autistic-olliecollie

[autistic-olliecollie]

wow, what a gorgeous month to remember autism isn’t a disease and there’s no “cure for autism” and there shouldn’t have to be one just because allistic people can’t get the hell over themselves and realise other people experience the world differently and have different needs and require different accommodations. terrific.

[autistic-olliecollie]

V A C C I N A T E

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Autistic children are not infants.

Autistic teens are not toddlers.

Autistic adults are not children.

Your 23 year-old autistic cousin does not have “the mind of a 7 year-old.”

Stop calling autistic men “buddy.” Stop calling autistic women “sweetie.”

Don’t act like it’s a crime to swear in front of an autistic adult.

Don’t assume that because someone is nonverbal, they can’t understand what is going on. ESPECIALLY don’t assume that they can’t communicate at all.

Stop infantilizing autistic people.

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me in any face-to-face conversation: am i doing the right face? is this a good face? am i doing eye contact correctly? shit their face changed. should i change my face too. is this the right face 

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don’t let anyone make you feel bad for a comfort items! your security blanket? your stuffed animal? your collections? your lucky socks? all have value and are all incredibly valid and important!

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lowkey pissed that so many parents are against getting their kid an ADHD diagnosis cuz they’re scared of ADHD meds, and by lowkey I mean highkey because

1) you don’t have to take meds if you get diagnosed with ADHD

2) meds work for a lot of people with ADHD and make them feel internally calmer/more in control of themselves

3) you want your child to be as healthy as they can be, so why would you ignore your child’s mental heath just because you’re scared of it?

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happy pride to my autistic gays out there!

to my bi autistics!

to my gay autistics!

to my lesbian autistics!

to my nonbinary autistics!

to my trans autistics!

I love you guys and hope that even if it’s hard for you or you are unable to participate in pride we still see you and we still love you! Happy pride!

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That autistic moment when you see someone stimming in public and you’re just like:

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What’s the Real Lesson?

Here’s something that happens to ADHD children a lot:  Getting pushed beyond their limits by accident. Here’s how it works and why it’s so bad.

Child says, “I can’t do this.”

Adult (teacher or parent) does not believe it, because Adult has seen Child do things that Adult considers more difficult, and Child is too young to properly articulate why the task is difficult.

Adult decides that the problem is something other than true inability, like laziness, lack of self-confidence, stubbornness, or lack of motivation.

Adult applies motivation in the form of harsher and harsher scoldings and punishments. Child becomes horribly distressed by these punishments. Finally, the negative emotions produce a wave of adrenaline that temporarily repairs the neurotransmitter deficits caused by ADHD, and Child manages to do the task, nearly dropping from relief when it’s finally done.

The lesson Adult takes away is that Child was able to do it all along, the task was quite reasonable, and Child just wasn’t trying hard enough. Now, surely Child has mastered the task and learned the value of simply following instructions the first time.

The lessons Child takes away? Well, it varies, but it might be:

-How to do the task while in a state of extreme panic, which does NOT easily translate into doing the task when calm.

-Using emergency fight-or-flight overdrive to deal with normal daily problems is reasonable and even expected.

-It’s not acceptable to refuse tasks, no matter how difficult or potentially harmful.

-Asking for help does not result in getting useful help.

I’m now in my 30’s, trying to overcome chronic depression, and one major barrier is that, thanks to the constant unreasonable demands placed on me as a child, I never had the chance to develop actual healthy techniques for getting stuff done. At 19, I finally learned to write without panic, but I still need to rely on my adrenaline addiction for simple things like making phone calls, tidying the house, and paying bills. Sometimes, I do mean things to myself to generate the adrenaline rush, because there’s no one else around to punish me.

But hey, at least I didn’t get those terrible drugs, right? That might have had nasty side effects.

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Discoveries since finding out I’m autistic:

stimming feels so good!! and releases stress in a way nothing else can!!

setting boundaries and not liking any touch is cool and valid

chewing pens etc, not always the best? there are actual things designed for this!

not liking small talk is totally ok

I’m not ‘just’ overreacting to my senses

stim toys/tools are amazing

I can wear ear-defenders in public!

I am allowed to be overwhelmed by friends, even close ones

It’s okay and healthy to take a break from all people and stimulation

there’s a reason I’ve always felt ‘different’

I can be happy and celebrate who I am!

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Your special interest is not dumb, boring or childish. It is real and it is yours. Don’t be ashamed of what you love.

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I finally made this design I’ve been wanting to make for two years now!

When I first started questioning if I was autistic, I was too shy to say the word autistic so whenever I talked to my girlfriend about it I would always say pawtistic. I still think it’s cute, and I’ve always liked how cats have some stereotypical “autistic” behaviors that I relate to! (picky about food, easily overstimulated, scared by loud noises, frequently misunderstood). I know it sounds a bit silly, but as someone who’s loved cats my whole life it was strangely comforting

I want to make this as a sticker design and (if enough people are interested) an enamel pin design! Comment if that’s something you’d be interested in seeing aha ^o^

Anyways the cat is supposed to resemble the rainbow infinity symbol! I hope that comes across well 

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GUISE

GUISE

IF YOU HIT “X+C” IT SHUTS OFF EVERY GIF ON YOUR DASH

EVERY SINGLE ONE TURNS TO A LITTLE GREY BOX WITH A LOCK

GUISE

TUMBLR HAS MADE ITSELF SAFE FOR EPILEPTICS

PASS IT ON

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Neurotypicals: autistic people are so loud, they’re always screaming and having meltdowns

Autistic person: hey could you turn down the music a bit?

Neurotypicals *yelling obnoxiously 24/7*: uhh maybe you autists should just stop being so sensitive to noise

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Some Ableist: So many people are getting diagnosed with autism these days! It’s a crisis and getting worse!

Me: Yeah, autism is slowly becoming more understood, leading to more diagnoses. More people are finding out they’re autistic, thus making it easier for them to understand themselves better and get the help they need. What a tragedy, eh?

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Hey can we please stop acting like it’s weird or childish or unnatural or whatever when someone with a disorder or condition that involves sensory sensitivity has to stop and cover their ears anytime they hear a loud sound or siren? Thanks. Sincerely, someone with pretty bad ADHD that comes with symptoms related to sensory sensitivity, making loud sounds really freak them out, and who is aware of the fact several other common conditions and disorders most notably autism can have very similar issues with sensory sensitivity and who is tired of being told “it’s not that bad chill out smh” any time they cover their ears during a fire alarm.

[autistic-olliecollie]

One of the hardest things about autism for me is having to explain the fact that I find “hard” stuff easy and “easy” stuff hard.

“This task is going to take you several hours and be very difficult” means I’m done in one hour and am now wondering if I missed something.

“This task should take you five minutes, so don’t worry about it” means it takes me a month and I only managed to get it done after taking a bunch of beta-blockers and building an intricate framework from which to approach the task.