#asd discussion

[milk-ducts]

[Brief] Thoughts on Film Theory's Analysis

I was gonna post this on my priv twt.. but moots convinced me to post it here so here we are.. beware of spoilers, gore, bla bla bla ..

FIRST OFF I'm gonna start by saying, I AM ESL. I may or may not have misinterpreted some of his words, but this is mainly how I thought of his analysis. This is not meant to be ill-guided or rude ! so sorry if it comes off as this way. I will be very repetitive.

Another thing, most if not all of the information matpat gave out i alr discussed with a few mutuals on discord about a few months back so this is not new territory to me 😭😭 I thought most folks would already knew the concept of how the brain deteriorates overtime But honestly, that indisposition shouldn’t even apply to omni man??? matpat tried to compare an immortal Viltrumite's psychology to that of an aging human's, which can be misguided.

Let's start by how he compares Nolan's brain to the average aging human's brain so the audience could understand his psyche more and how empathy declines overtime. First and foremost, Nolan is not a human, second; Nolan wasn't raised with empathy or around an empathetic environment - it was an alien concept to his race. Something frowned upon. He was raised from birth to conquer and destroy without remorse. His brain never developed those neural pathways for empathy in the first place. It's not that they deteriorated over time, they were never even formed.

By the time he came to Earth, all this familial stuff was new to him. Sure, he knew he was gonna outlive them, but He didn't think he'd get attached. HE didn't process that he'd grieve over them when the time came.

Interacting with humanity for the first time ignited unfamiliar emotions in Nolan that he didn’t know how to process.

His time living amongst humans caused conflicting feelings he’d never experienced in his centuries of systematic slaughter. Loving Debbie and Mark went against everything he was taught, but he couldn't help it. For once, the lives he was manipulating to further Viltrum’s goals meant something to him. He developed a [what he presumed, NOT what he felt about them in reality, his love for them is far more profound than he assumed it to be which we later on see in the last ep of s1 and the second season] petty facsimile of love for his ersatz family.

So no, his capacity for empathy didn't decline with age as MatPat claims. His empathy was stunted from the start. An underdeveloped skill, not a deteriorated one. We had characters like Debbie to help him understand those notions, help him grow it. With Mark in the mix? it only amplified that development.

Viltrumites are societally and culturally predisposed to violence and domination. Nolan was never accustomed to forming emotional connections or grieving loss. Those were entirely new experiences for him after arriving on Earth. He was not jaded. he was grown into jamais vu in viltrum.

This is why the whole conflict in s1 happened, he was treading between double lives he wasn't sure of. He was conflicted because his past values were refuting with his new experiences. He found love on Earth, he found himself unable to accept how he'd lose Debbie. Of How jaded Mark might become. Everything he said to Mark till that point was his own self-projections, his own fears, doubts.

While the video did provide some interesting facts about neuroscience and aging, the application of those facts to Nolan's character was inaccurate. IT is educational for those who don't know, but it isn't recent news that the brain begins to deteriorate overtime so this video wasn't that informative which kinda disappointed me. Their analysis lacked alot of information about the Viltrumite race and Nolan's character. Comparing him to humans with normal life experiences just doesn't work. His immortal nature combined with a lack of empathy from birth created a psychology unlike anything seen on Earth.

SORRY FOR RANTING ALOT AND OR IF IT SEEMS LIKE I'M GIVING MATPAT SHIT ... i really liked their analysis on immortal so i'll give them that. Immortal, unlike Nolan, was born human. He has lived among humanity for over 3000 years, inhabiting different identities of public and devoted historians. Because of this, his psyche developed quite differently. Immortal knows how to form connections, experience loss, and adapt to social changes. His perpetual existence didn't harden his heart like Viltrum's brutal culture did to Nolan. Instead, Immortal's immortality allowed his empathy and compassion to blossom.

Humans are social creatures. Our brains have evolved to seek out interpersonal relationships, crave affection, and find meaning in community. For an immortal like Immortal, social interaction is vital to staving off boredom, depression and detachment from humanity.

