I did this but I put some of the best decor where only I can see it because most calls are 60 mins tops but I work in that space 8 hrs a day. I put fake flowers behind my monitor to boost my mood and display my degrees on a wall the camera doesn't see because I like them but callers usually don't.

TFW the coffeeshop has a cool looking drink with a long name you just know you're gonna stumble over so you practice before ordering it 🫣

youre asking chatgpt. im asking my discord full of autistic people that i keep in my back pocket. we are not the same.

Do I have an anxiety disorder or am I just carrying my parents' anxiety that was never mine

It's a great cosmic joke that neurodivergence both runs in families and gets diagnosed based on parent reports. I was diagnosed at 30 because a man who has eaten potatoes every day for 57 years and a woman who collects loose buttons decided I was a perfectly normal child.

I listen to YouTube playlists while working from home and slowly over the course of the day they go from "seasonal indie folk" to "your favourite song when you were 13". By the afternoon I hit the 2000's pop era (Jimmy Eat World, All American Rejects etc) and honestly I kind of love this for me.

My current boss helps me prepare for every interview (consultants interview a lot) by reminding me the best answer to the question "do you have experience in X" is never just "no" even when that is the truth. You're supposed to spin a related experience or say how you would do it if you could.

Me before boarding the plane: Let's goooo I wanna go whoosh Me after boarding the plane, crammed in with 150 other people, a scared dog and an upset tiny human: I remember now. The plane is the bad place.

Having a mental illness is so funny because you'll explain your thought process to someone and they'll be like, "Well that doesn't make sense," and you're like, "Right, yes, you've grasped the basic concept of mental illness."

I contacted a university disability/accommodations office for my dyslexic husband to see if he could get any of these fabled student supports. "IS HE PERMANENTLY AND IRREPARABLY UNABLE TO FUNCTION?" they inquired. Upon learning he in fact functions sometimes, they said no to supports.

True story, I was someone's workplace GPT and they got a cash recognition prize, a raise and a promotion off of my help before I un-adopted myself on the grounds they were interfering with my work. Things have been pretty steadily downhill for them ever since.

Stop using chatgpt adopt an autistic with special interests TODAY this deal wont last forever mostly cause they get overstimulated pretty fast but hey great for the environment amirite

“So, do you have any plans this weekend?” I'm just going to hang out at home. “Ah, so no plans yet.” What? I just told you my plans.

A good reminder for myself and others with ADHD: when you are struggling with it, the first step is ALWAYS forgiving yourself. So much of why we get trapped and find ourselves unable to act or change is that we get trapped in our shame and guilt spirals...

If you want to help autistic employees, pay for them to get Lean Six Sigma (process improvement) training. It's our birthright and it will pay dividends. ✌️

🏕️✨

I unlocked a little piece of healing today. I have baggage around choosing clothes to wear. Growing up I didn't get to wear what I wanted and it was sensory hell sometimes. I had one of my few childhood meltdowns over it and, later, severe anxiety symptoms, all around choosing & wearing clothes.

Linguists talk about the correct order of adjectives in English. It's a small mocha latte with whip. Any other word order sounds heckin weird. A native speaker knows this intuitively. But my brain eats language rules for breakfast 💪 especially when I'm flustered 💪💪 which I often am 💪💪💪

“Have you tried using a calendar” #ADHD

Autistic people need two types of accommodations: Type #1: Ear defenders, quiet workstations, note taking apps Type #2: Decolonized workplaces, justice for all, truly sustainable work Employers freak out about #1 and never even see #2 coming.

Employers are always handwringing about autism accommodations in the workplace and I gotta tell you: ear defenders and quiet workstations are the least of your problems. What autistic people really need is *whispers* for other people to do their actual jobs.

Normal people: "There's no wrong way to order a coffee." My autistic ass: "CHALLENGE ACCEPTED 💪"

Things I've learned to recognize as the battle cry of my trauma about to make me act irrationally again: - "I know how this goes. I've seen it before." - "They always do this" - "I knew it wouldn't work"

I did an interesting thing with my autism disclosure for this workplace. I didn't officially disclose but I reference my autism on my LinkedIn profile and it's pretty prominent: it's in my headline, in my volunteer roles, and in my posts. BUT: I technically did not tell them I'm autistic.

