#i have the collection kind of autism so whenever i get the chance i need to Purchase Hyperfixation Item™

[a-bitch-made-fullmetal]

my new son arrived the other day!!! look at this angel boy

he's my second Ed figurine, the first one being this handsome little man

here they are together :))

[symptoms-syndrome]

Lately my patience for bullshit has been extra thin, I think. I'm usually good enough about it to not be a dick, but grrr sometimes I really fucking want to.

Just a little bitching and moaning below the cut.

For some reason my fuse is especially short when it comes to self-pitying and entitlement. Not necessarily that the two are related (though sometimes they fucking are!!!) but those two things for which my seemingly endless patience (or the collective seemingly endless patience, as I in particular DEFINITELY have an end to my patience) has a definite end.

Anyway there's someone in a discord server I moderate who's been self-defeatist almost constantly, and in a very attention-seeking way. Which I knowwwwww isn't necessarily "bad" or "wrong" (I DEFINITELY did that as a teen, though this person is mid/late 20s) but it sure is fucking annoying. And as the resident mental health knowledgable person in the whole damn server, I've been trying to GENTLY push some coping skills across the table. Or another part gently pushes coping skills across the table while I fume behind the curtain.

It just pisses me off! The idea that people chose to sit in their sadness and push away every chance they get to make anything better at all! And don't fucking lecture me about how everyone's at a different stage because I KNOW. It doesn't mean it doesn't still piss me off. It's still fucking annoying. I associate it with being a stupid teenager, not being an adult. Maybe it's because I'm jealous they're allowed and able to do that, while I didn't have time to do that as an adult because I had to get shit done. Maybe it's just that I'm unempathetic and missing the compassion key other parts have or whatever the difference is. Do they not realize how fucking draining it is to everyone around them? It's a fucking bummer, dude! And then they have the fucking gall to be like "nobody likes spending time with me :( I have no friends :(" maybe because you won't shut up about how no one cares and your life sucks all the fucking time! If I was out with someone having a good time and they told me nobody liked them I'd be pretty fucking insulted! And of course I care when people are sad or upset or hurt or whatever, but really only when it's something that makes sense. If it doesn't make sense to me it's just annoying in my eyes. You're not the only or even the first person to be sad! And this person in particular keeps being all fucked up about these huge existential questions about who they are or whatever, which I get, but you get there when you get there and you need to do the small boring shit first, like some CBT or whatever. But they don't want to do the small boring shit because they're laser focused on this one Giant Answer, which whatever not my problem I'm just giving some shit that could help but leave it if you don't wanna use it. But they have the audacity to be like "when will I care about myself" and my man, that's up to you bud! That's 100% on you. They act like recovery is something that will stumble upon them by chance instead of something fucking hard to achieve. I GET they feel all alone or whatever but they seem to be under the impression I just got lucky with recovery. Which is frankly insulting. I don't tell them that though. Someone who's much kinder than me was real nice about everything and talking shit through which means it's MY turn to bitch about it on the internet away from their eyes and ears.

Anyway I'm sure I could be all introspective about this and maybe later I will be, for now I'm just going to be a lil hypocrite and bitch and moan. Whenever other parts help these kinds of people I want to yell that we should just leave them to figure out their shit on their own. And occasionally they listen but most of the time I'm dismissed.

I think a lot of the others feel like a "bad person" cuz of me. Which whatever. I would say I feel bad but I'm not going to lie about it. I do what I need to do and say what I need to say and I'm the one responsible for getting us out of a lot of bullshit to begin with so I know they're grateful and all even though they feel guilty and fucked up about me. On a whole (probs bc of the autism) we have very low/no empathy, and I think a lot of others make up for it by being extra kind and compassionate, I just don't bother. I'll help because I'm not a total asshole, but if someone doesn't wanna accept the help that's their problem and I won't bother trying to pull them out of their own shit. God (and Seba) help those who help themselves. You gotta pull your own damn weight.

[fiddlepickdouglas]

This is a personal rant so you can scroll on if you like.

I'm an old college kid. Like, I could be done with grad school by now, but life just didn't go that way - I still have about 2 years as an undergrad. I know it looks ~meh~ to the outside world, no matter how often people say "life isn't a race, don't worry what they think!" Well, it also doesn't help that I had to move in with my parents at the start of quarantine and had trouble finding a good job until literally this past week (which I don't start until November). I'm the almost-30 year old mooch in my parent's basement right now, literally, and I know it's not a flattering position.

Things are improving: getting a job as a bank teller that has consistent hours, opportunities to move up, and I can easily plan a class schedule around it is a blessing and a miracle.

But I wish my family in general would acknowledge one particular thing and respect it, instead of treating it like they do. I've been unofficially aware that I have something that *looks a lot like* ADHD for at least the past two years. Like, I'm positive that's it, I just haven't been able to afford seeing a doctor to get an official diagnosis. Even if I'm wrong, it's clear that I'm neurodivergent - I've always been that way. I was definitely one of those "gifted" students when I was young who later had lots of academic problems later, but I can pinpoint those problems showing up as early as the second grade.

It isn't that my parents didn't really try, but they waited until I was in middle school, when puberty hit, to finally do something and everyone including the doctors just called it depression. The medication did a little work to make me seem normal, but I discovered quickly that my parents were only happy with the results if it seemed like I was an obedient child who didn't argue or question things and I spent less time in isolation.

This made me reluctant to go to doctors because I was afraid the meds were just another control tactic and not a real solution. So we stopped. I recently asked my mom why she didn't keep looking for answers, because I continued to struggle academically (among other things). She blamed it on my stubbornness. For her, it wasn't worth understanding how my brain functioned. She preferred to decide that I was just too hard for her to understand and the only way for me to please her was to force me to conform to her as much as she could.

As a neurodivergent person who lost their job and got displaced at the peak of COVID-19, living with an undertone of shame for being the adult child in my parent's home, and all the weight of things happening this year, needless to say I'm a bit of a mess and I have barely managed it.

So, to setup what's got me bothered today: I use an app to sell slightly used clothes, but I have a small mountain of clothes (organized, but it's still kind of a lot) that I need to sell and it's been taking up space. My parents have a whole freaking house plus other storage space on top of that, and they're getting bugged about these clothes not being sold fast enough. They're not just lying around the house, they're in an out-of-the way closet except for a few that I pulled out to take pictures of.

