I'm so proud of my boy and how smart he is! I've been having a lot of #SelectiveMutism days because of my #AutisticBurnout I'm experiencing since my father passed. Because I've been mute for a few days I realized I was having issues communicating with my boy Birger. He knows hand signals for things like sit, down, stay, up, etc, but redirecting him and getting his attention I realized I was depending only on vocal commands such as focus or using his name. This was proving to be a problem so I reached out to my trainer and asked for some advice on the matter. He suggested with the focus command that I add a clap or whistle, something I could do that wasn't verbal related. So because I had some words today we worked on him coming and focusing on me when I whistle. And it's working! He went under the couch today and I didn't know where he was. I whistled and he came right out to me and looked at me! Praise and treats were given of course, im just so proud! It's only been a short training session of this and he gets it! #ServiceDogInTraining#ServiceDogHandler#MothersDay#DogsOfMastodon#MiniDachshund#Dachshund#Autistic#ActuallyAutistic
I am constantly feeling overwhelmed. I can't believe there are people who struggle the same as I do in situations like floods and wildfires, or trying to stay alive in places like Yemen or Syria or Gaza.
"The real understanding for me, years now in the making, is that a tree in blossom is more than the fruit it yields, more than its own fleeting beauty. It is a network, a living system of relationships."
We've been sent a huge questionnaire from our daughter's psychologist about her childhood and we are meeting with them in a few weeks time for an in depth interview.
There's some suggestion that she may be #autistic and this has played a major role in her troubles over recent years.
I'm suspending judgement because I don't know enough about the subject and Internet research on #autism in adult females isn't particularly helpful. I'm leaving this one to the professionals
I tried being kind to myself and allowing myself to be half an hour late to work, as I was tired and still overwhelmed from yesterday. It didn't work out though as just as I arrived at work I had a big migraine and had to come home. Migraines are so strongly linked to overwhelm. It's like they're just another release valve for not coping with sensory input.
This account of a teenager & his family is heartbreaking 💔.
Families raising kids who have violent meltdowns struggle to find support. Kids like this are acutely vulnerable to the influence of anyone who is kind to them & any group in which they find acceptance. For those of us who experience meltdowns, learning to understand & manage our overwhelm & the eruptions it leads to is a lifelong journey. For most of us it’s full of failure & shame. Where & how can we find acceptance & love? How can we learn to be gentle with ourselves?
I think many #autistic folk, especially those of us who grew up undiagnosed & unsupported then raised similarly undx, distressed, overwhelmed & volatile autistic kids while unable to find help, would shudder with recognition at elements of this tragic story.
You’re not walking around consciously choosing what to pick up. You don’t choose. You don’t decide. It sticks like a crumb you accidentally stepped onto. Like cat’s hair. Good luck trying to get rid of it: while cleaning one, you get three more. Sometimes some dry out and fall off. You don’t choose which either.
Phrase here, intonation there, a bit of smile from that one, a funny move from another…
I wonder, if someone who has known you some time ago, meets you again in some years, and then meets some people from the same circles - how long does it take to tell those you’ve been interacting with most during those years by how they’ve grown into you, by spotting in them all those new things you’ve become.
When a mimic is put into a safe environment where it doesn’t have to mimic anymore to survive - what shape does it have?
For some reason, it seems to me, it won’t be neither any established form nor an amorphous blob, but rather some chaotic combination, multidimensional exquisite corpse, of various elements flickering between each and every form it has ever taken or observed
And to demand it to show its true form is to take it out of the safe environment
MCAS (particularly when combined with being autistic) gives you the ability to smell everything which sounds like a superpower, but I can assure you is absolutely vile.
Thankfully my new meds seem to be really helping. Ian opened a new packet of lightly scented dog poo bags last night and I didn't immediately eject them from the house, so I'm calling this progress! :ablobcheer:
Part of the mutual aid activism training I did with many new activists, over 3 decades, sometimes solo teach-ins & sometimes collab teach-ins - always included training several folks to work in relay teams to spot/document possible state agents/agent provocateurs & how to kettle & remove them from crowded protests & active large blockades. It's ESSENTIAL proactive training. There's always state agents & also right wingnuts who try to infiltrate big activist movements.
#Autistic#activists are best at training to spot state & #fascist spy agents in midst. It's because of high level of natural #observing skills. Patience with focus. Ability to be detached from emotional pulls. Few other reasons but these are some of the reasons that autistic activists, like me, do well with this type of movements work.
Tweet shared to the FB group Feral Neurodivergent Raging Meme Posting and now here with you. I’ve been down and this was the first thing that made me laugh today. I hope it makes you laugh too. #actuallyautistic#autism#autistic
Do allistic people really need constant interaction with others? In person? It sounds horrific. I lived with other people for years. Often they want interaction. That's just brutal for the autistic mind isn't it? #Autism#autistic#neurodiverse#lgbtqi#ActuallyAutistic
@bookstodon@bookwyrm
If you read large print or dyslexic font paperback books do you prefer this to be indicated on the cover (say on a banner at the top) to help you identify the accommodation?
I compiled a quick poll based on different perspectives I've read.
➡️ Please consider sharing to help me reach more readers.
@bookstodon many months ago I received feedback that some readers disliked how I labeled my large-font edition of Late Identified #AuDHD workbook. So I could do better, I asked.
The majority that participated reported they wanted the accommodation labeled on their paperback in a visible way.