#low masking autistic

[turingtestedblog]

I HAVE SPENT THE LAST FEW YEARS (THOUGH I HAVE MADE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PROCESS IN THE LAST FEW MONTHS) LEARNING HOW TO UNMASK AND UNLEARN WHAT RULES SOCIETY HAS SAID I NEED TO CONFORM TO AS AN AUTISTIC PERSON.

AND GOD HAVE THESE LAST FEW MONTHS BEEN AMAZING.

I HAVE GONE FROM MASKING 24/7 365 TO LEARNING HOW TO UNMASK IN PRIVATE TO UNMASKING IN PUBLIC.

I HAVE ALWAYS HATED MASKING BUT BEEN UNABLE TO UNMASK JUST BECAUSE OF THE EFFECTS GROWING UP AS AN UNDIAGNOSED AFAB AUTISTIC PERSON WILL HAVE ON YOUR ABILITY TO DO SO.

AND I AM UNAPOLOGETIC FOR ALL OF THIS.

I WILL NOT APOLOGIZE FOR PUBLIC STIMMING, I WILL NOT APOLOGIZE FOR BEING CRINGE ABOUT MY PASSIONS, I WILL NOT APOLOGIZE FOR BEING HYPERVERBAL AT TIMES AND NONVERBAL AT OTHERS, I WILL NOT APOLOGIZE FOR ANY OF THAT.

THIS DOESN'T MAKE MY AUTISTIC EXPERIENCE ALL SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS, BUT I AM NOT WORRIED ABOUT THAT RIGHT NOW.

RIGHT NOW, I AM CONCERNED ABOUT THIS DELICIOUS FUCKING PIE I AM EATING, THIS AMAZING MUSIC, MY COMFORT ITEMS, AND MY SPECIAL INTEREST WHICH I AM SURROUNDING MYSELF WITH.

AND I THINK THAT IS ALL ANYBODY CAN EVER HOPE TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT FOREVER. SO TO PUT IT SIMPLY, LIFE IS GOOD.

[zebulontheplanet]

When I talk about visible autism on my blog, I’m usually not talking about those who are clocked as quirky and weird. Although that’s completely valid, I’m not talking about them. I’m talking about those of us who are VISIBLY autistic. Those of us who are clocked as those autistics. Who are clocked immediately as having something wrong with them. Those of us who are named as slurs. Who are yelled at. Who are attacked. Who are glared at, pointed at, stared at, pitied. Those of us who are automatically assumed to be with caregivers. Those of us you see talked about in medical journals and on the news as “inspiration” when we graduate or get invited to prom.

This is us. This is who we’re marked as. This is who we are seen as. We are seen as less than, as animals, as objects, as “inspirations”. When we accomplish something it’s usually not seen as our accomplishments but as the accomplishments of our caregivers and support staff.

I get so mad when someone comes onto my blog, MY blog. Me. A visibly autistic, nonverbal person, and doesn’t even look at my tags or pinned post and says “Omg me too, I’m seen as quirky and awkward, I’m visibly autistic 🥰” and like…go you but I’m not talking about you. I’m not talking about “low masking”. Im talking about LOW masking. No masking or very very low masking. Those of us who are immediately seen as autistic.

And it’s frustrating. It’s frustrating when people come into my blog and say this because, you DON’T get it. You just don’t. You don’t get what my life is like, what my experiences are. What it’s like to be LOW masking or no masking. You don’t get that. And yet you try and squeeze yourself in. And that hurts. It hurts to have people who won’t ever understand this squeeze themselves in. Stop doing this.

[2003-playground]

I am here to tell you as an early-diagnosed low-masking autistic that "self-diagnosed TikTok autism fakers" are a non-issue.

Like, okay...maybe saying you're autistic will get you positive attention and validation in some online communities, but once you log off pretty much all you get is the complete opposite.

The way people talk about autism in real life is not anywhere near as kind or progressive as in the online autistic community. A lot of professionals still have very outdated beliefs about autism, and honestly so do most people. I still regularly come across people who don't even know what autism is.

Autistic people are generally not treated very well by society, to put it lightly. Calling yourself autistic in real life will rarely benefit you socially and will likely never get you the same kind of validation and community you find online.

I am simply not convinced that anyone just decides to self-diagnose autism for fun, let alone seek out a formal diagnosis. If someone decides that the benefits outweigh the risks, they are already struggling a lot and likely already being treated poorly for their autistic traits.

[threelogsinatrenchcoat]

I just saw someone say that physically disabled people and mentally disabled people are different because “people look at me and know I’m disabled.”, which is such an ignorant statement.

level 3, high support needs autistic people don’t get the privilege of being able to hide their autism. People with intellectual disabilities don’t get the benefit of being discreet.

people know, they always know. They can tell when you slur your speech, and flap your arms, and make noises they don’t understand. They can tell when you talk and when you don’t. When I have a meltdown in a busy area, everyone fucking knows. Most of us don’t get the privilege of masking.