"But if that were true then your life would be impossible" is an entire genre of dismissals of disabled people's experiences. It's not that they don't understand when we say how hard it is. It's that they can't believe we're still functioning at all of it's that hard.

God, a thousand times this. That's the thing with dopamine being tied to task initiation - there's a set of gears that won't - CAN'T - engage in my brain, but none of my problems are with analysis. I can be fully aware of all the necessary steps, and stressing about starting, and just... not.

I have a different take on feelings than many of my colleagues in communications and change management. A lot of professionals in these fields are highly emotional and identify as highly empathetic. In their work they reach for feelings a lot.

"In the real world no one will accommodate you" is trauma talking. It's true that people aren't falling over themselves to help me but my adult life is way more accommodating than my childhood was, because adults get to make choices. I'm accommodating myself.

you can't just do your video game dailies, you need to do your life dailies too

I had to book 16 one-way flights in one sitting while I was prepping for this contract and I don't usually do that many things without making a mistake so this is my solemn promise and hold me to it: If I get through the next 6 weeks without encountering a travel fuckup I get a half day at the spa.

Autistic traveling consultant update: I hit the "stress crying on the way to work" stage of this challenge. The rest of the day went better but I just felt so overwhelmed. This consulting opportunity is giving me some great experience but it's really heckin hard some days.

Week 2 of consultant travel: sick with a cold but doing better anyway. Packing was easier. I'm staying in the same hotel each time, same type of room, and it's getting some nice routine vibes. There's a grocery store I like nearby and I went and bought some familiar foods. I think this could work.

Basically, every single person who has ever waxed lyrical about the value of exposure to opposing viewpoints has actually been talking about *you* being exposed to *their* views and literally nothing else.

Nothing makes my autistic heart soar quite like a website that tells you the exact aisle number/letter a product is located in so you can go to that store and know exactly where to find the item.

I have a morning pre-work routine I really like and I'm not naturally a Routines Autistic so I get very worried it will stop working one day. The routine: - 10 mins Pilates (good for mobility) - 15-20 mins educational video (something not work related) - Start work & do one quick task for momentum

I had an interesting conversation with my family about finding fulfilling work. I'm autistic, my dad is probably auDHD, my sister is diagnosed ADHD, my mom probably has ADHD. They look for adrenalin or "intellectual stimulation" in their jobs. I look for peace & quiet, coming down from overwhelm.

This thread is the best 💜

This didn’t just attack me, it enraged me

I don't have anxiety, I have entirely reasonable & justified fears. Other people's anxiety is caused by their unreasonable & unjustified fears 👀

Solidarity with whoever else is the only person masking on their bus/plane 😷. I have to travel frequently for the next few months and I do NOT want to get sick and I will cheerfully tolerate some side glances in support of this goal

When I ran an ERG for neurodivergent employees I had a standing joke that we should publish our ADHD Month materials in November and apologize for being late 😭

Which world religion is best or worst for autistic people? I've been thinking about this for myself. Evangelical Christianity was the worst for me. Imagining telling an autistic child their friends are going to burn in hell. "It's a metaphor" I'm 5.

I'm still living through this. I was the youngest of four, so I was usually too young for whatever everyone else was doing. If I got interested in a home reno or repair, I'd be nudged out of the way because my parents were stressed and didn't want me getting into things.

I HATE IT It's true that humanities skills are highly valuable but they are not well understood by employers. No one in a corporation is going "you know who we need to hire? Some English PhDs". You have to market those skills very carefully to have any chance & that's a whole other skillset.

We have progressed from data collection to data analysis.

I FIXED NY KITCHEN SINK ALL BY MYSELF 💪💪

Them " Autism is recent thing we didn'ty have irt prior to the 50s" Me gestures top this photo

I carried some shame and anxiety, borrowed from my mom, over whether I had enough friends to invite and whether the parties were fun enough. It was 100% masking. Your kid can just have a different kind of celebration. You can just make the call. No one can stop you.

my name is Oz and wen the stone is broke to bits and all alone i lie in sand it stretches bare you read my words you pls despair