#auctober2024

[youdontlookautistic]

Auctober: Individualism.

This one is late, and I was gonna do the whole month, but let me explain.

This comic is what made me survive October. About a week ago I was forced to go no contact with my entire family, for 2 years, because they couldn’t respect me or my boundaries. I held on to this, my truth, as I struggled to deal with their abuse. Abuse I hadn’t been able to truly recognise until the past 6 months, that all came to a head now.

It has been a… revelation, let’s use that word. It’s been a revelation to realise I’ve grown up in a family I specifically wasn’t allowed to be disabled in. The ableism was so hard core it arcs into ego and narcissism.

I wasn’t allowed to have needs or wants, I was expected to be independent even though it was obvious to everyone outside my family that I needed support, and help. And if I wasn’t, I was shamed, controlled, ignored, dismissed, invalidated.

And while the pain of going no contact with those I truly, honestly believed supported me the most has threatened to bury me, I now hold onto my self. I hope and trust that there’s something in me that can help others. It’s my self that is my oxygen mask, in the darkest night.

I’ve never had that before.

AND IT’S AMAZING.

Also as a 2nd year art student this is my first comic.

@autiebiographical ran the month of Auctober! Thank you.

[autiebiographical]

Day 11 of Auctober!

Internal ableism is so hard to unlearn. It's a big part of my self esteem issues.

You're not a burden. You're not a disappointment. You're not a mistake. You are awesome!

[jstillman98]

DAY 11 - Unlearning Ableism

In case you need to hear it today...

You deserve love, and you deserve to live. Thank you so much for being here. 💛💜❤️

[oswald-can-draw]

It’s hard to remember that I have a disability, especially in the “if no one can tell, you’re not disabled, you aren’t” society that we live in.

I find myself making socially acceptable excuses for my burnout/inattentiveness/awkwardness. Sometimes that’s for the best, but it can be exhausting. There’s only so many “just tired”s and “just woke up from a nap”s that I can throw out before the mask starts to slip.

I feel like everyone else has this capacity that I don’t, this extra space that, no matter how hard I work, I cannot reach. I am not miserable in my existence, and I do not want to be cured, but autism can be very heavy, especially when I’m trying to explain myself.

[heumilch]

AUCTOBER day 22: Disabled

An october art challenge by @autiebiographical

I got an offical diagnosis for my learning disabilty as a child, but it did not help me as much as it should have

[bellalikesgarfield]

Auctober Day #16 Autistic Pride

I feel most proud when i meet other amazing autistic individuals 💪

[zoobiefish]

“You don’t have to be a prodigy to be unique

You don’t have to know what to say or what to think

You don’t have to be anybody you can never be

That’s alright, let it out, talk to me” —Cavetown

Day 11: “Unlearning Ableism”

For today’s prompt, I decided to make a kandi bracelet based on “Talk to Me,” a song by Cavetown. One of the hardest parts of being Autistic is reminding myself that just because my disability is “invisible,” doesn’t make me any less disabled. I also constantly have to remind myself that I don’t need to always live up to neurotypical standards. I’m fine as I am and it’s okay if some days are too much for me. It’s okay to need a break. It’s okay to not be giving everything my 100% all the time. My hope is that one day when I’m finished my degrees and I become a clinical psychologist, I’ll be able to pass on this same message to my clients.

[rusty-clockworks]

Auctober prompt 28: safe foods

My autistic safe foods: a Moodboard

[strangeygirl]

Auctober 2024 day 22 : Disabled

I am disabled. I struggle starting mundane tasks, get perceived as rude, weird, blunt, dumb or naive, need to be told exactly what I need to do, can't focus on what I don't care about and rarely bother to step out of my comfort zone for strangers. I know it will put me in difficulty in the future, and none of this would be if I was Neurotypical. I am Autistic and it is a disability, the end.

Have my cat looking very fluffy as a bonus :

[cobaltsoulsearcher]

Autism Plus

every quirk called inane

turns back the turnpike, flooding my brain

Autism minus

the way that my limbs don't quite fit together

finds me falling, like the season, under the weather

Autism divided

by too many lists and too few sheep

leaves me nothing to count as I fade into sleep

Autism multiplied

is what keeps me alive

for all of my problems are met with my pride

A balanced equation leaves nothing to hide.

(Inspired by the AUctober 2024 prompts list and by The Brain Within it's Groove by Emily Dickenson)

[megaminerjenny]

Auctober: Day 14 - Hyperfixations

I am metaphorically purring like a cat whenever I get to indulge in a hyperfixation for an extended period.

[autiebiographical]

Day 20 of Auctober!

Executive dysfunction is too often labeled as "laziness" or "obstinance" when in reality it's essentially your brain saying "NO!" against your will.

It needs to be de-stigmatized and better understood. The more we learn about it the more we can do something about it.

[jstillman98]

DAY 6 - Individuals

Autism is a non-linear spectrum, and you'll meet all kinds of people on that spectrum ^v^

[oswald-can-draw]

I have been given or have given myself a lot of unkind labels over the years — ones that I’m still unlearning. I know that some things will never go away. Certain feelings, certain memories, certain fears.

I remember what it was like to grow up different, and to play along with cruel jokes because it was the only way I was included in anything. I remember doing embarrassing things for attention. I remember being called weird and a crybaby.

But those memories, and what people thought about me then and now, do not make me who I am.

[heumilch]

AUCTOBER day 26: Fidgeting

An october art challenge by @autiebiographical

My whole life I have been reprimanded for fidgeting too much. Somehow the evasive behaviour I established with each new rule just escalated the self destructiveness

[bellalikesgarfield]

Auctober Day #7 Neuroscope

Yeah my therapist picked up on it very fast haha, but thank you to my autistic friend who helped me 🫶💕

(I won’t be doing every day of auctober because it’s hard for me but here this is)