KaCi

joshsusser , 15 days ago to Random stuff

I watch a lot of #YouTube and I'm #ActuallyAutistic, so I end up watching a lot of videos about #autism or by #autistic advocates. Since YouTube recommendations are notoriously unhelpful, I've been keeping a list of channels.

All of these channels are made by autistic people, and they all talk about being autistic. I intentionally exclude channels by allistic folk, autism parents that show off autistic children, or allistic-run autism organizations. I also left out channels that just repost stuff from other platforms like TikTok.

I don't necessarily like or even watch all these channels, so don't take inclusion on this list as an endorsement. But I know my tastes aren't universal and others might appreciate videos I don't, so I'm including channels that seem decent even if I don't usually watch them myself.

Am I missing any good autistic channels? Do you have any favorite YouTube channels about autism by autistic folk? Channels by autistics about #neurodiversity or related psychology are good too. I have a separate list of channels by autistic folk that are not about autism or psychology, so not asking for those right now.

• ASAN: https://www.youtube.com/@AutisticAdvocacy
• Autism Chrysalis: https://www.youtube.com/@autismchrysalis
• Autism From The Inside: https://www.youtube.com/@autismfromtheInside
• Autistamatic: https://www.youtube.com/@Autistamatic
• Autistic AF: https://www.youtube.com/@Autistic_AF
• AutisticAF Out Loud: https://www.youtube.com/@AutisticAFOL
• Dr Kim Sage: https://www.youtube.com/@DrKimSage
• I'm Autistic, Now What?: https://www.youtube.com/@imautisticnowwhat
• Lyric Rivera: https://www.youtube.com/@NeurodivergentRebel
• Mom on the Spectrum: https://www.youtube.com/@MomontheSpectrum
• Morgan Foley: https://www.youtube.com/@morgaanfoley
• Neurodivergent Doctor: https://www.youtube.com/@NeurodivergentDoctor
• NeurodiverJENNt: https://www.youtube.com/@NeurodiverJENNt
• Orion Kelly - That Autistic Guy: https://www.youtube.com/@orionkelly
• Proudly Autistic: https://www.youtube.com/@ProudlyAutistic
• The Aspie World: https://www.youtube.com/@TheAspieWorld
• The Neurocuriosity Club: https://www.youtube.com/@TheNeurocuriosityClub
• The Thought Spot: https://www.youtube.com/@thethoughtspot222
• Yo Samdy Sam: https://www.youtube.com/@YoSamdySam

EDIT: Removed Stephanie Bethany because she promotes hateful bigotry. oops, sorry.

KaCi , 1 month ago to Random stuff

For me being #ActuallyAutistic means that I came into this world, screaming because it has been too overwhelming and this feeling never stopped since then. It can be beautiful to have sensitive senses, but this world is currently not made for this. Most people experience the world in a different way and don't understand your level of intensity.

KaCi , 2 months ago to Random stuff

Let your daily routines and your way of life become your own song. Find your own rhythm, the melody you want to dance to and the voice you want to express.
#ActuallyAutistic

KaCi , 2 months ago to Random stuff

Crows seem to be the security birds.
"Mr Falcon, may we escort you out of this graveyard?!"

KaCi , 3 months ago to Random stuff

If you are #ActuallyAutistic the magic doesn't happen outside of your comfort zone, it happens when you find your comfort zone.

KaCi , 3 months ago to Random stuff

Find the squirrel 🐿️

KaCi , 3 months ago to Random stuff

Spring is coming...

In the front there are snowdrops (white little flowers) growing out of a half green, half brown ground. In the back there are trees and a slightly cloudy blue sky.

KaCi , 4 months ago to Random stuff

I think this is one of the best reports about #autism in German I have seen so far. In my view it's a good way of providing information about autism for people who don't know much about it yet. It is centered around the #ActuallyAutistic experience rather that the neurotypical view of autism.
https://youtu.be/BGC0gRxHc3E?si=7KQuYtlBnWgvSMQF

JeremyMallin , 4 months ago to Random stuff

So, if I'm #ActuallyAutistc, does that mean I don't have #OCD? Or can I have both? I really think it's both.

KaCi , 4 months ago (edited 4 months ago) to Random stuff

This year I gave myself this beautiful calendar as a Christmas present. It's quite big (50x70 cm) and contains illustrations made by Kat Menschik, who also illustrated some novels of Haruki Murakami. Now I can look forward to have a new picture on my wall every month 😊

KaCi , 4 months ago to Random stuff

I am one of the #ActuallyAutistic people who have sensory issues with clothes, especially with trousers. At home I only wear sleeping trousers, but only during the day, I can't sleep with any kind of trousers, only nighties. Outside I wear leggings made of modal and I recently found out that it's a perfect solution for cold days to wear a second pair of leggings one size too big over the first one.

KaCi , 4 months ago to Random stuff

Blue hour morning walk through the graveyard with Lumi.
Good morning 🐶🌄

Black silhouette of leafless trees in front of a light blue sky and clouds.
Black silhouette of leafless trees in front of a light blue sky with clouds.

