#autistic people can have rsd too

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Important PSA:

Autistic people can experience Rejection sensitive dysphoria too.

What to Know About Autism and Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria:

[alpaca-clouds]

Neurodiversity & Rejection Sensitivity Disphoria

Starting with this graphic by @adhd-alien

Okay, let me talk about Rejection Sensitive Disphoria, which is something ADHD folks - but also autistic folks - struggle with a lot. And technically speaking... it is a trauma response. This is nothing that just happens to a neurodiverse brain as is, but it is an effect of trauma.

A lot of neurodiverse people - especially ADHD people - encounter a lot of rejection during their life. They get criticized for being inattentive, for being "lazy", for being "weird", for being too attached, and too detatched. Basically, we cannot do anything right. We often struggle to maintain friendship, especially with neurotypical people, who find our behavior grading.

There is always the saying among neurodiverse people: "We have best friends, but we are never anyone's best friend", because of this and because we often only have the emotional energy to maintain a few friendships at once.

There has been a study done a while ago and it found, that a typical child with ADHD would experience about 50 small rejections within each and every day. 50! 50 times that someone told them "You did this wrong" or "You are wrong". And in a lot of times the people giving these rejections do not think about it as much. But for the kid, it leaves an impression. Because they learn, they cannot do anything right.

Because of this, each rejection feels even more horrible to them. Even as an adult. Something that is not meant as a big slant against them, turns into it in their mind. Like, even a small criticism. Take one like this: "Tone it down." Because we often have problems regulating our voice. And just this small thing feels... horrible.

And, yeah... We struggle with this. It is a trauma response. Nothing else.

But if we bring it up to someone - for example, someone who keeps bringing out those small rejections - we are often depicted by them as self-centered and the like.

Ever since I learned about RSD, I have an easier time dealing with it. Because I can now gage that moment, where it kicks in and go in, telling my brain: "Hey, stop this crap, that is not what they meant and you know it". But... I also would fucking appreciate if neurotypical people had a bit more chill with us.

[cringelordofchaos]

Common ADHD traits/experiences I've heard of !!

(I was gonna make a post about why I might be neurodivergent but I figured it'd be going a bit too personal. Also this is just easier)

(ADHD is much more nuanced and complex than I may make it appear in this post. A lot of ADHD people don't have a lot of these traits or have traits not mentioned here. For example there are three types of ADHD (inattentive, hyperactive and combined) and most inattentive adhders are not going to be hyperactive lol)

Warning: badly worded (I'm stupid that's my excuse). also I'll go on personal rants as to how some of these may apply to me (whilst I can reasonate with each point listed here I won't go on a rat on all of these)

Physical hyperactivity (inability to sit/stand still (I used to think this meant that people with ADHD were incapable of. Sitting down (while constantly fidgeting or not) for one whole class)(I was an idiot)(I still am)). (Just overall constant , movement (I might have it idk I'm ALWAYS

Excessive talking

Stimming, fidgeting, general and overall repetitive movements (such as flapping hands, pacing, clasping hands together, etc)

Low attention span regarding things that don't garner much interest to you

More likely to be autistic, have anxiety or depression (or generally have other diagnostic conditions)

Ability to Hyperfocus on specific things, at times out of their control

More likely to have a lower Performance in school that most people

Proneness to addiction

Rejection sensitive dysphoria/RSD (really sensitive and afraid to rejection or criticism or disapproval or stuff like that. I'm questioning if I have it and I'm pretty sure I do bc i would have a whole breakdown bc i accidentally had a bad unintentional thought about this cool person I didn't want to hate me)(it's complicated)

Emotional disregulation (easily irritable, excited, stressed, stronger emotions, more likely to lash out, etc)(people with this are usually described to be much more emotional)

restless leg syndrome (except it's permanent lol)

Lower memory spans regarding most things

Forgetting to fulfill basic needs (such as eating, drinking, showering, etc)

Women/AFAB people are more likely to be diagnosed with inattentive ADHD (this of course does not rucking mean afab people can't b hyperactive my god)

Mental hyperactivity (racing/constant/overlapping/repetitive thoughts or stuff like that)

Impulsivity (doing stuff without thinking them fully though or not knowing why)

Sensory issues (sensitivity to sensory output such as noise, brightness, etc)

Easily bored/underwhelmed/understimulated - more likely to want to seek constant dopamine (due to l

Easily overwhelmed (whether itd be due to aforementioned sensory issues, emotional disregulation, rsd or stuff like that)

More likely to be perceived as "childish" (from what I've heard obviously this and many other things listed here don't apply to everyone)

Executive dysfunction (can't do shit at all)(ok it's more complicated than that just Google it up or something)

Having Hyperfixations (things you're DEEPLY invested in for a period of time, it can be a few days, weeks, months, sometimes more than a year, depends rly)(I'm still questioning if I'm neurodivergent but like I'm pretty sure I was in a DEEP hyperfixation mode when it came to sonic for like. A YEAR. like I literally it was literally the only thing on my brain the only thing in my life. and I would get realllytyy excited about learning obscure information about it or infodumping and I would flap my hands bc of how excited and passionate I was Abt it)(man I miss the times when I was so passionate about stuff I liked it was so fun :(( )

Higher/lower levels of empathy (I've seen this moreso been brought up with discussions regarding autism but I've also seen it brought up with ADHD itself too)

Lower levels of dopamine

Impatience

More likely to be a maladaptive daydreamer

Its cause is usually heavily genetic (meaning if your family or a family member has ADHD, you are more likely to have ADHD yourself)

More likely to have insomniac/have general problems with sleep (I'm questioning ADHD. I'm writing this like... Five hours before I'm supposed to wake up for school. Great.)