My mom goes through them - first mistake, since I've already told her several times to keep her paws off my things because she has a track record of just getting rid my stuff and disrespecting my privacy - and picks out all the things that still had tags on them and thinks the rest can just be donated. I'm glad she only got that far before I could tell her PLEASE DON'T. And then she offered to buy some of them off me and then donate them anyway because she doesn't want me to end up like my "packrat" grandmother.

She keeps acting like I'm attached to these clothes and that's why they don't sell fast enough. That's not even it! I've just collected junk over the years, or friends have dumped their old stuff and told me to do as I wish, and I want to make money off of them! I know how stingy my mom is with certain things, and I know she wouldn't pay me what I know some of those items are worth.

And then she says she thinks it'll just take up less space in my mind, as if she's being conscious of my ADHD (which she refuses to properly acknowledge and chooses to think I'm actually somewhere on the autism spectrum although she has no idea how to handle someone with autism either).

The amount of disrespect in this makes me want to scream. I'm not being given the chance to handle my own things and being treated like a child, my personal property is not safe, and I'm being mocked in such a backhanded way it's truly astounding.

And the whole thing about my grandma? I know she is an imperfect human like everyone else but she is the sweetest and most hard-working person I know and hearing her be reduced to a "packrat" is so insulting. No need to imagine why my grandma keeps things on hand even if it's too much? Her lifestyle is giving and creating - she always cooks 5x more than necessary because she hates to see people starve, she made me and my siblings pajamas for Christmas each year until her hands couldn't do it anymore, she made her home a beautiful place for us to go to whenever we could visit and it wasn't about looks, it was about warmth. When I'm old I want to be so much like her, and yeah I'm pissed that my mom, her daughter in law, thinks of her that way.

I grew up being controlled and subdued and pressured into a mere shadow of my potential and I won't tolerate having both myself and my hero being disrespected over something that to any other rational being wouldn't even be an annoyance. And I'm tired of having to constantly guard my things in fear that they will suddenly disappear one day with only a "oops" and a shrugs from my mother.

🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕

[crystalelemental]

Earlier this week, I had a post about getting annoyed whenever all of ABA is listed as inherently bad.  Apparently in the brief discussion to follow, there was some level at which it seemed like people may only be acquainted with the reasons to dislike, or the reasons to approve.  I talked about doing this, and finally I’m gonna do it.  I wanted to give a (hopefully) detailed explanation of ABA, what it is, what its benefits can be, and yes, why there are people who hate it so much.  Because the concerns and hate are legitimate.

So, what is ABA, for those who don’t know?  ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) is, at its core, just a technology to enact behavioral change.  It’s a collection of tools and strategies that can be used to adapt the behavior of organisms, as well as theories about how behaviors are learned or unlearned in the first place.  Common things you may already be familiar with, such as all the talk about positive reinforcement in schools these days, stems from ABA.

The problems with ABA Perhaps counter to my point, let’s start with the downsides.  Those being...we’re talking about a technology that can adapt behaviors.  Almost any behaviors, of almost anything.  You can probably already guess that one major concern is that someone familiar with these skills would have a very easy time with getting what they want out of others, no matter what.

The toughest thing about behavior modification is that the strategies often work regardless of whether the individual is aware of what’s going on or not.  You don’t necessarily need to know or understand that you’re specifically giving more attention for doing what you want them to do.  That’s where it gets dangerous.  For those who play them, think about a gacha game.  You’re drawn in by pretty rapid reinforcement, and as they lower the available rewards over time, you start to need to pay to keep up.  If you’re invested, you’ve probably spent money.  This leads to a rapid increase in payments as you get more comfortable with the behavior, and the demands of keeping pace increase.  I’m aware of all of this, and yet I still pay in.  Knowing the strategies and how they operate does not inherently stop them from working.  Which leads to the worst part.  Strategies can work with or without the consent of the person whose behavior is being targeted.

This is why ethics is so important in ABA, and why I think knowing only behavioral strategies can be so dangerous.  ABA is marketed strongly as something useful especially for developmental disabilities and autism.  But sometimes you’ll get people all too eager to say yes, we can change any kind of behavior, and think that it’s in any way a good idea to try to make strategies to stop all forms of stimming.  What it essentially comes down to is taking a technology that works unfettered by what a person believes or wants, and combine that with society’s general dismissiveness of neurodivergence.  If you’re unfamiliar with controversies around the field, if you ever want to know about how bad it can get, go ahead and look up some stuff about the Judge Rottenburg Center.  Everyone I’ve ever met in the field will use this as a primary example of why our code of ethics exist, and why it’s damn important to follow it.  Because you’re using something that can get out of hand really fast, and can quickly shift from behavior change in the interests of the individual, to behavior change of the individual to benefit others.  And that is absolutely not what you’re supposed to be doing.

So are there actually positives? How many of you here have, like me, looked at your sedentary lifestyle and decided hey, maybe I don’t want to die of cardiac arrest before 40, I should probably work out more!  But you hate working out.  So, you set something up, like if you go to the gym three times in a week, you can get yourself something nice, like a nice meal out or a day where all chores are put on hold.  Congratulations, you’re using ABA.

How many of you are parents, or have had parents, who have said things like “You can eat cookies after you finish dinner” or “You can go outside to play after you finish your homework?”  All of us, because that’s considered a facet of good parenting?  That’s using ABA (Premack Principle).

ABA thrives off of these positive changes as well.  Any time you’ve wanted to change your own behavior, I would argue that there has been at least an element of behavior techniques in play.  Just willing yourself to do things that are awful often isn’t enough.  That’s the limitation of cognitive approaches; not everything is accomplished just by talking things over, thinking about it really strongly, or wanting it.  Sometimes, behavioral inertia gets in the way, and ABA principles help overcome those.

In general, we always want to focus on reinforcement.  Behavior doesn’t occur in a vacuum; it’s the direct result of the environment we’re in and previous learning history.  If a behavior exists, somewhere along the line, it was getting a need met.  Maybe that’s happening now, maybe it happened in the past but the history is so salient that it carries over when it’s no longer needed.  Whatever the case, reinforcement has to take priority, because punishment doesn’t work independently.  Punishment can only suppress a behavior, but suppose you suppress the only behavior getting a need met.  Hypothetically, let’s say a child shouts obscenities to gain adult attention.  Obviously, you don’t want the kid swearing in front of their peers in elementary school, so you want to get that to stop.  Punishment may - and I do emphasize may - get the behavior to stop.  But even if it does work, there’s nothing to replace it.  Adults that just want a kid to be quiet and punish to silence wind up with kids who are quiet around them, but completely open all the time in other settings.  It only works when the person doing the punishing is present, and there’s nothing to replace that behavior in all other settings.  Reinforcement teaches an alternative, and so the best strategy is to provide another way to meet that need, make sure it’s constantly provided for the behavior, and prevent the target behavior from occurring.  So in this scenario, teaching a way to start a conversation with someone and providing as much attention as possible for following through, while simultaneously removing attention for the screaming obscenities, will yield way better results than punishment.

