It has taken me two years to change my bio from "Neurodivergent, apparently" to just "Neurodivergent". Despite being open about my #ASD and #ADHD, the 'apparently' must have been a subconscious way of distancing myself from the diagnosis somehow.
My wife and I are discussing moving. We (mostly me) feel that with everything our family has been through since Covid began, that maybe it’s finally time for a change of scenery.
Clearly we have horrible timing when it comes to mortgage rates and home prices, but sometimes you’ve just got to bite the bullet.
We are eyeing both Atlanta and Charlotte because I’m a pussy and hate winter unless it’s in the High Country in Colorado. Both cities have good tech job markets. What I’m hoping is if anyone can tell me if Atlanta or Charlotte has better support and education options for #asd kids, and kids with other learning challenges, but particularly for kids on the spectrum.
Just spotted this. In a neurotypical world which hasn't been created with sound-sensitive neurodivergent people in mind, this statement is an act of revolution.
The uprising has begun...
...Inaudibly.
✊ @actuallyautistic
Paper on shared heritage of #ADHD and #ASD. Since we recently discussed this I think you @actuallyautistic and @actuallyadhd might be interested too - haven't read it yet, got it via @sensorystoriesbynicole, a very great account on #AuDHD and other ND stuff on Instagram btw
Hi. I haven't been on social media for the past year or so. (Mental health: very not good.)
But yesterday I had the final part of my autism assessment, and the official verdict is that I am #ActuallyAutistic.
It's a relief, but it feels a bit weird. I guess 50+ years of bafflement and self-loathing don't just go away overnight. But I made a bargain with the universe that I'd try to give living as my real self a go if the diagnosis was autism.
It's #NeurodiversityCelebrationWeek. I'm still vaguely taken aback (and, conversely, not at all surprised) that I belong to this tribe, for want of a better word. It must be in the family as another member was diagnosed recently. I wish I'd known earlier that I was a giraffe living in a society built around ostriches and that being unable to lay eggs does not mean that I am failing or deficient in any way. #adhd#asd#autism @actuallyautistic
🧵 Recently, I set out to create new digital artwork that can't be replicated/imitated by #AI. AI's Achilles heel seems to be its failure to deliver true details, or rather that its complex imagery is actually specious - the illusion of detail that often doesn't stand up to scrutiny.
With this in mind, I came up with this artwork called 'A Drawing of the Shelf Unit Beside My Desk on February 27th 2024 at 2:35pm'....
This is the first in a series of 'non-AI-able' digital illustrations.
(I think it probably helps to be #autistic for something like this. @actuallyautistic) #ASD
What kind of international organizations/clinics are the best in helping for people with autism spectrum disorder? I'd really appreciate for any info, contacts, etc., thanks ♥ @actuallyautistic
What kind of international organizations/clinics are the best in helping for people with autism spectrum disorder? I'd really appreciate for any info, contacts, etc., thanks ♥ @actuallyautistic
Research has been uncovering a strong family connection in both BAP and ASD. Some family members might exhibit milder versions of the diagnosed individual’s traits, creating a spectrum within the spectrum. It’s like flavors of the same story:
@actuallyautistic
How do I make Husband understand that Son1 is not feeling tired because he doesn't exercise and do sports but because his brain is in overdrive and he can't do anything - feeling like a rabbit in the headlights all the time?
I totally get it - I am the same... but can't seem to find the words...
Son1 is really suffering... #ASD#ActuallyAutistic
"Be aware that a subset of people with autism are highly adept at noticing micro expressions, the very quick expressions that flit across someone’s face before they “rearrange” into a socially acceptable reaction. The people able to perceive this, however, are often unaware that they are supposed to ignore those expressions and respond to the “public face” instead. This can lead to social awkwardness."
On another note, that's such fucking patronizing language. Maybe it's not that people with autism are unaware they're not supposed to respond to the micro-expressions, but that the micro-expressions are impossible to ignore and it doesn't feel right to perform a conversation instead of have a conversation.