By inhabiting mortal lives, he stays tethered to the human experience. He continues learning, growing, and developing empathy.

This is why he's devastated when the guardians die.

This is also why he goes fucking mental and tries to kill Omni-man.

If Immortal had lived in isolation all this time, unable to connect with people, his psyche would likely resemble Nolan's more closely. Without social interaction, Immortal's brain would atrophy in ways that preclude complex emotions and moral reasoning. His sense of purpose would fade, achievements would lose meaning, and life itself might feel pointless. By engaging with humanity, Immortal gives his endless existence purpose and direction. He finds value in each temporary life, so loss still impacts him deeply. Socializing keeps his emotions and cognition flexible, which prevents the apathy and hardness of heart seen in Nolan. Nolan never had these opportunities in his early years, this is why it's more difficult for him to stray away from his indoctrination. It's that he's unused to it, underdeveloped.

60 years to Nolan would've been a year and a half, so what's 20 measly years on Earth for him? Yes, he found profound connections in that little speck of time, but Immortal's emotional capacity is far more extensive.

In summary, Comparing Nolan to a human, whether mortal or immortal, is kinda inaccurate. His Viltrumite psyche rules out him from possessing JADED human qualities. You could say he's desensitized to violence sure, but no.. unfortunately.. he does not have [boomer] brain. He has [indoctrinated alien-fascist brain]

Leave your own thoughts down below or through reblogs, I'm really interested on what others may think of this! (URGHHHNN... my hcs r slipping away from my fingers cuz now people r gonna accept what matpat says as truth.. someone gun me down from the hills..)

[saltandfire-blog]

So I’ve been wrestling back and forth about this scene.

I really wanted it to be like it was in Fire and Blood, so I feel let down.

But! I feel like people may want to attack Phia Saban because they didn’t get the Helaena we were expecting. Yes was is strange not to see her begging and offer herself instead of her son like she did in the book, though we need to consider we weren’t given many details about Helaena and have been presented a character on the show that seems to have atypical traits. I am particularly tenderhearted towards her character because I myself have a child on the spectrum, so I thought I might try to offer some insight on Helaena’s reaction.

Not everyone has that flight or fight reaction when there’s is danger. Especially for those on the spectrum and special needs. To “freeze” is a very real thing that happens to people. It honestly reminded me of the story about Kyle Valesquez from Columbine, a boy who everyone noted was very smart with computers, but was one of the first people in the school’s library who was shot because he was confused and didn’t understand how to react to the two shooters when everyone else was hiding and running. Of course special needs is a broad spectrum and these two aren’t the same, I’d just like to point out before we judge SO harshly about Phia Saban’s performance, remember the audience she is also representing. I’ve heard her called hurtful things that have nothing to do with the bad writing that went into that scene. From my experience with children and adults on the spectrum and watching her processing and reacting to what’s happening, her acting is actually amazing and I genuinely applaud her.

[wanderingmind867]

Ever since July, I've had stomach issues. My doctor never really figured out what was causing them, but me and my dad just figured they were going away, so we stopped asking about them. But they never really went away. I get constipation a lot lately. And like, that's better than having to go bathroom at school. But it's still not very fun to deal with. But sadly, I think I've just gotten used to the stomach problems. They've been going on for so long, that it's easy for me to overlook them.

And I also have a nervous stomach. So before bed or before school, I'll spend 20 minutes or more in the bathroom. I never want to leave the bathroom, because I'm scared I'll end up needing to go pee at school or get up from my bed to go pee, or any number of other things. It's becoming a real hassle at bedtime, but I'm slowly growing used to this problem too. I think I made a post venting about this before, where I wondered if it was possibly masturbation causing this problem. I still don't know, honestly. But I'm all too used to it, sadly.

[wolfisblank]

Conducting very important scientific research

[psychopacifist-rm]

You know, I love to have peaceful discussions with people with a point of view that differs from mine. Even with haters. If we started discussion in a respectful way, my pacifist part goes in active mode, and we end the conversation in a good friendly way.