18+ KaCi , 5 months ago to Random stuff

I wish I had just one person in my life who really knows me and understands my perspective as an #ActuallyAutistic person. Just one. It's so hard to choose between being completely isolated and alone (which I almost am) and being constantly hurt and invalidated 😔

KaCi , 5 months ago to Random stuff

There's the double empathy problem and there is also the aspect that the members of a suppressed group are mostly much better to get into the mind of the oppressor than the other way around, because it's a survival mechanism. This can not only be applied to minority groups like #ActuallyAutistic people, but is also one reason why many people think that "women are so complicated".

KaCi , 5 months ago to A Community Resource for Disability & Accesibility

Imo the intersectional aspect of #feminism is very important and often overlooked by privileged people.
"I don't need a man, because I earn my own money." or "I don't need a man, because I can do X myself " doesn't include many poor and/or #disabled people. There have to be other solutions than this individualistic, capitalist approach.

KaCi , 5 months ago to Random stuff

#ActuallyAutistic people appreciate routines and sameness, which means we are familiar with "getting used to something". Many of us tried very hard to get used to "normal" things (e.g. driving a car) to the point we got traumatized and wondered why life hurts so much. So if an Autistic person tells you they can't do something because of sensory issues or other aspects of their disability, don't tell them they will get used to it.

ashleyspencer , 5 months ago to Random stuff

I got some wrapping paper for the cats Christmas gifts.

They love the experience of getting gifts. When I tell them I got them something, they sit near me and watch me open the box, put it together, and play with it when I’m done.

I used to come home and yell “Nikita presents!” And she’d come running full speed to see what I got her. After I adopted her I won her over with gifts. Gave her a toy and can of wet food. She looked at me like, “For me?? No one’s ever given me anything before!”

theautisticcoach , 5 months ago to ActuallyAutistic group

Do you use the word "Neurodivergent"?

Why or why not?

Do you think it's ableist?

If you don't use it, what word do you use?

#ActuallyAutistic #AskingAutistics @actuallyautistic

ashleyspencer , 5 months ago to Random stuff

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving when people get together with their families and cook and enjoy eating together. Usually a paid holiday for people.

I have no one to spend it with, so I’ll be by myself with the cats. My family seems to have forgotten I exist. I’ll have to figure out something I can cook or make myself.

I’ll get it the cats a can of wet cat food for tomorrow. Nikita will eat with me.

I guess this is what happens when you turn yourself into an island.

KaCi , 7 months ago to ActuallyAutistic group

It's always a difficult time for me, when the amount of thoughts in my mind impacts my ability to communicate with other people. There is so much I want to share, but I am not able to find a structure that makes it possible for others to understand me.
#ActuallyAutistic
@actuallyautistic

KaCi , 8 months ago to Random stuff

It makes me so happy to play "I love Hue too". It has many great new shapes and new gaming options 😊

KaCi , 8 months ago to Random stuff

What does it mean if you are an highly empathetic #ActuallyAutistic person and someone hurt you so much repeatedly, that you don't feel empathy for them any more. I don't wish them any bad and can't find any satisfaction in revenge, but I also don't wish them any good or can be happy for them. It's a kind of indifference and I just want to keep distance. Is this the way how healthy boundaries feel or a kind of unhealthy suppression?

KaCi , 8 months ago to ActuallyAutistic group

After decades of analysing myself and other people's behaviour I understood certain patterns, correlations and causalities. But in social situations I have the impression that I want to talk (a lot) about people or topics and most other people want to make a kind of discussion about being right or wrong and finding my and their "place" in a social hierarchy. The best base I can build with other people is kindness and dark humour but it's still difficult.
#ActuallyAutistic
@actuallyautistic

KaCi , 8 months ago to ActuallyAutistic group

What other people might perceive as obsessed with a topic or a person concerning #ActuallyAutistic people is the result of our #monotropism. We focus on one thing strongly and thoroughly to get the whole picture. It's also known as bottom up thinking and it takes time but I imo it is also a talent and gives us practice in analysing things. One reason why many therapists don't really understand what is going on in front of them.
@actuallyautistic

KaCi , 8 months ago to Random stuff

Another great Ponderful video:
Mica explains neurodiversity and other related terms:
#ActuallyAutistic
https://youtu.be/3iicSLx19pc

KaCi , 8 months ago (edited 8 months ago) to Random stuff

A clumsy #ActuallyAutistic person with motor problems and sensory issues with certain textures is making vegan sushi. What could possibly go wrong?
So smart I cleaned the kitchen before I created a complete mess 🙄
The good thing about it - I have cold delicious food not only for today but also tomorrow, which will be another hot summer day 😋

KaCi , 8 months ago to Random stuff

Although I live in a not so nice city and don't have a car, I do my best to find green areas to go for walks with Lumi.
The only "park" nearby is a graveyard.

The sun shining through crowns of trees with green leaves.
Picture of a graveyard. Only few graves on a huge lawn with many trees in soft morning light.

