I hate the expression, “you’re an adult so you must be able to *insert thing here*”

Like… some people can’t ??

it’s less about my dislike for hot and cold, and more about the desire to control my temperature like a reptile

i found someone made a mix of autism an adhd creature and it is meee /pos

edit: i found who made this guy! bashircore on the here hellsite :)

Autistic Safe Spaces

If you own a business or a restaurant that serves the public, as the issue gets talked about more, you might be wondering how you can better help the neurodivergent community. Some places try to give spaces where autistic people can go to get their needs fulfilled, so if that is of interest to you, I've compiled a list of things we really enjoy.... made by an actual neurodivergent person.

NOTE: This is list is made by an adult, for adults and teens. The needs of children are slightly different, though similar, and would surely require a different list. 1. Silence - A lot of places, including malls, restaurants, and crowded stores, are overwhelmingly loud. The brains of autistic people process stimuli differently, and we can't "tune out" sounds in the same way neurotypicals can. Silence can involve the (seemingly) obvious things, like turning down music or reducing the number of people in an area, but a lot of things are loud to the point of pain that you might not think of, including metal silverware on ceramic dishware, shopping carts, doors opening and closing, and shoes on floors. A good rule of thumb is to think about how you would feel in a space if you had a migraine. This is easier in some places than others, but accommodations such as plastic dishware, softer floors, and carts left outside can make a big difference. 2. Stillness - I call the visual category stillness and not "blankness" or "simpleness" because that is simply not what I mean. A space can still be quite beautiful while not being overstimulating. We do not want ugly things, and you can still use style and color theory and design principles, but we do want walls without too much signage or distracting detail, floors and carpets without tightly repeating patterns or too much contrast (stripes and small tiles both bug me), and a visual block from the rest of the world, where things are moving like crazy.

3. Style - Because autism is often seen as a disorder than affects children, style can often be overlooked when designing materials and spaces for autistic people (although this, I would argue, is silly; many brilliant artists are / were on the spectrum, and a child, especially an autistic child, can enjoy beauty as much or more than you), and if you have the chance, I plead to you-- remedy this. Autistic people can appreciate detail and wonder in a way that is not concurrent with anything neurotypical people do, and along with having "icks", things we find particularly distressing, we also experience "glimmers", moments of unbounded joy over (possibly) seemingly ordinary things. I feel glimmers when shown any well-executed style; I feel glimmers in office buildings and abandoned neighborhoods and driving by courthouses... any style that is significantly different from my own, and significantly committed to the bit, so to speak, is a wonder to me. If you have the money and the resources, give us beauty, give us a an area that contains classy chic lounge or a medieval tavern or a vast, well-made mural of hyperfixations you polled from your own customers... pay craftsmen to give you a 20th century train station or a heist or an illusion floor in one area that looks as if dwarves are mining for gold hundreds of feet below you. You do not need to overwhelm us with detail-- this area need not be unusually large, or contain live-action roleplaying employees, or be loud or bright or over-the-top-- but you should also take the project seriously, bring people who love what they do and will truly take this opportunity with joy and a keen eye for style. 4. Solitude - I am a high-masking individual, which means that when I am being watched, I cannot "safely" relax; if you appear distressed, people sometimes talk to you, and ask if you are okay, which is a nightmare for me. I strongly prefer small, quiet spaces where I can be alone, about the size of a bathroom cubicle (which is where I do go to decompress a lot), where I can be unobserved and alone. It is a wonderful feeling-- it doesn't need to be (and shouldn't) be a perfectly soundproof room, but just somewhere I can be myself for a minute.

5. Snacking - Being autistic is exhausting. We process 42% more information than you all, and it really takes it out of us. Lots of people on all ends of the neurodiversity spectrum people have trouble waiting long hours between meals, but when a lack of snacks could mean a meltdown... please just let us eat our own food. At a sit-down restaurant, waiting for the food and not being able to eat anything until it comes is unbearable, I just get so hungry and frustrated, while being overstimulated and masking the whole time, and on top of that, because I cannot eat gluten, dairy, or much sugar / refined carbs, the appetizers are usually unappetizing or off-limits for me, and the food on the menu itself just as bad. I don't actually get much sustenance from meals provided and / or eaten in public, and a bit of acceptance around eating a couple pecans while you wait for you meal goes a long way. This is also true in stores, especially in malls, where food sold is usually not of much value to me, but there aren't great places to sit down and eat something. And, as a side note, if you want to sell food that appeals to people with autism, think Plain, Cheap, and Childish-- I mean this with absolutely no disrespect to autistic people, but I would never in a million years eat a fancy sharp cheddar (it tastes awful and gives me a headache), but I love the shredded colby jack from Costco. We like simple mac 'n' cheese, chicken nuggets, plain noodles, hot dogs... if a fancy chef would think it wasn't real food, it probably tastes amazing to us.

In conclusion: I don't know why I alliterated this list; I just started doing it, and I liked it. Many autistic people love life and everything in it, we just can't take it in all at once. Give us beauty. Give us the silence and stillness to appreciate it. And, overwhelmingly... leave us alone :). We love our solitude.

I have just been chatting in this post (I'm sure there are spelling mistakes please ignore them lol), so feel free to add if you have more ideas, fellow neurodivergents. POST SCRIPT: If you are doing anything similar to this, please talk to autistic people before embarking on a journey like this, and take in a wide bank of opinions. Don't worry, we like to answer honest questions, and we talk quite a lot if you let us. We love you guys. You got this.

I just figured out that moshing is group stimming

I did a poll like this on amino a few years ago, and there seemed to be an overwhelmingly positive correlation between being neurodivergent & being a therian/otherkin! (I know it's not just Autism & ADHD that count as neurodiversity, but I'm really only thinking from an "impairment in understanding & participating in social norms" standpoint.)