There is also a higher relevance between ADHD and PTSD

If I missed something important let me know!! Also if you don't know some of he

This post is not meant to be used as a substitute for self nor professional diagnosis, though if you feel like you might have ADHD because of this post I recommend further research and conversations with trusted advisors such as parental figures or therapists/doctors (not me not listening to my own advice)(<- that was me regarding my latter advice)(I'm too scared to tell my parents about it man)(idk why)

Things to note:

ADHD is not just about little elementary school hyperactive white boys !!

There's a lot of things I mightve missed

Not everyone with ADHD has all these traits (obviously)

Some of these traits may be common due to the commonness of ADHD + autism overlap (idk though)

Apparently it's one of the most diagnosed forms of neurodivergence in kids (about 7-10% of kids in the USA are diagnosed with ADHD)(APPARENTLY idk)

There's more but I'm tired right now byeeee

[all-l-wanna-do]

Six the Musical?

Okay, I haven’t listened to the musical in a bit, but what are some of your favourite headcanons for Katherine Howard(Fifth one, I believe)?

YESSS OMGS SHES THE BEST SHES MY FAVOURITEEEEE HEJSKDKAKDI. AAAH

okay so she goes by kitty and kat with friends and katherine with most other people, nickname privileges are just about the highest honor she can give someone. Anna and Anne call her Kitkat a lot as well.

Shes bisexual with a preference towards girls and the idea of sex repluses her but she's not sure if thats due to asexuality or non worked through trauma

she dresses very preppy with some y2k elements, has a worn pair of pink converse she adores, constantly dyes her hair bubblegum pink and usually wears it in a ponytail or two braids. she hates her hips with a passion and cant wear leggings without a skirt over it because she'll feel nauseous and will get panicked and cry. she also can only have her boobs visible if shes wearing something that accents them. she has a pair of heart earings she wears 50% lf the time and always has a choker on to hide her scar.

she loves doing makeup and coloured eyeliner and sparkles. she often draws hearts on herself and really on anything she can. she always uses waterproof mascara just in case.

she gets phantom pain in her neck along her scar a lot especially when death is mentioned. it gets so bad shes curled up cryimg bc of the pain sometimes.

she loves sweet coffees and hot chocolate and milk chocolate and gets a caramel latte every morning from a small coffee shop. she's constantly caffinated to avoid feeling her massive sleep debt. She usually eats a large dinner and a million snacks throughout the day.

she is a gremlin with playiny games, she is the best mario kart and monopoly player amongst the wueens by far usually because they feel some level of remorse when destroying people. she doesnt. insulting people is her love language and she loves using childish insults like poopface or stupidbutt along with well timed swears.

she loves pop music especially sabrina carpenter, olivia rodrigo, maisie peters, and taylor swift. shes also the largest mysical fan youll ever meet and dreams about being a musical actress but shes terrified she isnt good enough snd never will be no matter how hard she tries. Songs like the band and i and long live make her sob because she wants that so bad it hurts. she dreams of living in nyc or london and thrives in big cities

she can and will bite people for fun

her favourite game is stardew valley especially the early game so she has about a million saves that have made it to spring year 2 and tapered off. she enjoys watching cozy stardew (and similar games like fields of mistria) and minecraft on yt.

her backpack is white with pink hearts on it snd she always carries way too many spare peirod products.

shes always craving cuddles or touch is painful no in between

shes autistic with a special interest in theatre. she also has a lot of vocal stims and masks heavily. shes considering the fact that she may have adhd and also has rsd.

she loves reading fluff fanfic and cries at happy endings and on her birthday. she holds grugdes and is ashamed at herself for doing so. she projects a very confident persona but belives that she's unlovable and that (most) people only love her for her body. she hides her interests from most people because she thinks they dont care about them and theyll move on from her if she does.

her favourite animals are butterflies and hedgehogs and her favourite flower is dandelions.

she sleeps woth three pullows and two blankets and has a pink weighted blanket she uses whemever she's overstimulated

she has a canopy bed with string lights around the top and her floor is covered in a soft pink rug thats always covered in cat hair and she has light pink wallpaper with butterflies on iy and a plushie pile at the foot of her bed

theres more but im tired lol

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I An Asshole for Hating How My Sister Says "I Love You"?

My sister and I are very different people. She is outgoing and extroverted and social, I am quiet and introverted and honestly have a ton of trouble with social interactions.

My sister has ADHD, but she does not take any medications for it because of legitimate medical reasons. Because of ADHD and some other actions she does, I highly suspect that she struggles with RSD (Rejection Sensitive Disorder). She has not been diagnosed with that specific symptom, but she also doesn't go to any kind of therapist that COULD diagnose her with it. I just made a note of it in my mind so I can try to understand her actions and be empathetic.

However, there is one action she does that drives me up the wall and it's the way she says "I love you".

She will say "I love you" and I will, of course, respond back "I love you, too". Because I do! She is my sister. She is great and I couldn't ask for a better sister! But then she will follow it up with "You Promise?" And I will say "Yes".

Except, if my tone isn't EXACTLY perfect, it turns into a cycle of "are you sure?" Or"you didn't sound like you meant it" or "why did you say it like that" and the whole thing can last for like 10 minutes. It will turn into a whole analysis of my tone.

And I don't understand tones. I don't think I'm autistic, but tones really stump me. I miss sarcasm a lot, for one. And I'm a pretty monotone person. I feel like all of my tones sound the same? I'm certainly not very emotive. So I have no clue what she is talking about most of the time when she says "it didn't sound like I meant it".

Anyways, the conversation that follows "I love you" always irritates me or makes me feel bad. It irritates me because it is a continuous thing, happens almost EVERY TIME she says "I love you", and she is an incredibly loving person. We have this conversation two or three times a day. But it is exhausting to need to try to convince her that I love her every single time. And it makes me feel bad because it's like she just CAN'T believe that I love her. Like me expressing that I love her just isn't GOOD enough. It doesn't matter all the times I try to say I love her, it's just not good enough for her.

