sensory overload

if you hate tags, or "fancy clothes," or the wrong kind of socks, or the way the belt doesn't sit quite right on your hips, or the feeling of doing dishes, or lights, or the sound of your air vents, or being the tiniest bit sweaty, or being hot at all, or the wrong types of fabrics, or the way your shirt creases at your elbow, that could be sensory issues

if you can "make eye contact" but you feel like you're staring into their soul, and you feel kinda weird and anxious about it and don't quite know where to look or how often to break it, and you can only do it when the other person's talking but you have to look around when you're talking to be able to "think," that's still having trouble with eye contact

if you've accumulated a huge list of comorbid conditions (OCD, BPD, chronic fatigue, EDS, anxiety, social anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, sleep disorders, ADHD, epilepsy, IBS, eating disorders, PTSD, psychosis, OCD) autism can often be the underlying missed diagnosis

if you had an evaluation before 2013 and were diagnosed with only ADHD, you might still have autism because the diagnoses used to be exclusionary (they would only choose one) even though they very commonly occur together

if you identify as a "highly sensitive person" you should definitely look into autism because the traits all overlap

if you "can socialize fine" but it's actually just people-pleasing and putting on a mask to fit in, that's not socializing naturally like a neurotypical would

if you "don't have special interests" but you're obsessed with a band, or a show, or psychology, or makeup, or some other socially acceptable interest.. those can still be special interests, it doesn't have to be something obscure

if you "don't stim" by hand flapping/jumping/using fidget toys, but you play with your phone all the time, or your hair, or pick at your skin, or repeat words/phrases/songs in your head, or hum to yourself, or make random noises, or crack your knuckles, or play with the clip on your pen, those are also stims (note: everyone stims to some degree)

if you have trouble with eating but can't quite figure out why, it feels disordered but you're confused because it has nothing to do with weight/body image, alexithymia and ARFID are both common issues that cause eating difficulties in autism and ADHD

Dear fellow writers,

‘Said’ is beautiful. Please use it more. It isn’t anything to be feared of hated. It’s not boring or overused. It makes all the other dialogue tags more special when they’re used on occasion.

‘Said’ makes your writing less cluttered. It can be a simple way of reminding the reader who is talking without bombarding them with synonyms.

“Use it along with action to make it more interesting,” she said, picking up her pencil.

He smirked, and said, “Or with expressions and body language.”

“Or,” she said, “just as a quick reminder of who is talking.”

“And if you know who is talking, a dialogue isn’t always necessary.”

Of course you can use other dialogue tags, but please don’t exclude ‘said’. It’s heartbroken from being ignored.

‘Said’ is beautiful.

The autistic mood of knowing you should ask questions back to people but only remembering hours/days after and wondering if they felt hurt or upset because of it.

Hey queers of tumblr, I need your help. This shitty ass account on twitter is circling around claiming that there should be a divide between the LBG and the TQIA community. Help report this account to get it taken down and show that we will NOT BE DIVIDED. Now more than ever we need to stand together as a community.

OK, so, I've heard many autists mention that they have abnormal levels of heat tolerance or, in other words, don't feel heat and cold with the same ease and intensity allistics do.

But I was wondering if anyone else is just specifically sensitive to either cold or heat.

Like, I feel cold very easily, but can wear a hoodie during summer with no problems and a friend of mine is the exact opposite.

Is this an autism thing or are we just weird?

"Lack of personality" in autism (spoiler: it's the masking)

[Large text: "Lack of personality" in autism (spoiler: it's the masking)]

I was scrolling through # autism questions and noticed a bunch of people asking stuff related to not being able to figure out their personality so I thought I'd share something I've realized some time ago.

My entire life, I always had this idea that my personality was just "too broad" to be normal, as in, I acted in completely different ways in different situations and with different people.

Of course, everyone tends to change their behavior a little when dealing with different people (you're not the same with your friends vs with your teachers or boss), but there's limits.

Being aware of this, one of the first conditions I looked into once I decided to start doing research on neurodivergence was DID — and, eventually, OSDD — but I quickly understood that wasn’t it.

(It was great doing that research though, because the idea media gave me (and most people) on """split personality""" has nothing to do with what DID and OSDD are. And they're very interesting conditions, so more knowledge for me!)

But if it wasn't an identity thing, then what was it?

It was masking.

Four years into research, one year as a self-diagnosed autistic, I realized the thing that made my personality so "broad" was just masking. And a year after that, I'm still certain that's the answer.

Because, my entire life, I've been changing myself to fit in with others, especially with neurotypicals.

While masking, you don't just "tone down" the very clear traits of your autism (or any other condition, by all means), you also copy other people's behaviors and personalities (usually subconsciously) so you don't seem like the "weird one".

I've been like a bloody mirror my whole life, and that's likely what others are struggling with when trying to figure out their personalities as well.

Hope this helped someone.

Happy July, happy disability pride month

Quick reminder: regardless of what condition you have, you are allowed to have your own experiences.

You don't have to be like everyone stereotypes people with your condition to be and MUCH LESS be the exact opposite of said stereotypes.

Never feel like you're giving your community a "bad image" just by experiencing things.

It will never be your fault if some ableist asshole uses you to "prove" they were right about your condition.

New year writing goals

Trying to write more often is self-care. We write because we love it. Let's not make it a chore.

There is more to writing than getting words on the page. Research, plotting, outlining, daydreaming, making moodboards... all that is writing.

Not being able to write some days is NOT failure. Breaks are essential to refill your creative energy. Maybe just listen to your writing playlist and relax a bit or read a book or watch a show that inspires you.

Word counts are not absolute. If you realize you can't achieve your word count in the set timeframe, revise it. It's NOT failure, it's being efficient and aware of your own energy.

Be kind to yourself. Not finishing your goal is okay. Just engage with your creativity. Your mental health is more important.

Neurodivergence creatures

Recently I've been finding more of the neurodivergence creatures and their names (though some aren't well known, I think).

So far, I've gathered:

• Autism — tbh

• ADHD — btw

• Anxiety — idk

• Depression — wtf

• Dissociative Disorder — brb

• OCD — idc [<- doesn't feel accurate. We have the alternative "jic" ("just in case")]

• Dyscalculia — nvm

I'm wondering if anyone knows of any others or has any idea of which abbreviations we could associate with other conditions.