That said, any strategy used requires the consent and permission of the individual.  When it’s someone working on themselves, it’s always allowed, and even highly beneficial, though I personally find it’s helpful to have someone else in charge of the reinforcement delivery.  When I do it myself, I often pull a Frog and Toad, and remember I can just do whatever I want and who can stop me?

When it’s an adult working with a child, it’s trickier.  Often, consent comes from the parent or guardian, who makes the determination of whether something’s worth doing or not.  Sometimes, as it turns out, parents or guardians are not the best judges.  They may not know much about disabilities or what can and cannot be appropriately modified.  In these cases, you really need to weigh the benefits to the child.  In particular, I often find with my job as a school psych, that behavior plans are more about reframing how the teacher considers the student.  I can’t fix autism and ADHD, nor would I want to.  But often, the behaviors they want to stop are just...a part of the disability.  I can’t get a student with ADHD to just sit quietly and listen for hours, and even if I could, there’s a good chance they’re going out of their minds and not actually picking up anything you’re saying.  It’s far more beneficial here to work on reframing the teacher’s mindset.  You need to provide fidget toys to keep them occupied instead of running around the room.  You need to make peace with the idea that, if they’re showing you they can complete the work, then they’re attending whether perfect eye contact is provided or not.  Sometimes the problem in a dynamic isn’t the behavior of the individual you’re asked to work on.  Sometimes, the problem is with the one asking for the change, who doesn’t want to make needed concessions, and it’s part of our job to acknowledge that and convince the adult in control what they need.  When we’re able to accept that some behaviors are just...completely harmless and not that big a deal, and teach people how to accommodate those different needs while making the needed behaviors more reinforcing, we can help to build a more positive-focused society.

Gray Areas That’s not to say it’s always so easy, though.  Sometimes, consent is impossible to obtain directly from the individual we’re asked to work with.  Sometimes, consent may need to be overridden.  Here’s what I mean:

Suppose you have a non-verbal child who is self-injurious.  For whatever reason, they’ll just start slamming their head against the floor as hard as they can.  This is recurring, happens multiple times per day, and aside from the stress it causes caretakers, it’s actively dangerous for the individual.  Should you employ techniques to stop it?  On the one hand, the individual is getting a need met this way, has no shown desire to change, and cannot communicate one way or the other.

This one’s a bit easier.  I feel like everyone’s able to acknowledge that this is a dangerous situation, and the individual needs to stop to avoid life-long injury, or possibly death.  It’s in their best interests regardless, and for such dangerous situations, you have to take into account what’s really benefiting the individual.

Now let’s talk about a much harder one.  Eye contact for people with autism is a big one that ABA pushes.  The ability to establish and maintain eye contact is a pretty big thing in western society, even in ways it shouldn’t be.  We use it to determine if someone is listening, as a means to show you care about the other person, as a metric of honesty (despite it not being directly tied to honesty).  Lack of eye contact can impact relationships, potentially job prospects, and given the honesty portion, can set someone up to get into a lot more trouble than they should be solely because of how authority figures can be.  But, eye contact is uncomfortable for most people with autism.  Moreover, they may hate the idea of establishing eye contact, while at the same time being upset that adults are always getting them in trouble for things they didn’t do because they assume dishonesty.  Although they dislike it, is it right to adjust their behavior for long-term benefits?

Personally, I say no.  At least, not with the information that’s been delivered.  I think it’s a good skill to teach, but I also feel like, in most scenarios, this is where cognitive-behavioral therapy is a better approach, because you can make those connections of “Eye contact means you’re being honest to people” and they may come around to the idea that, although uncomfortable, it’s necessary to meet what they want: staying out of trouble.

It’s an unfortunate reality that we live in a society, and society means certain rules are established that may not be entirely fair.  It is also an unfortunate aspect of reality that, while changing people to be more accepting is always the ideal, that change is very slow and does little to help those in the here and now.  Is it then acceptable to only push for society to adjust expectations and potentially let some individuals slip through the cracks now because everyone should just be accepting?  Is it acceptable to only change each individual’s behavior to be more aligned with “typical” behavior, while not addressing the underlying concerns?  Of course not.  Both, I feel, need to be addressed.  We absolutely must push for a more understanding society that benefits everyone, but we also need to recognize this isn’t a change that happens overnight, and the more we can do to help people meet their needs, the better.  But it must always come down to whether we are helping the individual meet their needs, never simply trying to remove what others consider a problem.

I honestly do think this is an area that causes a lot of contention.  Because people, as a whole, never want to believe that their behavior needs to change.  It’s always preferable to have things around us change.  Sometimes it needs to, but won’t.  I think it’s well-intentioned to teach those skills that are needed to thrive, but I also think it’s necessary to ensure that, whenever possible, the individual is aware of why that skill is important and has an invested interest in changing.

Conclusions I hope I’ve articulated all of this well enough.  I am admittedly really sick, and probably should hold off until I’m a little more lucid, but with my car being essentially dead and having a lot going on, this is about the only time I’ll get in the next few weeks to do this.  So, here you go.

If anyone has questions, feel free to reach out.  I can answer quick questions a lot faster than I can write up major responses.  If you disagree with everyone and want to send hatemail, I accept that too!  Won’t always respond, but it’s really the thought that counts.  Hopefully this has at least helped those unfamiliar with the field form their own opinions, those opposed to the field understand where we’re coming from with its benefits, and those who appreciate the field come to better recognize the importance of ethical practice and keeping our actions focused on the individual.