And when I have brought this up to her, she just starts sobbing and saying "I just like to hear you say it" over and over. And by that, I mean she just repeats that specific phrase over and over, she doesn't make any kind of comment on what I am actually trying to express to her. She just shakes her head and cries and says "I just like to hear you say it". Even when I try to calmly explain that it's hurting ME. It feels like she doesn't care how the conversation affects my self-esteem, only how it affects her self-esteem.

And I'm trying to be understanding, but am I the asshole for being irritated and hurt by this behavior? Should I be more understanding of her? Am I being overly judgemental?

What are these acronyms?

[genericpuff]

What is your advice on handling criticism?

I saw your response to a critic on Lore Rekindled in the sub and it's very good and you could say, professional.

I have a big problem of people-pleasing, so if I get critcism (eventhough it's very polite), I get very sad at the fact there's fault with my work (I also suffer from perfectionism). It will drastically change how I see my work, and in the end I give it up 😭

fam i got teased tf out of for making it so wordy LOL

I totally get that struggle though, I know it probably doesn't seem it at times, but I do have the 'ole RSD (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria) due to being ADHD/autistic, so I totally relate to the whole people pleasing thing. It's hard to feel like something you made isn't making everyone happy! But that's also ultimately not what it's for. You can't make everyone happy, and your art doesn't deserve to exist any less just because some people don't find it their cup of tea.

I've definitely had to like, disconnect my work from myself over the years to get better at taking criticism. Not to the point that I get apathetic, obviously I should be invested in whatever I'm working on, but enough that when people criticize my work, it's not necessarily an attack on my own self.

And if they are clearly just out to attack me, then I dismiss the criticism, it's of no value to me.

Unless it's something that's specifically a result of my own values or biases bleeding into the work, most of the time it's people literally just saying, "I like this work, but I feel like it wasn't as strong as it could have been here and here" and that has nothing to do with me as a person, I'm just still polishing my skills and those outside opinions help to target specifically what needs improving. I think we as artists pour a lot of ourselves into our work, especially when we're just starting out, so it can be hard not to take criticism as an attack or rejection of yourself, but we have to ultimately remember that we are not 100% of our work. Even with works like LO, while some of the criticism I give of it is indicative of Rachel's values and personal preferences as a person, a lot of it is also just about the work itself and how far it's fallen beyond what I assume Rachel intended from the beginning.

I've also learned to separate helpful from unhelpful criticism. I'll use Time Gate as an example because I've gotten way more input on that series than Rekindled (just because I've actually like, intentionally sought out criticism for it). A common criticism in the past was that there weren't enough backgrounds and the story's pacing wasn't concise. It sucked to hear at the time, especially the backgrounds one, because I'd heard that one time and time again... but it was literally because I wasn't doing anything to improve them. You know what stopped those criticisms? Drawing backgrounds more LOL And I still suck at backgrounds tbh but I feel like I've definitely improved compared to the first few volumes when I was just drawing characters on top of white constantly LOL

old and busted:

new hotness:

(i think there's like a 4-5 year difference between these two pages. and the backgrounds STILL aren't perfect in those newer volumes but they still feel more finished than the older panels did)

So that was helpful criticism! My art wasn't as strong as it could be in a few specific places that people were clearly able to pinpoint, so I did what I could to improve those places and I'm still working on it.

Unhelpful criticism has just been either personal attacks (not valuable) or statements that are basically asking the comic to not be what it is, criticizing things that are features, not bugs. Things like "well I think the story is too anime-like", "it's a lot to try and read", "why don't you draw eyelashes on the girl character", etc. which are criticisms of things that I know are intentional. The story's anime-like because that's the story I want to write. It's a lot to try and read because it's intended to be a longform series for people who like reading longform series (people like me!). I don't draw eyelashes on Uzuki because she would look terrible with them LMAO (we even made a joke about that later on):

(the hilarious part is that that comment was definitely made with the idea that all women should have that makeup look, meanwhile mitsuhiro's pulling off the look so much better and he knows it LMAO

And actually, the example you're referring to where I responded to crit in the ULO subreddit, is also an example of unhelpful criticism, though the person who posted it definitely didn't mean any harm by it, but the crit was literally "why aren't Persephone's boobs big enough" which I thought was pretty funny. She still has boobs! I just don't draw them popping out of her top like Rachel does LOL I also don't give her the exaggerated pinched waist or broken spine that Rachel often gives her because that's all just to, again, emphasize her boobs, and it's often unnecessary, especially in a comic that's being marketed as a feminist piece of work, yet is often drawn completely through the male gaze. So yeah, that was definitely crit that wasn't really beneficial because it was literally just about Persephone's cup size lol

I know it's easier said than done, but when you feel that sadness coming on in response to criticism, remember that that criticism exists to help you, not hinder you. Considering you've been getting polite criticism, that means the people giving it likely have your best interests in mind and want to see your work improve. The only way to do that is to learn how to critically analyze your own work, and the only way to do that is to surround yourself with works whose quality you want to achieve, and get outside opinions. And if that criticism isn't in good spirit, then toss it aside. If it's not going to help you, then it's not of any value to you. And yes, it will take practice, there are still times I find myself getting overwhelmed, but ultimately I can't control what anyone else says or does, only what I do. So I funnel that into my work and I always keep moving forward.

Be at peace with the process of learning and improving, because you never stop having to learn, there's always something new to improve, and that shouldn't be taken all doom and gloom "I'll never be perfect", that's literally just the process and beauty of being an artist, there's always something new to learn and that's something that should be exciting!

Think about whenever you give criticism or have personal critiques of other comics. I'm willing to bet most of the time, you have those opinions with good intentions, you're not trying to attack anyone. So why not give yourself the same grace?