And sometimes they can give me a good food for brain.

For example, just now my interlocutor assumed that Albert can be neurodivergent.

I feel Albert’s character a lot, many of his story moments remind me of my own life. And for me, as for man with ASD and PTSD, it’s kinda… pleasant to find out such a tiny details

[live-fast-pet-frogs]

The Good Lawyer, hopes and peeves

I heard the Good Doctor is looking to produce and episode that can possibly be a backdoor spinoff to the show titled "The Good Lawyer". Apparently it will feature a young female lawyer who has OCD. This was a surprise for me, as I expected that not unlike The Good Doctor, TGL would also be adapted from a korean show and my bet was Extraordinary Attorney Woo.

As a person with OCD I am quite sceptical about this choice though. While OCD is underrepresented in the media, it is also misrepresented and in most cases confused with OCPD (obsessive compulsive personality disorder, with vastly different symptoms eg. keeping rigid schedules and experiencing distress at the slightest change in their routines), autism, or just general cleanliness or quirkyness.

In reality, OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) is an anxiety disorder that consists of obsessive, intrusive thoughts that are disturbing and distressing (in some cases can be of violent, religious or sexual nature), and compulsive actions that can be but are not limited to self-harming behaviours. It is also an incredibly debilitating illness that can ruin relationships and make the sufferer isolate, harm and doubt themselves. Without the correct psychological help OCD can become chronic and can lead to the person becoming essentially housebound, or worse. It really sucks, take it from me. It is however treatable to a degree, and therapy can make a massive difference and bring back quality of life. I can say that finally after twenty years of suffering and three years in therapy, I am scheduled to come off my medications soon as I am finally feeling like my intrusive thoughts aren't directly interfering with my everyday life.

So now that we established that this is a serious mental illness, NOT a cute personality quirk, not a developmental disorder or neurodivergence, read this:

Do not get me wrong, the fact that it is role that's open to female identifying actors of any ethnicity and ability is great, and hopefully they cast an actress who has/had OCD and can bring some nuance in the role. But some of the wording around this synopsis really ticks me off.

"Joni's OCD symptoms take a severe toll on her personal and professional life."

This is good and realistic. As mentioned above, people with OCD can struggle with jobs, especially if they are in highly stressful workplaces, for example a law office.

"Joni (...) is often embarassed of her symptoms"

Again, visible compulsions can be a characteristic of someone with OCD. The thing about compulsions is, they are often unreasonable and the sufferer can feel the need to exhibit compulsions at random times and cannot always control themselves (even if they can it is very distressing to them). To give an example, one of my compulsions was knocking on wood, 40 knocks exactly with both hands, and then twisting my wrists 40 times. The intrusive thought that brought these actions out mostly had to do with the wellbeing of my brother who was severly ill at the time. I thought that, if I didn't carry out the compulsions, something would happen to him. Unreasonable, but at the time it feels so real that it doesn't matter whether you are in your room or in the frozen food aisle in Tesco, you have to do your compulsions. It is embarrassing when you feel other people's judgement or being misunderstood.

"She is a great lawyer, using her attention to detail, compulsive over-thinking and analytical skills as a superpower"

Here's where it gets icky. First things first, intrusive thoughts are not something you can control. You can't "turn on" ruminating when you want to, and definitely cannot use it as a "superpower". This was a point that was argued in OCD support groups but the majority of OCD sufferers including me think that it is rude and dismissive to refer to OCD as a superpower, or asking to focus on the "positives". Yes, in my case OCD gives me a higher sense of morality and a bigger attention to detail, but it wasn't usually in the positive aspects of life. I would refer to it more like a curse I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy rather than a superpower. It's an illness that needs treatment. The symptoms ease up following treatment. So portraying OCD like a superpower or something that makes you "special" can be harmful and get in the way of healing. This particular mindset and use of words is usually characteristic of those who aren't well informed on the topic.