[unlimitedskyeproductions]

100 Random Things About Daisuke Okana

1: goes by the name of Daisuke Okana 2: 21 years old 3: born on a Wednesday at 8:47 AM on February 29th 4: works as a detective 5: always has a way of fucking things up (and thus gained the nickname "Ohno" - used in the context of  "Oh no, Daisuke!") 6: generally pretty chill and laid back about shit 7: always the calm one 8: despite this he gets really excited way too easily over the stupidest, simplest shit 9: smooth-talking charmer who's also kind of an airhead 10: knows he has a tendency to fuck shit up so he always goes out of his way to do better - though he usually just fucks up even worse than before 11: really great stamina 12: doesn't really care for material stuff  at all, but when someone gives him a materialistic gift he cherishes that item like it's some kind of blessed artifact 13: spends about 10 hours a day just snacking or eating 14: generally whenever you see him there's a 70% chance he'll be eating something 15: sweet but very very clumsy 16: can't seem to get his shit together 17: the only kinds of music he ever listens to is either hardcore dubstep or really shitty pop music (Skrillex and Britney Spears come to mind) 18: lovES CATS 19: dedicated smoker and has been for 7 years 20: bisexual as hell 21: has a lot of really unusual quirks 22: his social cues are kinda fucked sometimes 23: he's either really great at reading people's emotions or absolutely hopeless at it, just depends on how his day's been so far 24: never goes anywhere without his lucky penny tucked safely into his coat pocket 25: he's a super sweet guy and he absolutely Can Not take it when people are upset with him because he feels so damn guilty about it 26: really fucking smart despite being such an airhead (university graduate with honors) 27: possibly might have some level of high-functioning autism but nobody's really sure 28: hates memes but at the same time is a total memelord 29: he has a really bad habit of using the office computer to send  funny cat videos to his coworkers 30: His Voice Is Like Fucking Silk 31: if he hears one of his favorite songs on the radio he'll immediately start singing along no matter where he is 32: instantly becomes Illiterate without his reading glasses 33: manscaping expert (seriously this guy's entire body is fucking  h a i r l e s s) 34: MASTER OF MARIOKART AND STREET FIGHTER 35: loves zombie horror movies (his favorite movie of all time is Shaun of the Dead) 36: afraid of thunderstorms and the dark (but shhhhhh that's a secret) 37: owns three cats - Mr. Pickles, Bowtie and Whiskey (whom was supposed to be named Whiskers but his phone changed it and it sort of stuck) 38: always seems to have exactly what you need at that exact moment - need a pair of scissors? he has em. need an extra sock? he has that too. also snacks 39: here's a secret - he has no idea how to tie a tie (all his ties are clip-ons) 40: here's another secret - he has a three year old daughter (the marriage didn't work out and now he's only allowed to see her three times a week because his ex is a spiteful bitch) 41: he's a very good daddy tho and his daughter practically worships him 42: can't cook whatsofuckingever 43: loves the wintertime because then he gets to run around in the snow 44: airheaded man-child 45: has a scar on his left shoulder from that one time he casually took a bullet 46: actually kind of artistic and doodles a lot 47: one time his neighbors called the cops on him because they heard him screaming and stuff getting broken and they thought he was being murdered - in reality a bat had flown in and he was having a very difficult time getting rid of it (the cops helped him out with that tho) 48: LOVES pulling stupid pranks on his coworkers, especially his partner 49: his partner kinda hates him apparently so he's always doing dumb shit to try and make him smile - often fails 50: collects socks (only the cool kinds with awesome patterns though) 51: he'll generally dress however you tell him to but you're in for one hell of a struggle if you tell him he can't wear his favorite coat and his favorite pair of fluorescent green glow in the dark socks 52: he'll get really aggressive when he's protecting his loved ones but most of the time he's just a gigantic marshmallow 53: he hates when he makes people upset with him and he'll pull out all the stops to get that person to forgive him 54: he watches a lot of cartoons with his daughter and long story short he's memorized every single fucking episode of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic (unintentionally, of course. dude ain't no brony.) 55: LOVES BOARD GAMES 56: super athletic and goes to the gym every night after work 57: will not hesitate to go on a 45 minute rant about why the best television show in history was Doctor Who 58: a bit of a slacker but dependable as fuck when it matters most 59: hates spiders 60: his hair is suuuuuuuuuper fluffy and soft 61: he'll let his daughter give him makeovers and dress him up like a princess 62: he doesn't mind this at all and the only thing that matters is seeing her smile 63: one time after a visit with his daughter he came to work he next day and completely forgot the fact he had a bunch of brightly colored hairpins in his hair and a Hello Kitty headband on (he was pretty chill about it when people told him this information) 64: his number one weakness is food 65: loves ramen noodles oh my fUCKING GOD he loves rame noodles 66: he loves getting praise and compliments from people because he knows he always messes things up so when he gets praised it makes him feel extra special 67: he'll usually let you say whatever you want to him and tease him to your heart's content - he generally just does not care if you're poking fun at him because he only wants to make people smile. and if you're at your happiest when you're making fun of him, well, he'll let it continue 68: 100% cannot function properly in his daily life without his morning cup of coffee (with whiskey added, obviously) 69: despite having an ex-wife and a kid he HAS actually been with dudes in the past (that's actually part of the reason why his wife left him) 70: WILL FUCKING NOT let people mistreat his loved ones 71: cancer survivor 72: generally lives off of McDonald's, rice, and ramen noodles 73: he'll go grocery shopping like a normal but usually not unless it's the day before his daughter gets dropped off (he's fine living off the bare minimum, but he'll be fucking DAMNED if he lets his daughter eat fucking ramen noodles for lunch) 74: he's actually SUPER ticklish 75: an expert at guns and shit 76: very knowledgeable about cheese????? for some weird reason????? 77: he can literally rant for two hours on all the types of cheese and how good or bad they are compare to others 78: recently he had to buy a new phone because he couldn't turn off the capslock and there was a whole week whrere he was just scREAMING AT HIS COWORKERS THROUGH TEXT and it was very awkward 79: he can and will fall asleep literally fucking anywhere 80: despite being a dedicated smoker he NEVER smokes around his daughter EVER 81: when he's not working a case he'll spend every second of his free time either working to get full custody of his daughter or trying to get his partner to open up more and be more sociable 82: loves singing and playing this prized  guitar and he'll often do karaoke night at the bar on weekends 83: not an alcoholic but he will go to his favorite bar at least three nights a week because he's super great friends with the bartender (who also happens to be his best friend from high school) 84: he won't get drunk on those nights and while he may have a drink or two, but generally he just drinks water since he's there to socialize, not get wasted 85: loves sweet foods and desserts 86: juuuuuuuuust a little bit vain 87: also sort of flirtatious 88: just a little bit tho 89: always VERY enthusiastic about the smallest things (you could tell him to meet you at a fancy hotel and he'd literally just stand in front of the room's door for three minutes just staring at the doorknob like "check out this awesome doorknob! it's so shiny! i can see my reflection in it!") 90: just a big gigantic soft fluffy marshmallow up to 98% of the time 91: he loves showering his loved ones in compliments and random yet VERY EXPENSIVE BORDERLINE BANKRUPTING gifts 92: approximately 6-something-ish feet in height 93: really bad at swimming 94: master at playing pool 95: LOVES hugs and physical affection 96: has a secret manga collection but nobody knows this 97: sort of a dork 98: loves stupid comedy movies and silly tv shows 99: cannot ever resist the opportunity to make a cheesy joke or a pun 100: only true anime fans will get this but generally his ENTIRE character is a cross between Kotetsu Kaburagi, Dazai Osamu and Lockon Stratos (yes, I know, I'm VERY original here)

[abyssal-debonair]

So I‘m Sick

and not going to work tomorrow. Finally with a Saturday free, basically going to do nothing but (try to) relax, but I’m just... going to leave this here...