...holy shit, I forgot Uzuki's lipstick in the bottom right panel- （；´д｀）ゞ

[sinnohanvulpix]

Goh is neurodivergent and you can’t change my mind

Since today is Autism Acceptance Day, this is the perfect time to look back on Goh’s iconic moments throughout Journeys and how they support my headcanon that he is autistic. This is also @pikatrainer99​‘s headcanon, and we collaborated to make this post. And yes, we are both autistic, and we are allowed to encourage acceptance through this headcanon. If you’re not autistic and you disagree with any of this, then kindly leave.

With that out of the way though, let’s start with episode 1. And, oh boy, is there a lot to unpack! Just in this episode alone, we can see that Goh has a clear special interest in Pokemon, which brings him so much joy to talk about (which I can totally relate to). We also see that he lacked some social skills, didn’t understand social cues, and infodumped about all the different Pokemon they encountered as he didn’t understand that his role was to be the listener, not the teacher. But the biggest thing that stood out to me was when he said that he didn’t need friends, and it’s later revealed that he had been avoiding going to school. This seems to imply that something happened at school that made him stop going, which is unfortunately not uncommon for autistic people to go through (I would’ve gone through that if homeschooling wasn’t an option for me). So instead, he spent all his time on the computer doing Pokemon research.

Fast forward 4 years later to episode 2, and we see that Goh still finds just as much enjoyment in Pokemon research, with still no interest yet in making new friends. That is until he meets Ash, who was one of the first people he met who loves Pokemon just as much as he does. Because Goh still didn’t understand how friendship worked, he announced to him “I accept you as my friend!” As adorable as this is, it’s not the typical reaction to meeting someone, and I’m glad that it was Ash he said this too and not anyone else.

But episode 3 is when I really started seeing myself in Goh, as it was the first to show his insecure side, which likely developed from multiple instances of being misunderstood. After having one small argument with Ash, Goh became convinced that their friendship was completely over, that he messed it up. He even starts tearing up while muttering to himself, “so you’re one of those people too...”, which shows just how much having Ash as a friend means to him. Fortunately though, since Ash is so forgiving, he quickly forgot all about the argument and helped reassure Goh that they’re still friends, much to his relief.

After episode 3, the evidence became a little more spread out, but we can clearly see in multiple future episodes that Goh’s friendship with Ash hasn’t “changed” his autistic-coded traits. We still see many of these traits throughout the series, especially his fear of being rejected (which I headcanon as RSD, aka Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, which is commonly linked with autism and ADHD). This was most prevalently seen throughout episode 22, when Goh became convinced that Raboot didn’t want him as its trainer anymore and would live a happier life without him, which fortunately turned out to be untrue as Raboot came back for him. This was seen again in episode 101, when Goh saw Grookey getting along so well with the wild Grookey and Thwackey they met that he thought Grookey would be happier living with them. But once again, his beloved partner came back, reassuring him that they do belong together.

Speaking of the Galar starters, we also saw in episode 62 that Goh has trouble identifying his emotions, aka alexithymia (also commonly linked with autism). During a childhood flashback, after he had lost interest in playing with the other kids, his teacher asked him why, but Goh was unable to answer as he didn’t know why himself. Even in the present day when he reassured Drizzile that it’s okay not to know why it’s feeling this way, he began to tear up without knowing why. Something tells me this is something that he’s always needed to hear, whether he realized it or not.

And of course, we can’t talk about Goh’s insecure side without talking about episode 32. Even though we knew by the end that it was all a misunderstanding, Goh was convinced for three whole years that Tokio had intentionally broken his promise and abandoned him. This experience heavily traumatized him, which we can clearly see as his encounters with Ariados and Pineco bring back the memories of his time with Tokio and the painful emotions he associated them with. Not to mention this took place a year after episode 1, when he was already uninterested in making new friends. Seeing his first close friendship end this way definitely contributed to his distrust in others and unclear grasp of how friendship works, even after the two eventually made up.

This was even shown as late as episode 135, the penultimate episode of Journeys. He spent the entire episode trying to find the courage to tell Ash that he wanted to go on his own journey... only for Ash to casually tell him the same thing. Goh felt so betrayed by this that it led to an emotional outburst, which I can honestly understand. I wouldn’t want my dear friends to make this kind of casual announcement either. This proves that even after all this time of bonding with Ash and growing as a person and trainer, Goh still has much work to do when it comes to understanding social relations, which is a lifetime commitment for autistic people.

Fortunately, Goh has still managed to find much fulfillment on his journey. Not only has he finally gotten to embrace his deep passion for Pokemon, but he’s also formed multiple friendships with Pokemon. In fact, Pika and I believe that the reason he wants to catch ‘em all (apart from working his way up to Mew) is because he feels more comfortable befriending Pokemon than people. Pokemon don’t judge him the way people do, so it makes perfect sense why he would want to have friends in his life who won’t betray him.

Overall, we’re both super happy that we got to spend three years following the journey of one of the most relatable characters in Pokemon history. Goh will always be one of our favourite characters, and we’ll always look back fondly on his many iconic and relatable moments ❤️

[winn-schott-throughtheheart]

hello, all. I present to you a long list of why Winn Schott is Autistic as Hell:

• academically gifted

• stims- hand flappies, plays with his shirt, fidget spinner, lots of trinkets to play with, fidgets a lot, scratching/rubbing the back of his neck, playing with his tie, etc

• star wars special interest- frequently makes references, talks about it a lot, 2x01, 3x09, etc

• also superman special interest or old hyperfixation perhaps: strong long term memory, able to recall exact details of past fights

• doctor who/orphan black, etc, scifi in general also - comfort and routine in fictional worlds