Overall, I will make the final judgement AFTER I have seen the respective episode, but so far I am worried that this too will fall into the category of the misused "OCD trope" and fail to represent accurately. A lawyer with OCD is an interesting concept but I would rather watch the character managing her illness, and seeking treatment for it rather than try to use it to her advantage at work.

rant over.

[dreaminglain]

Hot take, but if someone is doing something that overestimates me in a public place like a restaurant, it should be socially acceptable for me to leave, even if the person can't help it. For instance, if a child/baby is screaming and crying, it should be allowed to tell the waiter I'd like to take my food to go insted, and if they ask why say that I felt overstimuated without being stigmatized or shamed about it. I understand this might make the mother uncomfortable if she hears this or is embarrassed or feels shame, but I should be allowed to put my sensory needs over her social needs. Including at like family functions and stuff. Childern and babies have every right to exist in public spaces, and I don't think its bad for kids to have tantrums every once in a while it's part of growing up. I think its way better for a parent to teach kids that screaming and crying wont get them candy in the store, and ghat they have to learn how to deal with boredom rather than stick a screan in thier face, and im the long run its better for all of us as a society to havs to have screaming kids now than ipad kids later. Likewise babies litteraly can't help it and that's okay. Screaming and crying is thier only means of communicating thier needs and thiers nothing wrong with that. Moms of kids should be allowed to enjoy public spaces just like the rest of us without stigma. But that doesn't mean I should have to subject myself to loud noises and sensory overload just to keep her from feeling bad. I really don't think I'm an asshole for that and I think it's wrong for me to be perceived as that. But idk, I'm open to feedback. What do you guys think?

[kinglypup]

CONFIRMED AUTISTIC!!!!

[snzluv3r]

I feel like I send a million asks lol but i feel you so hard on the food not being safe thing; I also have OCD and emetophobia (I don’t know if I meet the criteria for ARFID but I have…abnormal behavior with food because of those things + autism) and it’s just hard sometimes. I hope you’re able to get something that feels safe to eat soon and just know lots of people understand the feeling and how much it sucks!! -softsleepysnz

i enjoy our little ask conversations so don’t even worry LOL but yeah it’s so frustrating and gets exhausting sometimes but it’s always nice to know i’m not alone in these feelings. i am sorry you can relate though :(

ARFID is super comorbid with emetophobia and i know SO many fellow emetophobes who suffer with that vicious cycle of being too scared to eat properly which then makes you feel sick and fuels that anxiety even more, making it even harder to eat, and the longer you don’t eat, the worse you feel and therefore the less you want to eat and so on and so on. i could literally talk about how exhausting it is forever but i will be quiet djsjndn just know if you (or anyone who relates) needs a listening ear about this stuff i am here <3

[adhd-creativity]

ADHD and PRIORITISING

I love lots of creative things; I am a poet and and artist and a writer

and somehow, also none or these things

as I barely find the time to do them

But then I've been off work the last few days- how have I not found the time?

I feel like there are so many things I want to say and write about and so many books I want to read and so many drawings to draw and paintings to paint and crafts to make and also chores and work and self care and trying to be social

So many things I want to achieve everyday (/ things I must achieve to function as an adult, like cooking and cleaning)

So I get overwhelmed and stare my phone instead, or start things and get distracted

Picking or prioritising something feels impossible, everything feels urgent and equally interesting

And then when I do pick something (like yesterday, finishing my book) my brain will often telling me it's wrong thing and I should be doing one of my many other very important interests

Is this the ADHD curse? To have a million interests and goals but not have the tools (organisation, commitment) to do them consistently?

