#autistic adult diagnosis

[thatadhdmood]

an eloquent take down of the "people are self diagnosing autism to be trendy and for attention" take that morons have been echoing on tiktok

[video description is the reblogs, its very long]

[neurodivergenttales]

I wish people would stop expecting instant emotional reactions

When someone tells me something, whether that's upsetting news or happy news or anything in between, it takes me a while to process it

I need time on my own, away from other people's eyes and expectations, to think it through in my head, understand the consequences of it and what it actually means

People think that a lack of emotional reaction at the time means you are cold or uncaring, they don't realise that processing isn't a seconds-long process for everyone

For some people, processing can take minutes, hours, days, months, even years

Give people that time and don't judge people for not following the same emotional timescale as you

[imaginarylungfish]

i constantly forget that stimming will help me. like sometimes i feel so overwhelmed and start catastrophizing about my job or a partner or my family or friends. BUT THEN I STIM. and life's okay

[salti-thelatediagnosedautist]

part of being autistic is slowly realising that you actually live in chronic pain and all your random little physical blips and errors might actually be caused by a chronic illness???

No, but seriously, no one told me that it doesn't hurt their elbows when they shake sauce bottles... it doesn't hurt their wrists and hands to write.... it doesn't hurt their feet to drive.... they don't randomly "lose grip" on objects or find keyboards or controllers difficult to hold... I was under the assumption this was all relatively normal?

Part of the reason I didn't realise this is because I don't always realise I'm in pain. My autism already makes me hyposensitive to pain, but because my "neutral" is to always be in like a 3/10 pain state, I don't always know that I'm in pain...

[chronicsymptomsyndrome]

Clinical studies be like

1 billion random boys were tested. results show that 0% of girls are autistic* 👍

1 billion autistic males were tested. results show that 0% of autistics are female* 👍

1 billion minors were tested. results show ADHD stops at age 18, often to be replaced by plain laziness* 👍

*certified😎 totally credible source✨ we are pros🤓 with coats🥼

[disabled-planet]

Being anti-self diagnosis = being classist and perhaps other things as well. (Such as sexism and racism).

There I said it.

You cannot change my mind.

[martha-autie]

I'm upset with tiktok. Particularly the mental health aspect of tiktok. It's so inaccurate most of the time but people act like it's not. You shouldn't take mental advice from tiktok. Tiktok is partially responsible for setting back the public's perception of OCD, we were gaining traction in helping people understand that intrusive thoughts don't make us, killers, creeps, or dangerous.

Now we've got tiktok people telling everyone that intrusive thoughts are about wanting to eat too much candy, or poke a Llama in the face because it's so cute. No those are just thoughts, normal thoughts, impulsive thoughts.

They are likely not ego dystonic. They likely do not clash with your sense of self, you most likely do not have a negative or anxious reaction to these thoughts. Intrusive thoughts are unwanted, scary, distressing thoughts that pop into your mind randomly and you don't want them.

People with ocd can't control their thoughts, but now we have people calling OCD people and people with other conditions monsters because they have real intrusive thoughts that follow a common theme, hurting others, doing something bad or perverted. Or something you don't want to do, it can even be thoughts about joining another religion or secretly being a sexuality and not knowing it.

Intrusive thoughts can be anything, but they are always unpleasant and unwanted, they are considered to be ego dystonic meaning they do not go along with a person's sense of self.

When I was younger I would have thoughts about pushing people into the street and them getting run over by cars, I hated those thoughts. I didn't want them, those were intrusive thoughts. Tiktok has harmed OCD acceptance and imagine what it's going to do to Autism, which I also have, if people keep taking advice from tiktok. Please don't take tiktok advice

[bipolarmango]

Sometimes I wonder if an earlier diagnosis for autism and ADHD would've saved me some trauma. Being bullied into constant masking, dropping and abandoning your special interests or at least being ashamed of them, and still hearing constantly how you are being wrong in so many ways and not understanding how you can fix that for 30 years by family, friends, and romantic partners leaves really big wounds and alters your entire self-image, causes social anxiety, and makes you constantly belittling yourself.