I still can't find studies about this, but it seems like a lot of people with autism interpret it the same way I do.
Maybe neurotypical researchers have it totally wrong with at least some people with autism. Maybe it's not that people with autism have trouble understanding all facial expressions. Maybe it's just that people with autism are far more attuned to micro-expressions than macro-expressions and don't value the neurotypical dishonesty of hiding shit about their feelings.
Considering neurotypical people repress almost all their feelings, I think the mismatch between their inner thoughts and feelings and the facial expressions they perform is super overwhelming and anxiety-provoking.
"I’m autistic," I say. A brief pause ensues, a furrowed brow from what I can see from the mirror, and then an unexpectedly humorous response: "Is that like a professional auto driver?"
The phrase "burnt out former gifted kid" has always given me the ick, but there are unique challenges/issues/traumas related to that experience that tend to come up in #autistic discussions and I've never encountered a good description.
Proposal for a slightly less icky alternative:
✨ burnt out former high achiever ✨
the job i had wanted since i was a kid was the wrong job for me.
i have no career now and i'm also unemployable.
you know, i never developed a social life and i never started a family. it wasn't important to me at 20 or 30 but now, at 40, it feels like something's missing.
i'm an adult now and i'm no longer very interested in the hobbies i had at 20. there's nothing to do now.
i have a drinking problem.
why could i never do housework properly? oh, right, the #AuDHD...
i have nothing to lose, so i guess i'll try to ask the government to help me.
practical home assistance granted. admitted to back-to-work programme. applied for a social support contact today, to give myself more to do.
i'm nothing at the moment. i was broken down and now i have to build a new me, from scratch.
@chrislw i was in my early 30s when i began suspecting something wasn't right. i knew i was different but chalked it up to being a nerd until i began running into problems and they grew bigger and bigger. i saw a psychiatrist in public healthcare about it. he dismissed #ADHD and said i had mild #ASD, but didn't seem very confident about it. there's no treatment for that and it isn't supposed to cause much trouble so i just kept trying to work for the next ~5 years.
i landed what i thought was a good job with nice colleagues, but felt myself beginning to struggle again, and that's when i contacted an independent psychiatrist with ADHD expertise to get a second opinion. he dismissed the ASD diagnosis and concluded it was ADHD, and he seemed confident about that.
the ADHD part always seemed to match me better, but i'm thinking there's some ASD in there as well, seeing as a lot of nerds are on the spectrum. the label AuDHD feels fitting here. some kind of #neurodivergence. spicy brain.
✅ Are you an adult that suspects you have #autism spectrum disorder (#ASD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (#ADHD )?
✅ Are you still trying to identify your traits and describe your experiences to access support?
Late-Identified #AuDHD A Starter Workbook—beginner's tool for adults—has been out for 6 months! Check it out, & if you already have, consider leaving a review. Thank you!
✅ Do you suspect you have #autism spectrum disorder (#ASD) & attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (#adhd )
✅ Are you still trying to identify your traits & describe your experiences to access support?
Create a huge ilst of questions. More than we need, but like 100. This is so that we can have questions that we agree are more representative and don't have false assumptions.
Have ~1k people take the test, and the other tests.
Have people self-report on self-diagnosis and official diagnosis.
Get the inter-rater reliability of the questions, and also the perform a per question and multi-question test of proportions.
Find the smallest set of questions with the maximal amount of information.
Report on the sensitivity and specificity of the test.
Show the cross test reliability of the tests, to demonstrate that the tests are measuring the same thing (Convergent Validity).
Give comparative analysis to identify the relative predictive power of the test.
Write the results.
Publish.
Bonus: Perform a Factor Analysis on our test to identify the factors that define #ASD,, repeat on the other tests, identify the factors that are measurably different.
And well, there's like a very persistent pattern in all these self assessment test results 😅
Not as high as yours, but still in the "yes, lol" side of things