Autistic Hedgehog
RSSI also have a follow up comment to the job question anon. Depending on the type of job, there may be tasks that no one in an office or work environment likes to do that you might enjoy and could be the one to take over. Like, when I worked at a coffee shop, everyone liked being up front at the register and going to the back to do inventory was considered almost like a chore or punishment. But b/c I found it relaxing and calming, I asked my boss if I could just take over it and be the only (p1)
(p2) person responsible for taking care of inventory. That way, I set my own pace, worked in a quite room by myself, my coworkers were happy because I was doing something they all hated doing. I also wasn’t being measure against my coworkers performance, because I was the only person working on the task I was doing. You may have to dig a bit once you find a job, but there are often tasks like this that you could probably excel at in various fields.
To the job anon, different anon here speaking. Have you ever considered using a talent you have and making a self-owned business where you can work from home? I'm currently working on becoming a freelance proofreader, where in-person interaction will be kept at a minimum and I don't have to venture out. Considering I'm also agoraphobic, have social phobia, depression, and an anxiety disorder but I have good observation skills and an English degree, it really is a promising outlook for me.
Anonymous
when I shut down or variations thereupon, one of the best ways to get me to come back is to get me talking about something I love, there are situations where the stress is too much and it doesn’t work, but generally my obsessions pull me out of anything else because I am so entirely focused on them that everything else gets canceled out–unfortunately not many people think to ask complex theoretical questions about obscure things when I seem to be collapsing in on myself
Speaking from personal experience, a therapist who isn't an "autism specialist" but who is willing to see an autistic patient is better than an "autism specialist" who agrees to see you for your other issues. Non-"autism specialists" haven't spent however many years in school learning what autism SHOULD be like, and are more willing to work with YOU and YOUR situation and symptoms to find a solution that works rather than what "SHOULD" work for an autistic.
![[“Stop. That’s weird. People can see you.”
Yeah, well people can fuck off.]
Telling that to me is only going to make the stimming worse. Also, thanks for hurting my confidence.](http://40.media.tumblr.com/2f043d90f666ef2facced6df6b26ade8/tumblr_mljfv6OSpA1rfhms3o1_400.jpg)
[“Stop. That’s weird. People can see you.”
Yeah, well people can fuck off.]
Telling that to me is only going to make the stimming worse. Also, thanks for hurting my confidence.
Apparently, I can't be autistic because my therapist thinks being able to describe how my depression feels and understanding emotions makes me "allistic". Being able to talk about emotions, explain them, describe them is a thing only allistics can do now. I'm just triggered by the whole thing and I feel as if all of my other symptoms don't matter anymore, they were actually ignored (like my sensory problems) because I could TALK about my emotions. The worst part is she's an autistic specialist.
Anonymous
Honestly, if at all possible, it’s time for you to find a new therapist. This is a woman who has no place calling herself an “autistic specialist;” she ought to be fired.
She’s wrong. Full stop. She’s ignorant and she’s doing you actual harm, and really, if you’re seeing her for things like depression, then it will only get worse with her treating you like that. You’re not in any way in the wrong here. She, however, is incredibly shitty at her job.
Hi - I'm allistic and I don't want to be invading this safe space, so please feel free to ignore or delete this if you want! I recently moved from my mum's to live with my dad and my older sister who is autistic. I have some questions that are specific to our family, but I know a lot of autism sites are really problematic. Can you recommend any places for me to ask questions? (If you're happy to answer questions from allistics that's great, I just don't want to barge in without permission!!)
Anonymous
I’m always happy to answer questions to the best of my ability here at Autistic Hedgehog (and sometimes my hedgehogs help out too).
There are also organizations like the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network that can prove information, and the askanautistic tag right here on Tumblr where you can find actually autistic people willing to answer questions.
Just remember to be polite and you’ll find there are people (here or elsewhere) who are willing to answer your questions.
I thought of you this week. Earlier this week I sat in the OT waiting room, and I talked with a parent of a child labeled "lower functioning" than mine. "Curing" autism came up, and she said, "I don't want him cured. I love him as he is." And the room agreed. Later this week, I sat on a panel of parents, most of us w autistic children. And at some point everyone agreed that they would not change who their child is, dx and a. I just... wanted to say that there is hope of mindsets changing.
Well, that does sound positive, and I hope that autism acceptance continues to move in such a direction. But it will continue to be a struggle as long as organizations like Autism $peaks are around to fearmonger.
![[Things about Autism that are a spectrum:
1. Everything]
I wasn’t going to do much on AH today, on a count of getting down roughly 4k on my WIP today (I’m on a roll–Sonic the Writing Hedgehog right here).
But…lately there’s been an awful lot of kerfuffle involving autistic people trying to police other autistic people about how they should behave, feel, and/or identify, and I can’t help but think, is it any wonder that I often get questions along the lines of “I do X/don’t do X, does that mean I’m not autistic/am unusual in some way?”
Maybe you stim a lot. Maybe you don’t. Maybe you talk about your stims, embrace them and enthuse about them; maybe they’re not meaningful enough to you for that. Maybe you identify as an autistic person or a person with autism or an autist or an Aspie; maybe you don’t bring it up as part of your identity at all.
Maybe you have meltdowns or shutdowns or neither. Maybe you love sarcasm or maybe you can’t stand it. Maybe you’re terribly literal or maybe you’re not. Perhaps you’re a STEM major; perhaps you prefer the arts or humanities. It could be that you love to cuddle or hug, or that you turn into a ninja anytime anyone tries to hug you.