[salinelakedweller]

late discovered autistics are all "yeah i'm good but if i truly relax for a moment i think the world or i might collapse also i don't think i know what it means to truly relax"

[chaoticautie]

Me: I’m autistic

Person: Are you diagnosed?

Me: Well it’s been confirmed by more than one professional, my old diagnosis was written on paper for my IEP but it’s outdated now (Asp*rger’s), I’ve scored very high on almost every autism test out there, and a lot of my teachers, friends, and some of my family members have suspected it

Person: Okay, but are you diagnosed NOW?

Me: …No?

Person: Then you’re not autistic.

[mattiautistic]

Hoy llegó mi nuevo peluche! ¿Podrían ayudarme a escoger un nombre para elle?

Today my new stuffed animal arrived! Could you help me choose a name for her?

[ineedfairypee]

Aww she's shy 🙈

[neurodivergenttales]

Gentle Reminders:

Do not feel embarrassed for relying on safe foods (you are not 'picky' or 'demanding')

Do not feel ashamed for stimming in public (you are more than allowed to regulate yourself)

Do not feel guilty for saying 'no' (burn out is real even though this capitalist society glamorises it)

Do not neglect your special interests because other people think they're strange/obsessive (people judging you for experiencing joy are the actual problem here)

Do not feel guilty for asking for accommodations (the world is not one-size-fits-all and you deserve access)

[imaginarylungfish]

y'all just ever catch yourself masking alone at home? like hey there brain, no need, babe

[ejbuckley]

tw/ bullying, ableism

one of the most heartbreaking things about my late autism diagnosis is realising that i wasn’t bullied for my looks - as i always thought. i was bullied for being autistic, for the way i reacted to things and acted. i grew up hating the way i looked and tried so hard to change myself. it wasn’t until the manic pixie dream girl phase that people were nice to me, it was all ableism and that’s devastating.

i will never forgive the world for that.

[noodle-shenaniganery]

I think one of the big issues with autism representation is largely that we don’t get that many autistic characters in media. It’s impossible to represent the entire spectrum in one character. And oftentimes, even when we do get representation, it’s the same types of characters over and over again. The spectrum is broad! It’s chaotic! Almost any representation could hypothetically reflect someone’s experiences, so why keep using the same few archetypes repeatedly? There are so many ways an autistic character could be written. Look, here’s some:

- A nonverbal autistic character with the power to manipulate plants who often uses plants to communicate (e.g. grows cacti when upset, dandelions when happy, roses when they like someone/something, orchids when confused, etc.). They also use plants to move around, grab things, point, etc. due to significantly impaired motor control.

- A nonspeaking, physically disabled autistic character with strabismus who is the ‘tech genius’ of the group. They often can’t go on missions themself because of their disability, but are completely fine with providing the rest with the gadgets, advice, and the occasional Dad Joke™️.

- The ghost of an autistic person who keeps trying to make friends with the new residents of their home, but doesn’t understand social rules at all and keeps accidentally scaring people by appearing/saying things without notice. They also stim by yelling, singing, and moving (things) around, which understandably freaks people out.

- A blind, semispeaking autistic teenager whose special interest is music, and their life mostly revolves around music. They mostly speak in song quotes, and are trying to learn how to play as many instruments as possible. They switch between different mobility aids that help them get around (they are dynamically disabled from their Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome), from crutches to wheechairs. They could also try to be in their school’s music club and/or orchestra, while also dealing with high school shenanigans.

- An autistic adult who, after decades of going undiagnosed, is now adjusting to life knowing that they’re not broken, just different. They also have comorbid mental illnesses, partially as a result of their late diagnosis.

There you go. There’s some ideas.

(If anyone uses these, please tag me or let me know, I’d love to read some stories with these.)