Something like 89-90 of the 100 participants in the amino poll said they were diagnosed with autism, adhd, or both.

I'm including self-diagnosis/suspecting in this study, because I know there's a LOT of people who haven't gotten the diagnosis yet. (I just got the ADHD diagnosed in 2022, & Autism this year, myself.)

I'd like to have another study to look at, especially since I no longer use amino. I know there's some therians who have tumblr as their home base, so I'm doing another poll here.

So, please answer this to the best of your ability! I have no plans to use this data for anything- I'm just curious as a neurodivergent therian myself, lol.

constructive criticism? more like. more like if you say anything that even mildly implies I'm wrong I will throw myself off a cliff-icism. #relatable

Just curious

my brain and my mind feel different

like,

my brain is the one who gives me intrusive thoughts, my brain is the one who does numbers and logic and memory

but my mind is my creativity and my emotion

somehow though neither are really me.

Ohmygod

Out of curiosity I decided to check and see how long I've been trying to diagnose myself with autism and ADHD. I was thinking "oh it's probably almost a year haha!"

It's. Been. Over a year. Holy shit.

The first google document I've opened about being neurodivergent was on December 20th, 2022 at 1:56pm. Thats. Oh my God. I thought it would be may 2023 or something. 2022 SEEMS SO FAR ALL A SUDDEN. FUCK.

All this time and I still haven't finished so I could tell my parents 💀💀

me when there are rules in life and i actually need to take care of myself and not just go wild like an animal

Being neurodivergent and messaging (my perspective. Please feel free to add your own in comments/reblogs)

1. Anxiety (GAD)

2. Studying what people like so I have a conversation starter

3. Not being able to start/continue conversations (hi how are you? Good, you? Good…)

4. Always starting the conversations.

5. Feeling like no one actually wants to talk to me or cares.

6. Talking about myself most of the time because there’s only so much small talk that can be done.

7. OR never talking about myself in case I’m boring/annoying and only asking the other person stuff.

8. Being ghosted (HURTS a lot, cause of RSD)

9. Or accidentally ghosting others and realising too much time has passed so now it would be embarrassing.

10. Trying hard to keep in touch and realising that the other person is uninterested.

11. Missing social cues EVEN when people aren’t there/face to face/irl.

12. Feeling like a failure

13. Realising that if you don’t message people, literally no one would message you at all.

audhd bitches do you also remember a hyperfixation/interest you had forgotten about on a random thursday night and start liking/reblogging and spamming shit like crazy??

Something I'm learning is that traditional self care/self improvement advice is for neurotypical people.

Getting advice like "Just exert your willpower! Do it even if you don't want to!" Is harmful when even just getting up/ going to the washroom is difficult.

It makes me feel useless or that I'm not trying hard enough even when I'm pushing myself to my god damned limit.

Having ADHD/ and autism requires different self care/advice.

Time management stuff like pomodoro seems interesting but is so, so stressful to think about. And making lists/schedules to follow daily feels like pressure to do it perfectly, or not at all.

Making and managing my own skills/aids is challenging but it's teaching me how to manage myself and understand myself in a way i couldn't before-

Because i shamed myself for not being able to keep up with neurotypical behavior, i forced myself harder and just did more damage and pushed myself further into burnout.

Even ADHD advice doesn't always work and then autistic advice doesn't always work, so it really is trial and error and needing routine in some areas but also freedom and flexibility in other areas.

At this point it's just listening to what my brain and body needs/vibes with and catering to those needs/making accommodations for myself.

It's like an adhd autism build a bear routine

neurodivergent wakko better be canon next season

yeah i kinda stole the nd symbol from google images lmao

but heres nd wakko!! hehe

i used the nd symbol bcs: 1. i hc him as NOT ONLY autistic, but ALSO adhd, and 2. the autism infinity symbol is just a bright rainbow and the colors of the nd symbol suit him better. (plus its prettier imo)

oh, and i cant stop using this brush

and i was seeing how fluffy i could make him lol

please do not repost my art, regardless if you give credit. reblog instead! thank you!

i really wish i started getting hyperfixed on animaniacs back in march so that i had something to make something for autism month with instead of an oc ive basically lied to myself abt connecting to. yeah, the oc in question was supposed to be an autism sona but like. i just never connected to her enough idkkk sihajsj

at least i have a char to project onto in multiple situations lawl

also once again, fluffy wakko ftw

Being an adult with combined autism-adhd is such a lonely road. You want friends your age but alas you cannot socialize normally, you often regress, you don't understand social cues, you struggle to process information, and overall you're seen as generally immature. You FEEL immature. Neurotypical adults don't feel comfortable around you, they think you're weird and awkward, they don't understand you, they think you're childish. So naturally you're singled out and feel the need to run away and close yourself off.

And it seems the only people who can relate to you and understand you are teenagers because they too are generally immature. You can relate to them, they don't think you're weird, and you can make conversation about the same childish interests. And while it's nice, it feels weird. Because you're an adult and you SHOULD have friends you age. Why don't you have friends your age?? Why can't you make and keep friends your age?? You don't really want to hang out with a buncha teenagers, but it feels like you have no choice. You rather have friends than be alone. Besides, you grow to love the friends you have.

But even still, you feel singled out again, you don't fit in, you're a young adult hanging out with 16-19 year olds. You feel too old, but at the same time you constantly regress, you mentally feel like a child too sometimes. You feel stuck, you feel alone because you don't fit anywhere, and it's very painful. It feels like there's nowhere for me. I just don't want to be alone. I want friends, please. I want a place where i fit in perfectly. I find myself wishing i was..."normal".