This is an aggregate of a bunch of “send me a number” memes/questions I just found and compiled into one. They’re under the cut because I don’t want to engulf your feed.

1. Favorite music genre(s)?

2. What is your opinion of socks? Do you like wearing weird socks? Do you sleep with socks? Do you confine yourself to white sock hell? Really, just talk about socks.

3. Favorite color(s)?

4. Favorite animal(s)?

5. What is the weirdest book you have read?

6. When is your birthday?

7. What is the meaning behind your URL?

8. What medium do you use for photographs?

9. Why did you create a Tumblr account?

10. Do you like poetry? What are some of your faves?

11. Are you in school?

12. Do you believe in the Illuminati?

13. Chocolate or vanilla?

14. Do you like keeping your room messy or clean?

15. Sunrise or sunset?

16. Special interest(s)?

17. What color shirt are you wearing?

18. What color pants?

19. What is your favorite thing to photograph?

20. Do you like your handwriting?

21. What is your favorite word?

22. Do you believe in magic/paranormal?

23. Where are you on the autism spectrum?

24. What song are you listening to right now?

25. What book got you into reading?

26. What’s your favorite myth?

27. Do you think the apocalypse will ever come?

28. Have you ever broken a bone?

29. Have you ever been easily amused?

30. Have you ever laughed so hard you cried?

31. What’s your favorite bubblegum flavor?

32. What got you into photography?

33. Do you drink juice in the morning? Which kind?

34. Are you fussy about your books and music? Do you keep them meticulously organized or kinda leave them be?

35. Do you keep a journal? What do you write/draw/ in it?

36. Share a random fact about your life.

37. Height?

38. What’s your shoe size?

39. What’s your sexual orientation?

40. What’s your favorite eye color?

41. Biggest fear(s)?

42. Have you ever fallen asleep at work/school?

43. Talk about your favorite bag, the one that's been to hell and back with you and that you love to pieces.

44. Have you ever forgotten someone’s name?

45. Can you whistle?

46. Do you sleep with the doors open or doors closed?

47. Are you a morning person?

48. Are you outgoing or shy?

49. Who are you looking forward to seeing?

50. Are you easy to get along with?

51. What book could you read over and over again?

52. Have you ever danced in front of your mirror?

53. Grab a random book and read the first sentence.

54. What do you want to be in the future?

55. When was the last time you cried? Why?

56. Favorite season?

57. What are your five favorite songs right now?

58. Last dream you remember?

59. Do you like it when people play with your hair?

60. Do you believe in luck and miracles?

61. How many pillows do you sleep with?

62. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?

63. How many stuffed animals do you think you have?

64. Are you happy?

65. Who do you miss?

66. If you were given a chance, would you like to have a different life?

67. What was the best thing you were given?

68. Favorite book genre(s)?

69. When’s the last time you went hiking? Did you enjoy it?

70. Day or night?

71. Do you cook?

72. Hair color? Eye color?

73. What’s your favorite planet?

74. Have you ever been deeply in love with someone?

75. What’s something that made you smile today?

76. If you were to live with your best friend in an old flat in a big city, what would it look like?

77. Go Google a weird space fact and tell us what it is!

78. Do you curse around your parents?

79. Are you happy with where you live?

80. Picture of yourself?

81. What color do you really want to dye your hair?

82. Tell us about your pet peeves!

83. What color do you wear the most?

84. Think of a piece of jewelry you own: what's its story? Does it have any meaning to you?

85. List some songs that resonate to your soul whenever you hear them.

86. Tell us about your pets!

87. What are some of your hobbies?

88. Do you regret anything?

89. Honestly, what’s on your mind right now?

90. Did you ever lose a best friend?

91. What color is the sky where you are right now?

92. Is there anyone you haven't seen in a long time who you'd love to hang out with?

93. What would your ideal flower crown look like?

94. Is there anything you should be doing right now but aren't?

95. Tell us about the stuffed animal you kept as a kid. What is it called? What does it look like? Do you still keep it?

96. Do you like stationary and pretty pens and so on? Do you use them often?

97. Do you have a secret that you’ve never told anyone?

98. Have you ever regretted kissing someone?

99. Do you think age matters in relationships?

100. Are you available?

101. Pink or yellow lemonade?

102. Are you in the minion hateclub or fanclub?

103. Are you a person who needs to note everything down or else you'll forget it?

104. What are some of your worst habits?

105. What are your favorite board games?

106. What’s an odd thing you collect?

107. Think of a person. What song do you associate with them?

108. Who was your last call/text message from?

109. What are your favorite memes of this year so far?

110. Do you go to all the places you photograph?

111. When was the last time you remember feeling completely serene and at peace with everything?

112. Do you trust your instincts a lot?

113. What food do you think should be banned from the universe?

114. What was your biggest fear as a kid? Is it the same today?

115. What was your last thought before you went to bed last night?

116. Were you happier four months ago than you are now?

117. When will you post one of your writings?

118. Lucky number?

119. Odd or even numbers?

120. Grade you’re going into for this school year?

121. Three words to describe yourself?

[someguynamedsteve]

A 35-year old with Asperger’s Syndrome talks about it

Yeah, the title there pretty much explains what I’m going to be writing about.  If you’re someone with a condition that falls within the autism spectrum, someone who knows someone who’s on the spectrum, or neither and want to know some personal experiences from a full grown adult with Asperger’s Syndrome, then feel free to keep reading.

If not, that’s cool too.

We good?  Great!

So I wanted to write a little something since I know a lot of Tumblr users tend to be teenagers, kids, young adults in their early 20′s, etc. and thought some of them might want to hear some advice or feedback from someone who made it to full grown adulthood with Asperger’s Syndrome.

First, I want to make something clear from someone with Asperger’s to everyone else without a condition on the spectrum:

I don’t expect the world to kowtow to people on the autism spectrum and every single one of their needs.  I have never met someone on the autism spectrum that expects, or even wants, the whole world to freeze and cater to them because of whatever condition they have.  (If anyone actually did think like that, they would get a very harsh dose of reality head-on.)