This is not a physically disabled exclusive experience, ever. And to act like we’re some how less likely to face danger because of it causes actual harm.

I’m not saying we are exactly the same, we aren’t. I’ll never fully understand the physically disabled experience. But this experience is real for other people that aren’t you.

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

don’t exactly love going around define & police what is & isn’t high needs autism but some you all “this character/shows/etc is high needs autism representation” and show is people who can live independently/ semi independently & go to community without supervision & bunch examples can only think of iADL examples & not autism inherent symptoms bc no brain right now

like can we collectively acknowledge be visibly awkward & “weird” speech pattern & low/cant mask… not exclusive to high needs autism. n not all of what high needs autism mean. right. like can we

we know low support & level 1 autistics can struggle w masking… right

[river-from-alderaan]

being autistic in a world made for allistics kinda feels like being in the backseat of a car desperately trying to be a part of the front seat conversation

[ottpopfic]

Do you ever think about how Reyna being mad at how Jason has ‘changed’ could just be the fact that Jason is masking less but that means he's not ‘following the rules’ (masking) like he used to and Reyna is jealous can't handle that she's conforming and he isn't

[strange-nd-creature]

Autistic Stigma Axis Chart

This isn’t meant to be taken really seriously, just comparing how different people experience different forms of ableism I guess. Honestly I think most autistic people have dealt with all of these things at some point.

[autismcultureis]

autism culture is getting frustrated when people equate empathy to moral code because you have limited/little empathy but a very strong moral code, but people assume it’s an all-or-nothing situation

!!

[foggyroseblood]

I don't remember who said it but whoever suggested to use "high masking" and "low masking" instead of low and high functioning i love you so much. Its the only words I feel really work for me. I was diagnosed with "high functioning autism/aspergers" which the 1st one just didnt fit me i felt bc it just isnt true and the 2nd word has nazi history so um no thanks. Lots of people use low and high support needs now but those don't work for me either. Like i would be considered low support needs i guess but I do need lots of support with daily things i definitely do not have low support needs if i take the definition litterally. I am high masking.

High masking suggets that i look like i am high functioning and okay although i am not and that's very validating

[zebulontheplanet]

I want people to understand. Being visibly autistic, being low masking, it isn’t fun.

I want people to understand this before they go on their unmasking journey. I want people to understand this before they start “acting more autistic”. I want people to understand this. It isn’t fun. It isn’t all rainbows and butterflies. I understand completely that I live in a more unaccepting area, but this is the reality for many people who are visibly autistic everywhere!

It isn’t fun. We get yelled at, called slurs, stared at, infantilized, talked over, ignored, etc etc. it isn’t fun. It HURTS.

Please please, if youre masking then realize your privilege, it’s a HARD privilege to have. I get that. It’s hard to mask, it’s hard to be passed as NT, it’s HARD. But it’s also hard to be visibly autistic. It’s so so hard. 

[adhbabey]

Idk who needs to hear this but being high masking and high support needs is not mutually exclusive.

Im high masking but I still need a lot of support for those around me. Sure, I don't need help eating or using the bathroom, but I need help living and cooking and I can't drive. I need to rely on others to live, but I'm still high masking.

And there's plenty of people who are low masking and low support. They can deal with things more independently, but they can't hide their autism.

Can we start acknowledging this. It doesn't mean the same thing. High masking does not mean you're low support. And I wish someone told me this sooner.

[vm-sys]

shout out to autistics who can't mask. shout out to autistics who don't know how to mask. shout out to autistics who do mask and still look autistic. shout out to autistics who stim constantly. shout out to autistics who drool. shout out to autistics who move 'weird'. shout out to autistic who use aac. shout out to autistics who wear noise canceling headphones. shout out to autistics who use other aids because of their autism.

shout out to autistics who are visible autistic.

[touchlikethesun]

both akaashi and bokuto have crazy aesthetic appeal, like they are both very hot this is undeniable, however once you approach them and try and talk to them it becomes very apparent that they have no rizz, nay negative rizz. they are both, in their own way, incredibly weird guys. which is why it's perfect that they've found each other because bokuto has the absolute worst lines - but they consistently work on akaashi. and akaashi can't flirt to save his life, but that doesn't matter because bokuto is enamoured with every single thing he does xx

[pickledsprite]

Girl tell me why I just realized tori masks her monotone voice with her parents. 🌝

"When I speak to my parents, I don't actually sound very grumpy. I'm usually quite cheerful-sounding when I talk. I'm good at that."

[deusluxuria]

headcanon that jotaro fiercely protects the hell out of shigechi (who is autistic but josuke & okuyasu don't know that), but he hasn't told josuke or okuyasu that he himself is autistic so they have no idea why he's so protective. but he looks them both dead in the eyes and is straight up like, "you two know who i am. you know what i'm capable of." and that alone is enough to make them nearly piss their pants and to not say one bad thing about shigechi ever again lol