KaCi , 8 months ago to Random stuff

Does anyone else identify more as a witch or wizard than prince or princess since reading fairytales for the first time?

KaCi , 9 months ago to Random stuff

This video explains why altruistic people are often punished by and excluded from groups.
Interesting for #ActuallyAutistic people, isn't it?
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJsebvhD/

KaCi , 9 months ago (edited 9 months ago) to Random stuff

To me the sentence "Reclaim your shame and dress it up with love." (from the song "Too good for giving up" by Liam Gallagher) perfectly describes my experience after I found out that I am #ActuallyAutistic.
Before that happened it has been "I am still alive".

KaCi , 9 months ago (edited 9 months ago) to Random stuff

This video is so relatable. I can't count the reasons I found for me being perceived as "weird" anymore. And this is also an important aspect concerning self-Identification as #ActuallyAutistic. Many of us have been searching for the reasons why we are so different for years. We didn't just watch one video about autism and identified as Autistic.
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJpP6qGs/

KaCi , 9 months ago to Random stuff

During my 20s, when my masking has been the strongest, I described my inner experience as "It felt like my brain carried my body around like a burden." a few days after I had a stroke at the age of 27. There are several reasons why #ActuallyAutistic people die younger. Stress and masking are two of them.

KaCi , 9 months ago (edited 9 months ago) to Random stuff

One thing I learned from the communication with other #ActuallyAutistic people is, that many of us are always searching for the truth. Not only are we communicating more directly than allistic people and are mostly much more honest, but also because we put so much effort into understanding ourselves and the world that so often makes no sense to us. So one mistake I repeatedly made in the past is trying to analyse every situation and person and ... (1/3)

KaCi , 9 months ago to ActuallyAutistic group

"Why can't you just ride a bike?
Why can't you just drive a car?
Why can't you just take the train?
Why can't you keep a job?
Why aren't you successful, you have so much potential?
Why can't you just fill out this form, you are so smart?
Why is everything so challenging for you?
Why can't you just wear jeans?
Why can't you find friends, you are so nice?"

Because I am #ActuallyAutistic.

"WHAT? No, you are completely normal."

🙄

@actuallyautistic

KaCi , 9 months ago to Random stuff

So great if you are #ActuallyAutistic and have sensory issues with clothes and tags but also have motor problems, which results in not only cutting out the tags out of the clothes but sometimes also holes into your clothes or even injuring your fingers because of your clumsiness 🙄
(irony)

KaCi , 9 months ago to Random stuff

I just watched a TikTok video about object personification and they pointed out that ND people sometimes "even talk to objects" and omg not everyone does this? NTs don't talk to objects?
#ActuallyAutistic

KaCi , 9 months ago to Random stuff

Shortly after midnight I woke up because a bright light shined directly into my eyes. I got up, totally confused and realised that all the lights containing the dimmable Phillips Hue lamps were shining at maximum power. This happened because of the settings in the hue app on how to react to power failures. If you are using these kind of lamps, maybe you should check the settings too.

KaCi , 9 months ago to Random stuff

Today I put in earplugs to walk into the city to go to the drugstore (my weekly "outside" project, more is difficult), but after a few steps I realised that I couldn't bare the sound and feeling of my steps inside my body so I had to take them out. Sensory issues are complex. Using earplugs or even headphones isn't always possible. I have this sense for a reason. I need to use it without being overstimulated.
#ActuallyAutistic

KaCi , 9 months ago (edited 9 months ago) to Random stuff

Hi, I am Kaci. I am #ActuallyAutistic.
I recently learned that this probably means that my brain processes about 40% more information than an allistic brain. I don't know if that's true, but it makes sense. It's great but exhausting and if you are not autistic you have no idea how exhausting it is. I communicate differently through words and body language than allistic people. I try to camouflage this less and it feels good but it also scary. (1/2)

KaCi , 10 months ago to Random stuff

Does anyone have any idea where to find a sensory friendly, affordable apartment in Germany? I am currently trying to move back to Cologne (because my friends live there), but it seems to be impossible.
Which city/area in the West or North of Germany can you recommend for an #ActuallyAutistic female person and her cute Beagle?
If you can't help please boost.

KaCi , 10 months ago to Random stuff

You know that you have made good food, when you are eating it cold with your head in the fridge 🙂

KaCi , 10 months ago to Random stuff

Beautiful summer sky today.

Picture of a blue sky with very few clouds and the crown of a tree.

KaCi , 10 months ago to Random stuff

Stop demonizing mad people. It's white supremacy bullsh*t.

Embrace #neurodiversity.

#MadPride

KaCi , 10 months ago to Random stuff

I haven't made a new #introduction since I moved to this instance, so here it is:

I am Kaci, an #ActuallyAutistic, cis female #autigender, pan person who loves books, #StarTrek and watching the birds before sunrise. I live together with Beagle Lumi who is my best friend. I am a feminist and anarchist and my current special interests are deconstructing (neuro)normativity and becoming a vegan. English is my second language (the first one is German) so I make mistakes.