Perhaps you’re averse to numerous food textures, or maybe most food textures don’t bother you but fabric textures get, well, under your skin. Maybe you prefer non-fiction and think fiction is silly and hard to swallow; maybe your shelves look like mine, with so much spec fic that more than half of it has to be stored in boxes in the basement. Maybe you cry during sad movies; maybe you never shed a tear.
Maybe, maybe, maybe. Maybe none of the traits you regard as part of your autism are even listed here. That’s fine too. Because autism is a spectrum, and everything we do and everything we are that is at all related to our autism is also on a spectrum. We have some traits but not others. Some of us can make phone calls and some can’t. Some of us hate loud noises; some of us love fireworks even if they’re loud. We are people who live, inherently, on a spectrum and there is nothing wrong with that.
But no one gets to tell other autistics how they get to be autistic. We may not all agree exactly on everything, but that is a perfectly human thing. Our choices are our own. Often we have so little power, so little autonomy, to make our own choices, and there are people in this world who want to take what little we have away. The last thing we should be doing is trying to take our choices away from each other.
tl;dr: We are a spectrum, y'all, and not just that, we are spectrum of spectra. Embrace the rainbows.](http://40.media.tumblr.com/d899ab160e4e0bfdaeec463ef8ec0cf3/tumblr_mligmatCEo1rfhms3o1_400.jpg)
[Things about Autism that are a spectrum:
1. Everything]
I wasn’t going to do much on AH today, on a count of getting down roughly 4k on my WIP today (I’m on a roll–Sonic the Writing Hedgehog right here).
But…lately there’s been an awful lot of kerfuffle involving autistic people trying to police other autistic people about how they should behave, feel, and/or identify, and I can’t help but think, is it any wonder that I often get questions along the lines of “I do X/don’t do X, does that mean I’m not autistic/am unusual in some way?”
Maybe you stim a lot. Maybe you don’t. Maybe you talk about your stims, embrace them and enthuse about them; maybe they’re not meaningful enough to you for that. Maybe you identify as an autistic person or a person with autism or an autist or an Aspie; maybe you don’t bring it up as part of your identity at all.
Maybe you have meltdowns or shutdowns or neither. Maybe you love sarcasm or maybe you can’t stand it. Maybe you’re terribly literal or maybe you’re not. Perhaps you’re a STEM major; perhaps you prefer the arts or humanities. It could be that you love to cuddle or hug, or that you turn into a ninja anytime anyone tries to hug you.
Perhaps you’re averse to numerous food textures, or maybe most food textures don’t bother you but fabric textures get, well, under your skin. Maybe you prefer non-fiction and think fiction is silly and hard to swallow; maybe your shelves look like mine, with so much spec fic that more than half of it has to be stored in boxes in the basement. Maybe you cry during sad movies; maybe you never shed a tear.
Maybe, maybe, maybe. Maybe none of the traits you regard as part of your autism are even listed here. That’s fine too. Because autism is a spectrum, and everything we do and everything we are that is at all related to our autism is also on a spectrum. We have some traits but not others. Some of us can make phone calls and some can’t. Some of us hate loud noises; some of us love fireworks even if they’re loud. We are people who live, inherently, on a spectrum and there is nothing wrong with that.
But no one gets to tell other autistics how they get to be autistic. We may not all agree exactly on everything, but that is a perfectly human thing. Our choices are our own. Often we have so little power, so little autonomy, to make our own choices, and there are people in this world who want to take what little we have away. The last thing we should be doing is trying to take our choices away from each other.
tl;dr: We are a spectrum, y'all, and not just that, we are spectrum of spectra. Embrace the rainbows.
![[ <insert generic bronies/Pokemon fans/MRAs/Minecraft players/geeks are autistic “joke” here>
Oh, just go fuck yourself off the nearest cliff already.]
Done. I am just. so. done with this kind of shit.
Being a brony is not a “form of autism.” Being a Pokemon fan is not a “form of autism.” Being an MRA is not a “form of autism.” Playing Minecraft is not an inherently autistic trait. Being a geek =/= being autistic.
And to the ableist fucks who keep making these “jokes” I say:](http://40.media.tumblr.com/20b58888d8ba20319dbb9bcf159daa57/tumblr_mlgvkcJoen1rfhms3o1_400.jpg)
[ <insert generic bronies/Pokemon fans/MRAs/Minecraft players/geeks are autistic “joke” here>
Oh, just go fuck yourself off the nearest cliff already.]
Done. I am just. so. done with this kind of shit.
Being a brony is not a “form of autism.” Being a Pokemon fan is not a “form of autism.” Being an MRA is not a “form of autism.” Playing Minecraft is not an inherently autistic trait. Being a geek =/= being autistic.
And to the ableist fucks who keep making these “jokes” I say:
To the job anon: I almost quite college in my final semester due to almost completely shutting down (I don't really melt as much as shut down), and I had a really hard time at my first job as well. I pushed through both, but I do think it was detrimental to me emotionally and i'm still recovering a few years later. Anyway, my advice is to not be concerned over the "type" of job in terms of making sure it is grown up, or a career, or something other people will think is strange. I used to be (p1)
(p2) an assitant baker in a tiny shop, but I quite for a grown up job with benefits and whatever so i could get an apartment and be adult. And I almost had a nervous breakdown. If you are happiest and most comfortable making McFlurries at McDonalds, or moving mulch at a nursery, or driving a semi truck, or being a telemarketer, just do that. I think finding an environment and a group of people who do make you comfortable will make you the happiest. I hope that makes sense. Good luck!
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