If anyone has any tips for this, please let me know

[c4rdsharp]

I have ADHD but not diagnosed ASD so I hope I’m not overstepping my boundaries, but it seems like Luck tends to hyperfocus on something, particularly business, to the point where he abandons basic necessities like eating and sleeping. In the books, Luck pulls an all-nighter and the way he handles it seems to imply it’s something he’s used to doing. I can also see him being particular about food and getting a bit anxious when his routine is suddenly changed or he’s not allotted enough time to mentally prepare for something.

meechi. no worries, anon! honestly, i'm really thrilled you wanted to add onto my ASD Luck reading with some other canon evidence I haven't considered! I agree to all of this. In fact, because of Luck's all - nighter, I have a further headcanon that he's a chronic insomniac. I also feel he's someone with psychosomatic symptoms, mostly from anxiety ( you have to admit, as levelheaded as he can be, the pressures of the job would have some affect on his mental health. especially when you consider how scared of death he was prior to acquiring immortality ). among which would include stomachaches -- people with ASD tend to develop gastrointestinal issues, so that's something else to consider! in conjunction with abandoning basic needs, he definitely feels like someone who would forget to eat in the middle of the day and have one of his brothers ( probably Berga ) come around to remind him. i suspect, post - immortality, as symptoms of depression start to appear, this worsens more so due to a further lack of appetite ( i remember a couple years ago, i had another headcanon that he had grown up underweight because of all this, actually ). AND, being picky about food definitely wouldn't help with that! i think it wouldn't be as bad now -- there are definite no's, such as him disliking overly greasy foods and anything with slimy, uncomfortable textures. he's more - or - less developed a wider palate than what he had as a child, and considering how strict the Gandor family home was implied to be, i wouldn't be surprised if he didn't have much of a choice when it came to at - home meals. however, it was probably far, far worse as child and that there were definitely things he didn't eat because it was either unfamiliar or 'felt funny' in his mouth. Overall, he seems like someone who would be sensory sensitivity ( i suspect he's not a fan of bright lights, loud noises, or anywhere overly crowded. all three would be a nightmare for him ). As for that last point, absolutely! We don't get to see much of the Gandors compared to other characters, but when we do, Luck is usually shown to be doing predictable, repeated things. He's often in the same places doing the same things, and very rarely strays from that. We don't get to hear much of Luck having a social life or proclivities for adventure ( the only time we hear or see him even leaving New York City was for work, of all things ), and the concept of having to change that doesn't seem to appeal to him much. Which, as both an example and another thing I want to lightly consider, brings to the point of Berga suggesting Luck ought to settle down with someone. Not all autistic people are asexual or aromantic by any means, but there is a definite connection between ASD and queer identities. at the very least, it's common for them to experience attraction & romance differently from the norm, and i wouldn't be surprised if Luck also fit that characteristic when it comes to the ASD experience!

[wanderingmind867]

The fact that my posts aren't getting many notes lately could be seen as a sign that I need to try and find more followers. Because when I first got this blog, i followed and unfollowed people without too much care. Now, i treat it like some big event. I don't follow people often, because i don't know if we like the same stuff (and also because i'm afraid to unfollow them if they post about something scary). So it's a very confusing issue, that probably can be tied back into me being more sedentary online lately.

In any event, most of my posts have 0 notes. When 4-5 months ago, nearly all my posts got one or two notes. So perhaps that's a sign i just need to find more people, because that's usually how i find this thing works. When you get new followers or mutuals, they sometimes seem to engage your stuff more often. Maybe that's why i often unfollow and then refolllow my mutuals. I seem to think it draws their attention back to me, or something. I don't know.

[just-rogi]

i got an autims diagnosis*** after months of therapy and im so happy :3

[icypolargirl78]

having autism and adhd is like.... sometimes i will get possessed by something for 24 hours (this is a hyperfixation) but then in the background there's this other demon that's been chilling in my mind for the past 2 years (this is a special interest) and it's merely taking backseat to the demon possessing me for 24 hours. but in reality there are about 3-4 demons chilling even further back in my mind that will sometimes spontaneously possess me when i listen to a certain song and it will have the effect of the 24 hour demon but those 3-4 demons will always be there waiting. and the current 2 year demon will likely join them eventually

[aerielz]

If your parents were a little new agey and it's okay she's just a bit different she's probably an indigo child

how's that late AuDHD diagnosis going for ya

[vanilla-ending]

I apologize to the 20 messages in my inbox I haven’t touched and the countless others I’ve deleted bc I wasn’t in the mood to reply to them, I beg for interaction and then do this 😭