• Genius™- picks up on info that trained agents couldn't after spending an hour at the DEO 1x13, makes Superman's new suit 2x01/2 (?), wrote the code that made literally everything after 5x11 possible, etc

• overwhelmed at lots of voices and shouting 2x11 - noise complexity issues

• that technically wasn't winn but since the Martian took all his memories/thoughts/mannerisms im going to count it as him

• complains that today's music is too loud 1x16

• wears headphones at both places of employment, 1x05, 2x05- noise processing issues again

• can easily go hours without taking a break if he's In The Zone, 1x15, 3x20

• bad social cues 1x13, 1x07, 3x02, 3x09, 2x16 etc etc

• learns a new alien coding language in less than 45 minutes

• learned kryptonian because he was bored

• hyperfocussss

• prefers to be alone- doesn't talk to anybody besides his friends much

• poor self esteem

• over analytical

• time blindness - "How is it still night time? it feels like it's been one week." 2x11

• sensory issues- certain smells - teak wood and tobacco, frequently wears headphones, scrunching his face up at having to wear rubber gloves

• frequently drinks soft drinks- sensory with the bubbles maybe??

• frequently eats more unhealthy things: more predictable in taste and texture than fruits/veg/organic foods.

• very expressive with his hands when talking

• hyper empathy- 3x02, training room scene

• bad at lying

• never noticed how bad his home life was

• awkward with emotions/bad at dealing with emotions 1x10, 1x20, 3x14, 5x12

• easily gives in to peer pressure

• panics under pressure

• routines- it takes a while for him to get used to Guardianing and Supering

• sensitive to temperature

• missing social cues when being questioned by Maggie, 2x16

• stimming - spinning on the stool 3x13

• special interests in techy stuff

• repetetive tasks?? likes taking stuff apart and putting it back together again

• awkward with hugs?? 3x18 at least

• shifting his weight when standing

• face rubbing/touching stim

• "if they like someone romantically, they can be extremely, noticeably awkward in attempts to let them know."

• difficulty making friends/approaching new people

• taking things literally?/ difficulty reading between the lines. "oh, things are not chill." social cues again 3x20

• prefers meaningful conversation over small talk

• ooh routine mayhaps might have been a part of 2x09

• daydreamer/deep thinker, e.g 3x14

• alexythemia - trouble identifying/describing their own/others emotions.

• see e.g- "oh, so I'm supposed to be feeling something? well I don't feel.... anything... I don't think..."

• typical gifted kid- "I always knew he was brilliant and capable-" at ten years old

• difficulty managing intense emotions- could also be PTSD. e.g, 1x10, 3x14, 1x11

• negative beliefs of self, again linked to PTSD

• intense connection to fictional worlds

• engaging in special interests very intently - 1x15, 3x20

• RSD maybe????

• strong long term memory

• pattern spotting/attention to detail, 2x14

• hyperfocus, again 3x20

• low trust in himself

• stimming by pacing, and also humming/singing, 2x16, 3x22, 2x20 (superfriends)

• could be echolalia after Kara maybe explained it cause he literally wasn't there

• clumsy - fine motor skills go brr

• "doesn't really do holidays," perhaps sensory overloads/sensory difficulties??

• or maybe thats just trauma

• or both

• quick/blunt remarks that could come off as rude

• 't-rex' arms

• sticking to the same clothing??

• talking to himself/thinking out loud

• takes his tablet almost everywhere- comfort item??

• stimming- moving his fingers idk like flapping/moving them up and down

• heightened sense of smell - "Oh, God, is that smell you?" like a second after bumping into Kara 1x02

• Kara knows about his Maxwell Lord obsession- hyperfixation/infodumping mayhaps??

• very very t-rex arms Jesus

• I'd make a compilation but God he's doing it in literally every scene I swear

• mumbles when writing code - idk if that's a thing it just seems very neurodivergent

• echolalia- repeats "turbulence" after Brainy in 3x11

• literal - 2x02, "actually, he said he would try."

• uses diagrams and drawings as a means to get points across - 3x22

• highly intelligent but can sometimes be slow to comprehend due to sensory and social difficulties

• stims to soothe when sad or agitated - face rubbing/touching, finger/foot tapping, etc

• similar when happy - jumping, dancing, singing, 2x09, 2x16

• anxiety and fear are prominent emotions

• proud of himself when he can distinguish tones - "Oh, I know that tone, that's a bad news tone" 2x09

• sitting on desks and tables

• sits weird - 2x14

• literally in the middle of an alien invasion and runs back to get his tablet

• genuine 'yep?' after cats sarcastic 'oh, Winslow,' when asked if she's ready 2x21

• prepares for the worst, always

• tapping his fingers 1x10 balcony scene

• tablet is a definite comfort/security item because it's been seen since 1x01. So.

• pacing to self soothe, 1x10, 2x09, 3x14, 5x11 etc

• unique thought process (voyager 3x11, satellites 1x13)

• finger wiggles!!! 3x09

• literally memorises a futuristic maths system to fix a futuristic ship better than the ships owner (someone from the future)

• sensory overload/overstimulation in 3x20 with ruby (coming off as easily irritated etc)

• has a fucking dirt collection

• which Mon-El of all people knows about, so he's either infodumped a whole bunch or they have sleepovers

• always making references

• keeps random shit in his desk?? why does he need a whole toolbox in his desk at catco

• overclarifies himself ("that's like, that's like really fast"); struggles with understanding things sometimes so when he's explaining stuff he explains in more detail the stuff that normally he wouldn't understand.

• relieved hand flappies after stopping indigos missile 1x15

• disinterest in sports/physical activity

• " I was a theatre kid, not a track star!"

