Understanding and accepting Autism benefits everyone of every neurotype.

Functioning labels dismiss the struggles of Autistic people. What neurotypicals perceive as "high-functioning", is the mask that we wear that hides our true selves, feelings, needs, and struggles. By focusing on how well they perceive us as functioning, they don't see what that mask costs us.

Remember, autistic literal thinking is difficulty with meta-messages, not difficulty with metaphor/symbolism/irony/etc…

Autistic people are so often blamed and/or punished for things that were never communicated directly. I've never understood why neurotypical communication relies so heavily on coded language, nonverbals, hidden meanings, unspoken requests, passive-aggressive messaging.

This is a common confusion that leads to frustration as you try to fix the one when it's really the other. It's the difference between not wanting to do anything and not having the capacity to do the things you want to do.

This explains so many work and social situations that have gone south leaving me wondering what it is I said or did to upset people.

Ableism can present in as many forms as Autism presents.

SO many more sliders… What are your settings today?

I didn't learn that I was autistic until I was 48. When did you discover you were autistic?

Geordi La Forge says…

I've been struggling with this since I learned I am Autistic, five-ish years ago. Anyone else share in this struggle?

It took a long time to learn this one…

Seriously, though…

The sad reality for many of us trying to navigate a neurotypical world.

This is truthing like the truth has never been truthed.

That sums up so much of my life… Anyone else?

Episode 23: Would Autism Be A Disability In A World Built For Us This episode is a response to a post by one of my favorite Autistic content creators: @sensorystories.bsky.social. #TheAutisticAdoptee #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #Trauma #PTSD youtu.be/YR4n1ibJzhk

Episode 22: Tylenol, Trump, & RFK Jr. My reaction to the last nine months of the Trump administration and RFK Jr.'s assault on Autism. #TheAutisticAdoptee #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #DonaldTrump #RFKJr #Tylenol youtu.be/BW6BUE9Z8ag

Yeah… it's this stupid… Tylenol doesn't cause autism.

Please stop calling me Autistic. That is a slur. I am a Tylenol-American! (to be clear this is satire; I'm autistic as fuck, proud of it, and Tylenol didn't have dick to do with it)

Episode 21: Why Our Autism Was Missed In Childhood This episode discusses the reasons why late-diagnosed Autistic adults were either undiagnosed or misdiagnosed as children. #TheAutisticAdoptee #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #LateDiagnosis #RFKJr youtu.be/goDj9NqhvM8

Episode 20: Lockpicking - A Special Interest & Stim This episode is about about my lockpicking special interest, and a demonstration of picking 12 locks in under 6 minutes. #TheAutisticAdoptee #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #SpecialInterest #Stimming #Lockpicking #Locksport youtu.be/PJRmOABlDKs

♾️Autism & Suicide ♾️ Autistic adults are 9x more likely to die by suicide Autistic women are especially vulnerable, Black autistic women INCLUDED

This is the damned truth.

My life in a nutshell.

This is a hard topic, but absolutely an essential one.

This is absolutely the truth.

Episode 19: One Of My Special Interests & Stims In this episode, I talk about my speedcubing special interest, and give a demonstration of speed solving a Rubik's cube. #TheAutisticAdoptee #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #SpecialInterest #Stimming #Speedcubing #RubiksCube youtu.be/9jAbrqb6PuI

For autistic people, sensory issues and trouble with transitions are real.

I feel this so hard…

Episode 18: My Top 4 Autistic Communication Pitfalls In this episode we are going to explore the 4 communication pitfalls that I've experienced the most as an Autistic adult. #TheAutisticAdoptee #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Communication #InfoDumping #Oversharing youtu.be/gLpVgscTTig

Episode 17: Autistic Internal Meltdowns I thought that I didn't have meltdowns. I was wrong. In this episode, we talk about internal meltdowns and why Autistic adults internalize their meltdowns. #TheAutisticAdoptee #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Meltdowns #InternalMeltdowns youtu.be/frQ5jvpXpY8

Episode 16: The Importance Of Autistic Stimming In this episode, we delve deeper into stimming and try to gain a better understanding into the what and the why of stimming. #TheAutisticAdoptee #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Stimming #HandFlapping youtu.be/qOk0R5AWVW4

Being Black & autistic means your pain is dismissed, your needs are ignored & your meltdowns are criminalized. Intersectionality isn’t just theory… it’s lived in every diagnosis & every missed opportunity ✨

Truth.

This is eugenics.

Autistic behaviors like stimming, no eye contact ( I struggle with that so bad ) or not following instructions aren’t threats they are traits 👌🏽 but how society interprets them depends on race! For white autistic people they are seen as symptoms but Black autistic people they are seen as defiance

Misreading autism as aggression gets Black people hurt 😞 a meltdown isn’t a threat, stimming isn’t defiance but for Black autistic people, these can trigger restraint, arrest or worse MURDER we need to protect Black autistic lives ♾️

Episode 15: Skills Regression In Autistic Adults In this episode, I talk through how Skills Regression has affected me as an Autistic adult. #TheAutisticAdoptee #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #SkillsRegression #DevelopmentalRegression youtu.be/VVbRwvc2OYI?...

Episode 14: Autistic Meltdowns Autistic meltdowns are often confused for or conflated with mental breakdowns and/or tantrums. In this episode, we explore the differences between the three. #TheAutisticAdoptee #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Meltdown #Breakdown #Tantrums youtu.be/5iVfYhM_v-E

I keep cycling between 3 and 4.