I DO expect most people in the world to try and understand what Autism actually is and how it affects people’s behavior and cognitive capabilities.  

In my case, I tend to be up front about it right as soon as I meet someone important, like say, a new supervisor at my job.  (Here’s something that any kids/teens/etc. reading this might find handy.)

With me, it is not immediately obvious that I have Asperger’s Syndrome.  People who chat with me online whether be it via text or over a headset would never be able to tell that I have this condition.  Most of the time I can maintain a steady conversation, focus on a task at hand, or go about my daily routine with absolutely no telltale signs that I have Asperger’s.  It’s not that I’m trying to hide it or anything, but more like I’ve become so accustomed to it through life experience that I can interact with others without it getting in the way.

This is also exactly why I tell any new supervisor I get that I have this condition and they need to be aware of it.  There have been many cases where a supervisor says to me, “Well you don’t sound/seem like you have Asperger’s?” and I then stress that while it may not be obvious now, there may come a time where it becomes more pronounced and I don’t want them caught by surprise.

I work for a large telecommunications company providing over the phone tech support in a work-from-home job.  The pay isn’t that great, but the medical benefits are nice, and the staff that I work with are great, understanding, and respectable people.  But like any tech support job, it comes with a truckload of stress.  Few things in life will stress you out more than having an 75-year old lady yelling in your ear about how terrible your service is, even though you’re trying your best to help them.

There have been times when the stress becomes too much and gets to me, which results in things such as crying, severe depression, headaches, raised blood pressure, and stomach cramps just to name a few.  In those times, I may reach out to my supervisor and say I need to step away from the phones for a couple of minutes to recompose myself.  Sometimes I can do that, and sometimes I can’t.  And if a supervisor wants to talk to me about it, they may find that I’ve gone from being the cool headed, calm person they spoke to before to someone who is extremely paranoid, distressed, bawling, crying, and maybe coming close to having trouble breathing.

Warning them in advance prepares them for when things like this happen.  They know that I might need a few minutes to pick myself back up so I can get back to taking calls.  They know that a coaching method that works well for others might not work for me because it just doesn’t click.   I’ve been fortunate that my supervisors have made a point to brush up a little on my condition whenever I tell them about it, but I know not all people in management positions out there do.

For some people in management, these kinds of things might be seen as things that prevent me from being able to do my job.  And that’s a reasonable concern they have because if someone’s medical or mental condition constantly disrupts or interferes with them meeting their basic job requirements, then that can definitely make it difficult for that person to stay in their position.  The employer may be able to accommodate in some ways for the employee in need, but in return (and this is the important part)...

...the person with a condition on the autism spectrum also needs to try and make accommodations for their employer too.

In my case, I see a counselor about twice a week to assist with learning and practicing coping mechanisms for dealing with on the job stress, discussing events happening in daily life and how they can affect my ability to function, and even just talk to someone who will listen to what I want to say.  In this way, both me, the employee, and my employer are able to work together to make sure that we can have a working relationship even with my Asperger’s Syndrome.

If an employer isn’t willing to accommodate or refuses to attempt to understand someone’s condition, then chances are they are not an employer they want to, or should be, working for anyway.  If it’s just one person in a company that seems to be really dragging another person down for the condition they have, then it’s worth alerting Human Resources to see what they can do to help.

Just because someone has a condition on the autism spectrum DOES NOT mean that anyone can walk right over them.

One time, I had a new supervisor (a rookie supervisor at the time) who wanted to place me on a final notice for something I was doing at work, saying that it amounted to a serious violation of company policy.  The thing was that I had no idea that it was against policy, and I even told a PREVIOUS supervisor I had EXACTLY what I was doing and they said they were just fine with it.  (The claim was that what I was doing amounted to call avoidance which is a big no-no in any call center related job; work-from-home or not.)

So final notice is like one step away from being fired (no fun), and I wasn’t going to just let someone who seemed rather insensitive and indifferent to my condition just slap this on me like it was nothing.  For me, this was a matter of life and death since termination would be a loss of health benefits, income, and I wouldn’t be able to collect unemployment either.  What did I do?  I shot out an e-mail to Human Resources and told them about the situation and why I thought this was unfair.  It was an emotional e-mail, yes, but at the same time I also made sure to explain where I was coming from to them in great detail.

This led to Human Resources doing a little investigating into the situation, and after about a week, they came back and said, “After review, we agree with you.  The Final Notice isn’t warranted.  You were not properly coached on the matter before the Final Notice was served, so we are taking that off.”

In exchange, I got a verbal warning which was basically, “Hey, that thing that you were doing?  Don’t do that.”  And I had absolutely no problem with that because all I needed was someone to say, “Hey don’t do that thing, it can get you in trouble,” and I was able to stop it just like that.  In fact, when writing that initial e-mail to Human Resources, I said that if it had just been a verbal warning or something like that, I could understand and accept that.  My problem was that I never got that warning and thought jumping straight to Final Notice was unfair.  In the end, I came out on top.

I think I’ve rambled on long enough; just wanted to share a few things that might be informative to some younger folks out there.  I guess if I was to make a TL;DR version, it would be:

1)  It’s perfectly fine to stand up for yourself if you think you’ve been wronged, even if it has nothing to do with your condition.  Having a condition doesn’t automatically put you in the wrong.

2)  If you need some accommodation to help you do your job for a mental condition, don’t be afraid to look into it.  Keep in mind that at the same time, you need to be able to accommodate some to your employer as well.  (This also applies to kids in school/college.)

3)  Don’t be afraid to tell people that play or will play an important role in your life that you have a condition, especially if it has a chance of impacting your professional or personal life.  The sooner you tell them about it, the better, so they can learn what they need to learn and understand what they need to understand.

I’ve got more anecdotes and advice I could give, but I think this is good for now.  I’ve taken up enough of your time already.  Thanks for giving it a read though, and if you want to hear more stuff like this, let me know.  With enough positive feedback, I may write more of these.

Take care out there!

[recentnews18-blog]

New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/16-funny-audiobooks-to-get-you-through-all-those-chores-you-dont-want-to-do/

16 Funny Audiobooks To Get You Through All Those Chores You Don't Want To Do

Is it just me or has 2018 felt like the longest year in the history of humankind? Now that the days are getting shorter, the nights are getting colder, and the realization that Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson’s love wasn’t meant to be is sinking in, you might need some cheering up or some entertainment as you “winter clean” (that’s a thing, right?) and funny audiobooks are the perfect things to do it.

