#processing disorders

[lore-gore]

When we say make theatre more accessible, we don't just mean for physically disabled people but mentally disabled people as well.

Allowing actors to step aside and process a direction is just as important as putting in ramps.

I say this as someone who was made to feel guilty for asking for time to process a big change because "if a director tells you to do it, you do it." But I couldn't do it. I was freezing up. I was unable to perform. I'm not being stubborn or disrespectful. I. Am. Disabled. And I need to be accommodated.

[thegreatspacehobo]

I want to share something. In school, everyone just assumes you know what counterclockwise means once you knew what a clock was. From kindergarten, no one explained to me how to apply this practically. They assumed, why wouldn't you know?

Well as someone with ADHD, dyslexia, and just a general processing disorder.... I never did. So I felt stupid and frustrated, I had to develop a little cheat sheet that half the time just didn't work.

I always felt embarrassed and like I was stupid when someone casually thrown out the instruction oh just go counterclockwise.

Then my step dad was teaching me how to change a tire... and I got a bit confused when he told me to turn counterclockwise.

And I got upset, which just makes all this even harder. But he didn't get upset or make a thoughtless comment, or make me feel stupid that I am a grown ass adult and got confused at the basic direction of counterclockwise.

He told me, it's okay, take a breath. Look at the tire, picture a clock, you see how the hands tick away? Right, right, right. Now just take that imagine, and make it go in reverse. That's counterclockwise.

He turned counterclockwise from a word into a solid visualization.

Simple, obvious, why would you need to explain that?

But it changes my life. It gave me a tool to understand these things that seem a given for everyone else. But sometimes you need it explained in the way your brain works. That's what my step dad said to me anyway.

[nightinghoul]

Sometimes I just feel droopy, even though I took my meds. I'm not depressed. My body is just at rest without my consent.

There are times I feel angry that I was overlooked growing up. There are times I wish I had been diagnosed. That I wish I had been tutored. Times I wish I would have had accommodations.

I get angry, wondering what I could have become. I get angry with anyone who ever told me I didn’t want things enough. I get sad, sitting inside my body that won't move, wondering what I could have become in that one bright moment when I was able bodied.

I try to just let it go. I do what I can right now with what I have. I'm grateful for all the support I have. Grateful I still have my mind. Grateful that I am myself. I tell myself, what I could have been might have been amazing. But what I was was good enough. And what I am is changing.

[candymoth-art]

I think every game and media that can should have an option to get rid of strobe lights and subtitles also.

[zombblehh]

Shout out to the autistic who’s abilities have regressed as they’ve gotten older.

“You didn’t used to be like this when you were a kid.” I know please don’t remind me

[woosh-floosh-art]

[incognitopolls]

We ask your questions anonymously so you don’t have to! Submissions are open on the 1st and 15th of the month.

[autism-affirmations]

raise your hand if youve been personally victimized by noise

[lockhartandlych]

[pandavalkyrie]

I don't think I'm ever going to understand people treating Tumblr post comment sections as a confession booth seeking validation from OP. It comes up again and again when discussing boycotts, political action, or god forbid listening to a rap song

You can just not tell people on the Internet when you do something that's being mildly criticized and no one will know.

"I don't listen to rap because they talk too fast for my audio processing disorder." Ok. And there's no need for you to tell a stranger that

"I can't participate in BDS because McDonald's is my safe food." Ok. So don't post about it and no one will judge you.

"I have to buy a piece of Harry Potter branded merch at least once a week or I'll fall into a depression." You can just not tell people this and they won't know.

Things you can do instead of commenting on posts about how you're a special exception that deserves a pass for doing something being criticized:

Ignore the post and scroll past

Block OP and save both of yourselves the trouble

Take the opportunity to reflect on the practice and think about why you're being defensive about it, maybe consider there is a way you can challenge yourself a little and give it a try

Stop assuming every Tumblr post is made for and targeted towards you and requires you respond to it

Have the defensive thought and then keep it in your head where no one else can know or judge you for it

Log off and go do something else

Any of these things will work out better for you than going into a comment section and explaining to strangers why you can't/will continue to do something currently under scrutiny. They don't care, they probably don't know who you are, and no one has to know this about you.

Stop seeking validation in the Tumblr dot com comment section you're only hurting yourself and pissing off the op

[skulandcrossbones]

wikipedia article on human senses for definitions and clarification

[chronic-melon]

Reblog if you understand that disability is not a monolith and two people with the same disability do not have identical experiences ✨

[nightinghoul]

There's this thing with my chorus where I've been very open about the fact that I often lose track and fall behind in conversations, during rehearsal, or keeping up with events.

Nobody has called me "special" or "slow". Nobody has made any jokes at my expense.

At first, I was self-conscious when a member offered me extra support. In fact, I may have pushed her away. But actually, it's nice to be able to say, "I struggle with these things," and have people be understanding and helpful.

[transgender-png]

fuck it. shout out to "high functioning" neurodivergents

the ones who can mask easily, the ones who can get social cues, the ones who have managed to go most of their life not even knowing they were ND because they didn't present as the stereotypical ND person.

the ones who can pay attention in class, understand social etiquette, who understand societial expectations

the ones who don't feel neurodivergent enough bc they don't struggle in the same ways/areas a lot of NDs do, or they can't relate to other NDs' experiences because they always understood these things easily

the ones with high empathy, the ones who DO get the joke, the ones who are constantly told that they can't possibly be neurodivergent because they don't act like what you'd expect a neurodivergent person to act like.

you are neurodivergent enough. you are valid, and so are your experiences. not struggling as much as others do in some places doesn't mean you dont struggle at all. your condition and diagnosis is valid. your symptoms are valid. YOU ARE VALID. not checking all the supposed boxes doesn't mean you aren't neurodivergent. you are enough. you are valid. you are loved. you are valued. you matter. you belong in neurodivergent spaces, you deserve to use whatever resources are available to you, you are allowed to take up space in these communities. and i am so, so proud of you.

feel free to, and actually, i encourage you to reblog this with your experiences. we belong in this community as much as anyone else. please also tag this w/ any neurodivergent conditions i may have forgotten 💙

since this is getting lots of notes I'd like to add, even if you're undiagnosed or maybe self diagnosed, for whatever reason, (i.e. can't get access to a diagnosis, not being taken seriously, or just not wanting an official diagnosis, etc.) this still applies to you. actually especially to you folks. don't think for a second you're not valid just bc you don't have the paperwork or whatever to say it

[the-hadal-zone-sys]

Normalize dressing literally however you want.

Normalize dressing alternative.

Normalize dressing for comfort.

Normalize dressing formal in informal settings.

Normalize not liking formal clothes.

Normalize wearing tails, ears, and other things considered "cringe."

Normalize needing to dress a specific way because of sensory processing issues.

Normalize not having one set fashion sense and changing things up.

Normalize wearing clothes associated with the opposite binary gender, including for both cis people and trans people.

Normalize wearing revealing outfits just because you like them.

Normalize dressing "dramatic" or "over the top."

Normalize cosplay.

Normalize historical fashion.

Like...

It's your body! It's your skin! You deserve to feel comfortable in it, whatever that means for you.

[tenobelisk]

I want all phone calls through smartphones to include a bloody whiteboard so i can type and draw when i need to clarify numbers and spellings and emphasis. Jesus shit.

I know, i know; protocol changes are expensive, its a minority issue, phonetics are a thing and so on. If we could send interwebs through phone signals and power lines we could make it happen.