• "youthful" for his age: in dresses, activities, tastes, etc

• fictional worlds as a retreat/safe space/coping mechanism

• "may have a strong interest in computers, games, science, graphic design, inventing, things of a technological and visual nature"

• emotionally sensitive

• hates injustice/being misunderstood

• words and actions are often misunderstood by others

• doesn't go out much: only really shown 'out' with his friends/'safe' people (barring that one time in 2x20)

• actually having said that he was probably only in the marketplace because he knew James was going to be there

• when he was at the bar alone in 2x13

• difficulty regulating voice volume - "too loud." "I'm sorry-" 2x14

• "high and to the.. left?" - struggles with fine motor skills and lefts/rights 2x07

• "head north. or, wait, more helpfully.... left."

• stimming with his mask in 3x16

• memory again: remembers where he was told his mum and dad met from over twenty years ago in 3x14, immediate correction "I thought you two met in Ivy Town?"

• fine motor skills again when he breaks the thing in the bathroom on the legion ship 3x17 (?)

• also "I broke something" in 1x07

• wears "restrictively tight" cardigans - comforted by deep pressure therapy

• chicken wings as a safe food

• he also immediately knows what's so important about flight 237 in 3x04- remembers exact details about Supergirl much like he does with Superman

• awkward gait

[letsatomicbanana]

Neurodivergent Ink hc’s? Ok!

Full-body stimming, gets up and runs/paces around a room when excited, jumps up and down/shakes himself to get energy out.

Speech pattern mimicking/fluctuating voice, the people he’s around and media he consumes can alter how he sounds at a given time and the contrast is jarring as hell

Hand-flappy stims with limp wrists, usually a sign of extreme excitement or severe stress

Ink doesn’t need to eat, as we know, but he likes to and while he is pretty chill with anything when it comes to art supplies, with normal people food he is such a picky eater. Like he is not gonna touch a salad, he’d rather die.

Mimicking as a stim and/or echolalia. Thing make cool/interesting/funny noise? He makes it too. And sometimes it just happens automatically. He hates having to explain that he’s not mocking people.

My dude’s rsd is off the charts a lot of the time, he is afraid of most slight indicators he’s not liked.

When he was younger (hell, even nowadays) he used to line up his toys specifically in rainbow order.

No words can describe his excitement when he saw Error expressing autistic traits, he literally shouted “Hey! Just like me!”.

Ink hyperfixates/gets special interests on other pieces of media us real people know and love.

He subconsciously personifies colors and other concepts/objects! Mainly colors, though.

Nightmare was actually the first one to point out that Ink’s traits were probably a byproduct of neurodivergence. No one else noticed given how differently he presents from others, but NM is pretty well-read on the subject. Idk why I necessarily have this hc, I just think it makes sense for those two to have a history for some odd reason.

Ink often needs to bite things to stim, it was a problem before the other stars got him some chewlery.

When overstimulated Ink will often “puddle” in a similar way that Nightmare is often depicted to, letting his body heavily liquify into ink and just kinda sitting there slouched with only his upper half visible while he calms down.

I hope those sufficed!

Oh boy big post. ( and messy)/Pos

AUGHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I LOVE ALL OF THIS!!!!!!!

I LOVE the concept of someone pointing ink's traits and stuff!! I'm very found in stories like that, where someone is seen as 'weird' and 'quiky' but someone actually realizes that *maybe* something's happening (I have this silly lil headcanon that Ink's fathers suspects something).

Adore the stimming part!!! (Love how you also used "extreme extress"! Stims aren't just for happy feelings you all). For me at least, ink's the stim king (change my mind), he would totally repeat sounds and voices he hears across the multiverse for that *Nice feeling*!

|I've always imagined Ink having RSD too!!! Combined that with his abandonment issues and you have a disaster in person.|

Ink being happy about other people sharing the traits that he says is such a good flavor (oh boy), he would feel "I'm not the weird one!" bc i often feel that Ink would feel very out of touch with NT people given how different he is in general, so when someone does something *he does* he's like "you're just like me fr!"

Ink is a mess in overatimulated tbh (he even vomits). Headcanon that he locks himself in the doodlesphere to calm down (It's his personal multiverse after all!)

| Just asking, but the "Ink personafies objects" actually canon? I mean, look at his paintbrush for example! He even canonically talk with it (pretty sure Broomie is not alive or anything like some say). Comyet even says he hugs it like a kitten! |

[emmaelt]

Rejection sensitivity dysphoria and associated fun AUDHD experiences

Something that's becoming more and more apparent since going on the medication is that my autism traits are becoming much stronger. Apparently this is pretty common for people with AUDHD, and I was anticipating it - but oof. I'm finding it really debilitating to socialise at the moment, I've always done a bit of pre-rejecting myself before I can feel that way because of others, but it's way worse now.

(RSD is one of the reasons why I thought for a longggg time that I might have BPD - perceived abandonment, anticipating rejection, all that jazz seem to be experienced by so many different neurodivergent humans.)

Right now, my ADHD self seems to be more supressed, there are way less thoughts in my head than normal even before I've taken the meds in the morning. It's much easier for me to focus on one cohesive thought as I'm getting less distracted by the other thoughts. However, when I have 'bad' thoughts now - such as those I associate with RSD - it's much harder to distract myself.

I had an interaction with a neighbour who I've already told I'm autistic. During our conversation I was doing my usual look at their face but not too much, respond but don't not interupt, I was trying to be funny and not awkward. Possibly the interaction was fine. However, my RSD kicked in before the interaction even ended, and I had to leave.

I've alway been either extremely social or anti-social, with absolutely zero in between. I can either handle other humans or I can't. It's never been at this point of rudeness where I've actually cut them off to get myself out of the conversation so I can run away?

Either way, the meds are making it way more apparent. I'm trying really hard to use all of my nice self-talk and ignore the hard ones, but now there's less distractions happening my head it's much harder to get away from the hard ones.

[littleblueberryartist]

Genshin Neurodivergent Headcanons!