Whenever I am feeling down or whenever I have a lot to do, I can always trust an entertaining book to get me through it. The only problem? I have been so busy and so tired lately that I haven’t had the time or energy to sit down and read a physical novel. That is what makes funny audiobooks the perfect cure. No matter how exhausted you are, no matter how over-scheduled you are, no matter how crazy life seems to be, there is always enough time to listen to something that can make you laugh. Getting a head start on holiday shopping? Bring your audiobook to the mall. Stuck shoveling the driveway all morning? Don’t forget to pop your headphones in before you go outside. Stuck in traffic after work? Sit back, relax, and let the soothing sounds of funny people make your commute that much more enjoyable.

Whether you are heading off to your morning gym session, taking a long trip home for the holidays, or just sitting at home and looking for a fun way to relax, turn on one of these 16 humorous audiobooks and get ready to LOL.

‘Congratulations, Who Are You Again?’ by Harrison Scott Key, read by Josh Bloomberg

Winner of the Thurber Prize for American Humor, Harrison Scott Key has been making readers laugh with his personal stories for years. Now he is back with a brand new memoir that will have listeners in stitches. A witty and brilliant account of his evolution from a young boy in Mississippi to an award-winning writer and humorist, Congratulations, Who Are You Again? will put a smile on listeners faces before inspiring them to chase their own dreams.

Click here to buy.

‘How Hard Can It Be?’ by Allison Pearson, read by Poppy Miller

When her husband quits her job and decides to devote all of his time (and their money) to cycling and therapy, Kate Reddy has to go back to work. The only problem? The job market isn’t a particularly inviting place for 49-year-old mothers of two, so in order to get hired, she lies about her age, fibs on her resume, hires a trainer, and even joins a Women Returners group. But getting the job proves to be the easy part, because, after being hired at the hedge fund she founded, Kate finds herself struggling to prove herself at work while caring for her family at home. A clever and comical novel about motherhood, success, family, love, and sacrifice, How Hard Can It Be? illustrates just how impossible modern womanhood seems sometimes.

Click here to buy.

‘Nobody Cares’ by Anne T. Donahue

If you read her popular newsletter That’s What She Said, Nobody Cares, then you already know just how hilarious and relatable Anne T. Donahue can be. Her debut essay collection about work, friendship, failure, and growing up features the same fierce wit, honesty, and humor that has made her one of the most beloved voices on the internet.

Click here to buy.

‘The Shakespeare Requirement’ by Julie Schumacher, read by the author

In the sequel to the Thurber Prize-winning novel Dear Committee Members, Julie Schumacher returns to academia to tell readers about the next chapter in Jason Fitger’s life. Now the newly appointed chair of the English Department at Payne University, the dissatisfied academic faces both personal and professional challenges, not the least of which is a controversy over what appears to be his attempt to remove Shakespeare from the school’s curriculum. A biting satire about collegiate life, The Shakespeare Requirement is bold, biting, and just the right amount of absurd.

Click here to buy.

‘Severance’ by Ling Ma, read by Nancy Wu

You would think the end of the world would be scary or dangerous or depressing, but in Ling Ma’s debut, it’s a riot. At least, it is from the perspective of Candace Chen, an aloof millennial who finds herself alone in New York after a plague sweeps through the city. When she meets a group of survivors, Candace isn’t sure if she’s found salvation or the key to her undoing. A sharp satire about immigration, ambition, capitalism, and coming of age, Severance is side-splitting novel of suspense like you’ve never seen before.

Click here to buy.

‘Whose Boat Is This Boat? Comments That Don’t Help in the Aftermath of a Hurricane’ by the staff of ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’, read by Stephen Colbert

Picture books don’t always make the best audiobooks, but that is far from the case withWhose Boat Is This Boar? A hilarious reading of some of Donald Trump’s most cringe-worthy quotes post-Hurricane Florence, this not-so-kids book by The Late Show staff will have adults laughing out loud. But that isn’t the best part: 100% of The Late Show‘s proceeds from the sale of Whose Boat Is This Boat? goes to hurricane relief, so you can do good and feel good at the same time.

Click here to buy.

‘Fight or Flight’ by Samantha Young, read by Angelica Lee

Ava Breevort is on her way home to Boston to bury a childhood friend, and she is in no mood for romance. Which is why she is surprised to find herself in bed with Caleb, the rude passenger who stole her seat, during a layover. She is even more surprised when he shows up on her doorstep later and asks to see her again while he is stranded in her hometown. The more time Ava spends with Caleb, the less she wants him to leave, but when his stay becomes permanent, she must decide if she’s willing to put her heart on the line for a chance at real romance. A sweet and charming novel with plenty of sexy banter, Fight or Flight is a rom-com you’ll love listening to.

Click here to buy.

‘I Might Regret This’ by Abbi Jacobson, read by the author

We all do crazy things after a breakup, but following a particularly difficult one of her own, actress, artist, and Broad City co-creator Abbi Jacobson decided to take a cross-country road adventure all by herself. I Might Regret This chronicles that journey with humor, heart, honesty, and the same kind of TMI storytelling fans have come to know and love.

Click here to buy.

‘Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay’ by Phoebe Robinson, read by the author

She made you laugh until it hurt on 2 Dope Queens, she cracked you up on Sooo Many White Guys, she’s always finding new ways to make you giggle on late night shows, and she practically made you pee your pants with her book You Can’t Touch My Hair. Now, stand-up comedian, actress, and author Phoebe Robinson is back with a brand new audiobook that will leave you in stitches. Featuring personal anecdotes about dating, money, and her career, pointed essays about feminism, race, and politics, and plenty of pop culture references, Everything’s Trash, But It’s Okay has everything you’ve come to know and love about Phoebe Robinson.

Click here to buy.

‘Mr. & Mrs. American Pie’ by Juliet McDaniel, ready by Sarah Mollo-Christensen and Jonathan Todd Ross

It’s the year 1969, and Maxine Simmons life is completely turned upside down when she finds out her husband is leaving her for his much younger secretary. A social pariah exiled to Arizona after a public meltdown at Thanksgiving, Maxine is determined to put the pieces of her broken world back together. Her plan: to win the Mrs. American Pie pageant for the nation’s best wife and mother. That is, after building a new family. A laugh-out-loud story starring a offbeat heroine you won’t soon forget, Mr. and Mrs. American Pie is the comic relief you’ve been waiting for.

Click here to buy.

‘Sophia of Silicon Valley’ by Anna Yen, read by Emily Woo Zeller

In the tech world, Sophia Young had become something of a nerd whisperer. The right-hand woman to Treehouse animation studio CEO Scott Kraft, she does whatever it takes to be successful in what is otherwise an impenetrable boys’ club. That is, until she is hired by engineer/inventor Andre Stark to run his investor relations, and Sophia realizes the massive paycheck and high-status career she’s built might not be worth the price she paid for it. A fun, fast-paced story about what it’s like being a woman in the male-dominated world of tech, Sophia of Silicon Valley is a seriously wild ride.

Click here to buy.

‘Feminasty’ by Erin Gibson, read by the author

Who says feminism can’t be funny? In Feminasty, the creator and host of Throwing Shade offers readers advice for surviving the patriarchy in the form of amusing and often relatable personal essays she narrates herself. Fierce and uproariously funny, this audiobook is here to empower listeners to change the world.

Click here to buy.

‘Lake Success’ by Gary Shteyngart, read by Arthur Morey and Soneela Nankani

Anxious about an SEC investigation at work, stressed about his young son’s recent autism diagnosis, and overwhelmed by his life as a member of the 0.1 Percent, hedge-fund manager Barry Cohen decides to leave it all behind and chase a simpler life with his old college sweetheart. Back in New York, his driven, first-generation American wife, faces down her own demons as she struggles to hold onto the life she has always wanted. Sharp, insightful, and utterly entertaining, Lake Success is Gary Shteyngart at his best.

Click here to buy.

‘The Greatest Love Story Ever Told: An Oral History’ by Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, read by the authors

Grab a cozy blanket, a bottle of wine, and your beau before pressing play on The Greatest Love Story Every Told. Narrated by everyone’s favorite celebrity couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally, this audiobook takes listeners on an heartfelt and hilarious journey through their legendary Hollywood romance. You will laugh, you will cry, you will wish you could have an epic love story like this of your own.

Click here to buy.

‘My Sister, the Serial Killer’ by Oyinkan Braithwaite, read by Adepero Oduye (Nov. 20)

If you think murder and humor have no business being together, think again, because in My Sister, the Serial Killer, they make the perfect pair. A razor-sharp and wickedly funny thriller about a Nigerian woman and her younger sister who can’t seem to stop killer her boyfriends, Oyinkan Braithwaite’s debut will make you squeal with delight and fright in equal measure.

Click here to buy.

‘The Adults’ by Caroline Hulse, read by Penelope Rawlins, Peter Kenny, and Sarah Ovens (Nov. 27)

If Love, Actually and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation are your two favorite holiday movies, you’re going to love The Adults. It chronicles the Christmas vacation of a recently separated couple, their seven-year-old daughter, their new partners, and one imaginary friend. If you’re wondering what could possibly go wrong, the answer is: everything.

Click here to buy.

Source: https://www.bustle.com/p/16-funny-audiobooks-to-get-you-through-all-those-chores-you-dont-want-to-do-13099943

[latiibule]

So I want to have a post of notes focusing on Theodore with most of his behavior and habits that are linked to having autism, while rest being itself. It’s kinda used as a reference as well because I don't have autism myself ( though my brother does, but people with autism have different experiences from each other, yeah? ) and I would most likely forget him to do and act certain few things whenever I write him.

Theo needs to talk. He is an extrovert, and while he may not hate social interactions and rather likes socializing with people, he does find them challenging and frustrating at times due how there are social cues from the society, and he can't make his own rules, otherwise he'll be mocked on and rejected at. But talking is one of his own ways of stimming as his mind wouldn't be able to function properly if his mouth and tongue isn't moving and doesn't hear his own words coming out. Therefore when he is alone, he talks to himself.

On another note with Theo being an extrovert, when he becomes excited or enthusiastic, he stutters and repeats a specific sentence or couple of words a lot, as he sometimes forget to breathe and have a long run-on sentence before he ends up coughing and choking on his own saliva. He also doesn't have filter and have trouble keeping the volume of his voice down, so he's pretty much shouting in every words he says.

He gets overstimulated easily through being touched. To prevent it, he wears either a black and white sweater jacket ( even he wouldn't want them to get cleaned because he's afraid the washing and drying would make the size shrink ), or a rather big-sized leather jacket from his boyfriend, Arthur, that he stole many times from him before Arthur decided to let him keep it as a gift. With the extra layer on, he enjoys hugging and being cuddled on. Otherwise he will be uncomfortable, though he tolerates physical contacts a bit more from Arthur only, but he sometimes does enjoy having physical contacts when he most expects to get them.

It takes a several seconds longer for him to respond to most things people would say to him. But when there are people who expects him to reply instantly, he tends to lose his chance to process, let alone think what he would get to say, therefore he oftens gives generic or automatic responses instead.

He struggles to remain eye-contact to who he is speaking to/being spoken to. The longest time he can remain eye-contact is a minute, but other than that, he's always looking around but them.

He often carries a small backpack around with him that mostly contains various kinds of stim toys Arthur managed to create, as he also brought and gathered many fidget toys for him. He would use either to help calm him down and easily kill time while he waits.

[ SELF HARM MENTION ] When he gets ignored by his friends or loved ones, he often attempts to harm himself to get the attention he is desperate to have because of his fear of being abandoned and forever ignored by everyone who he loves, and it would lead him into wanting to get himself into situations that can give him injuries, minor to even severe. It is rare for him to attempt suicide in that situation, but it is possible as he does it few times in the past.

Weapons, mainly knifes, is one of his two special interests, as he collects them and have wide knowledge in them. He keeps this fact to himself, even though he gets annoyed because he can't share his massive knowledge and love towards knifes, but he doesn't want to make people see he's a murderer of sort ( thankfully Arthur and their friends, who are first firsts with Arthur, are fine with them, punk gangs and all ) and gets themselves away from him as soon as possible. But he have another special interest that is less frightening to majority people, owls.

He have palilalia, which he repeats words or phrases through orally, but in his own words. The phrase he uses often is, “lollipop, lollipop, pop, pop, pop...” which his favorite sweet is, clearly, lollipops. He uses another phrase when he often feels distressed as one of his coping mechanisms, or comforting someone is, “it'll be okay, it'll be okay, it'll be okay...” He also have echolalia, as he does also tend to repeat what people would say to him, either with some of their words to what they fully said.

He constantly repeats questions and statements he would need a confirm on every after few minutes because he just needed to be told with the respond or confirmation multiple times so it can stay locked in his mind.