Note: Most of the hcs I have are ADHD related! I know that there's a lot more to neurodivergency than just ADHD, however as someone with ADHD myself I tend to base hcs off on my own experiences and projections lol so if you were wondering this is why

Anyway on with the hcs!

Venti: ADHD

He is. So full of love. He loves deeply and wholeheartedly and cares so damn much be it romantic or platonic attraction (adhd making your feelings feel so big they'll burst right out of your chest)

I think they used to be a lot more emotional back when they first became a god (he's far from stoic and still super expressive now, but he keeps his true emotions under lock and key)

the NB and the Old Mond Gang taught him to love and care and fight for freedom, but they weren't used to the sheer intensity of human emotion (emotional disregulation go brrrr)

holds strong to his ideals and beliefs

the wind is constantly blowing and venti is constantly moving

tons of dopamine from music fr

Coming up with sick rhymes is really mentally stimulating

fast paced brain + 2.6k years worth of experience is how he comes up with new songs and rhymes so fast

Good with words but can get rambly and a bit long winded (not as long winded as ZL tho)

He would do the stimming hand flaps he absolutely would

wing flap stims in archon form too

vocal stims this guy thrills like a bird and makes wind chime noises

hates the texture of cheese specifically but I don't think he says much about the actual taste?? kinda like me with tuna so sensory sensitivity???? (I love cheese tho)

despite being my most brainrotted character I don't have too much in game evidence for ADHD Venti lol it's all vibes

also he's my comfort character so they're just like me fr (and that includes the they/them pronouns)

Yoimiya: ADHD

Easily excited and feels deeply and wholeheartedly (adhd dials feelings up to 100 and that includes the positive ones)

She talks a lot, runs on sentences and sometimes doesn't even realise that she's doing it, changes topics a ton

talkativeness is a way that adhd can manifest and it's one of the ways it shows up in me

her vibes and how she talks reminded me a lot of myself and I got attached (she's just like me fr)

hyperfixates on fireworks don't @ me

Man I sure am lucky I hyperfixated on my family business and never stopped

the colourful lights of the fireworks are a visual stim for her

vocal stims and echolalia

the latter happens a lot when she's hanging around kids bc I do it with little sister

She runs all over the place and is just generally super active and lively (see: her dashing around in the genshin lantern rite promotional vid)

Albedo: ADHD + Autism

only puts in effort and excels in shit that interests him

hyperfixates on art and alchemy he's my inattentive adhd bestie

absolutely twice exceptional (gifted + neurodivergent)

this entire link: https://www.reddit.com/r/Genshin_Impact/comments/mehjk5/hypothesis_albedo_has_adhd_inattentive_type/

He doesn't exhibit many outwardly hyperactive traits but his mind is constantly going

I've seen the Autistic Albedo hc much more than I've seen the ADHD one and I agree with both. Co-morbid king

He likes Dragonspine bc the snow absorbs sound and helps with overstimulation

Sucrose: ADHD + Anxiety

lost her friends before. I'm a bit luckier in this aspect I think, but a lot of adhd peeps have a hard time making and keeping friends

Past rejections have affected how she views herself and her relationships

RSD from both the anxiety and ADHD god help her

This sense of guilt for bothering people just by talking to them even though she knows logically that that's not how it works (aqua your projection is showing-)

Particularly prone to overstimulation by noise because of her enhanced hearing

ND to ND communication with Albedo (and honestly Timaeus too)

Alchemy hyperfixation. Specifically bioalchemy and sweet flower modifications

either way she's the genshin ver of my biology special interest so I want to be friends

Hutao: ADHD (This hc was absorbed over from a friend bc I don't actually know her lore that well)

Whismy!!! Sillay gal!!!

she pulled a me when she was younger and decided "Oh I'm weird? Well guess what I think it's cool so now I will be cringe and free"

would rather die than be bored (me too)

loves pranking and poking reactions out of ppl

Some ADHD ppl like to start drama for the thrill/stimulation

This entire chunk of her character story 1

A lot of ppl with ADHD study or read better while moving around or standing

Doing handstands can also be her way of making things more interesting or challenging (gamification to get rid of boredom)

She's very whimsy as a character but takes her job as a funeral director very seriously

Man I sure am lucky I hyperfixated on my family business and never stopped

Kazuha: some flavour of nd but also ???

very in tune with the environment and good with slight sounds and smells

adhd brain taking in all the sudden random changes maybe???? nature is his interest so it catches his eye and keeps his focus perhaps???? idk the adhd "hey look at that bug" meme

particular about how his food is made even tho he may not always get that luxury with his life as a wanderer, food/sensory sensitivities?????

yeah not too sure on this one but putting here anyway bc I like him

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

Rejection Sensitivity

Rejection Sensitivity might kick in when...

Someone leaves you on read

You get blocked randomly

You aren't invited to join in

People talk secretly without you

You see people having a good time without you

You don't understand an inside joke

Everyone disagrees with you

This could lead to thoughts of...

Something is wrong with me?

Why does no one like me?

Have I done something wrong?

I'm fed up, I can't do this anymore

I hate my life

People are better off without me

I hate everyone

As well as feelings of...

Anxiety

Hatred

Frustration

Fear

Depression

Loneliness

Overwhelm

Anger/Rage

The effect of this might be...

Acting impulsively

Meltdown/Shutdown

Losing friends/family / romantic partners

Being excluded from a group

Self-harm/suicidal thoughts

Being perceived negatively

Trust issues

Things that might help...

Removing/distancing yourself from the situation

Distracting yourself with interests/comforts/stims

Talk/vent to someone

Try to remember that your feelings are valid

Autisticality

[jupiter--dream]

y'know, it's midnight and I'm tired but I can't not write something about this?

At first this was gonna be a long, kinda personal rant, but I've decided to make it shorter, and just say that... I feel like it's weird how people sometimes act like Autism/ADHD kinda invalidate anything else? "you weren't a gifted kid, you were just neurodivergent", which can make sense, but I've been told that so many times that I've had to look back and realize WHY I have trauma with academic stuff, and no, it's not bc I was an autistic kid posing as gifted in primary school.

I've had people respond to me saying I have MaDD by saying that daydreaming's an AuDHD symptom; or that my weird (/neg) food habits are just my ADHD (sometimes as in my internal clock being screwed and making me eat too much; sometimes bc people say that I eat as a stim? idk wtf), or that my very much disordered fear and anxiety over rejection and embarrassment is just RSD from ADHD.

I've doubted myself because of that so many times, wondering if maybe I don't actually have anything other than AuDHD, which then develops into "what if I don't actually have AuDHD".

It just feels weird, to have someone express their symptoms for something that very much isn't AuDHD, and replying to that by saying that it is, it mostly just feels like fakeclaiming, because more often than not, the symptoms I've mentioned are from disorders caused by trauma, and AuDHD are not, so it just ends up feeling like fakeclaiming? Like, "if all of your symptoms are from a non-trauma induced thing, then can you even say you have trauma?" idk

I've been feeling kinda bad over this lately and felt the need to write it out, sorry for the long post

[beautyofsorrow]

the thing about being autistic and a writer is it is so lonely actually. i walk around work thinking about my stories but i cannot talk about them to the people there. i get home and i am too tired to write the things i thought about, but if i don't write the things i thought about then i can't post them, and if i can't post them, i can't share what i created because they don't actually exist. so then i say, okay, i need to conserve my energy so i'll be able to write this weekend. which means saying no to plans, but saying no to plans means saying no to friends. it means sitting in a room alone in silence for two days because that is the only way i can write, and at the end of it maybe i will have something to share, or maybe i won't. and when i finally do have something, i post it, but then the one-two punch of exhaustion and rsd takes so much energy to manage, which means i must say no to plans for another week because i'm having to prioritize recovery. and i will recover. that is the thing. i will stop having to take naps the second i get home from work. i will be able to cook again. eventually the rsd will fade enough for me to enjoy the thing i wrote, even if no one read it. but it takes so much energy to create the thing, and then so much energy to share the thing, and then so much energy to recover from the sharing that by the time i'm better i'm climbing the walls from not having written. again. it feels endless. sisyphean. and i am not at all sure how to balance the very human need to create and with the equally human needs to rest and to connect with others.

[cozza-frenzy]

#They're fine with systems until one of us says something unpleasant or cruel or behaves in a way that's off-putting Isn't that just how people generally treat each other. Could you elaborate or is it too personal? /lh /neu /srs

Okay, Roy (RSD holder) has been blocked from the front while I (Terry) answer this in good faith. Full disclosure, I didn't write the tags on that post, but here's what I think those two were getting at. Namely; in our experience, people are often less likely to forgive us when we fuck up because we're a system. This even happened before we knew we were a system; due to emotional amnesia kicking in as soon as anything stressful happened, we'd often seem to "recover too quickly" from something bad happening, and that would make people think we're not really sorry or that we felt what happened didn't matter. Sometimes we'd even forget what it was we did to upset them previously, which would make them even angrier at us. We've even had people abuse us by leveraging our vulnerability to their own ends, making us beg and plead until they're satisfied. We have a split from being treated this way by people - that's who Chaos is. There's also the issue of trust coming into play; even people who believed we are a system, who accepted that we do have multiple, compartmentalized personalities, couldn't get over the idea that one alter can simply pretend to be another one. One alter in our system - Raine, who is now gone thanks to our mass fusion - did this only a few times, and it was because of a persistent delusion they suffered where they 100% genuinely thought they were other alters. They'd use their proxies, talk with their voices, and nobody would be the wiser until the actual alter walked into front or snapped out of a dissociative state. The fact that they were doing this involuntarily didn't matter; their behavior was specifically called out as being "dangerous". Everyone can be an asshole sometimes. We practice collective responsibility, and keep each other's words and actions in check. If someone is acting cruel, unpleasant, off-putting or creepy, we change course, apologize, and we try to make things right. But being seen as manipulative, deceptive, dangerous, cold-hearted and evil - based on mistakes or misunderstandings that we thought were over and dealt with - is why we split Roy. People just aren't very understanding with neurodivergent and mentally ill folks on the whole. Like we've posted about recently, resentment towards us for simply acting neurodivergent (autistic) or Mad (OSDD) is commonplace and rarely talked about to our faces. People will claim we're forgiven, then take old grievances off the shelf and beat us over the head with them. So when we stumble for even a moment, we don't get second chances. - Terry

[bibliodiscotheque]

I actually genuinely do feel like tone indicators can be beneficial but they do require some level of trust between people. I use /gen, /j, and /s with my friends because they trust that I'm being genuine when I use them (or not genuine when it's /j or /s). When my friends use tone indicators I trust them too. "People can lie with tone indicators" is a good criticism in the sense that some people assume people never lie with tone indicators and they're a one-size-fits-all solution to obscure language, but people can also just lie with plain language.

I also don't agree that the best solution is just to never joke or never be sarcastic if you feel the need to use tone indicators (i.e. if you have friends that are autistic or have RSD and you feel the need to use tone indicators to indicate humor or sarcasm, just don't use humor or sarcasm). I'm autistic and I have RSD and I like humor and sarcasm, and I appreciate it when people use it and are clear that it's being used. I don't demand people use tone indicators around me and if I'm not sure someone's intent I'll just ask, but I don't agree that it's either/or. Tone indicators can be a beneficial language adaptation. They mean people don't have to completely alter the way they communicate but can still adapt it to be clearer when people need it. Again, they're not one-size-fits-all, but some people do benefit from them.