Autism Pride

Source ~ Neurodivergent_Lou

Alt Text added to each image.

Actually yes I can. Most of the time people think I am being an asshole/rude/insensitive because I use the same cadence for everything because it is the one I know best (monotone, and often interpreted as slightly sarcastic), I learned to speak mostly by mimicking my father. I talk like that because I have autism. I also have trouble determining what to say to people who are upset, and I often end up making it worse because of my low empathy, even though I genuinely care I often come off as accidentally antagonistic. (An example that comes to mind is sending a friend in elementary school pictures of cute dogs to cheer them up after their dog unexpectedly died in a freak accident. This did Not help.)

Me: your face-blind, emotionally oblivious, picky eater of a father, who has numerous niche interests and the best-organized fly-tackle-box I have ever seen, might be autistic?

My Wife: you knew?

Me: you didn’t?

My Wife: babe I’m not ok I’m having a whole-

Me: you can hear the TVs, babe.

My Wife: What

Me, pointing at the special no-flicker lighting I installed in our house so that we never actually have to have the Big Overhead Light on: babe!

My Wife: … oh my god am I autistic?

Me:

My Wife:

Me: you didn’t know!?

With a lot of effort, I was able to work up to brushing once most days. It was a struggle, I hated doing it, had to brace myself for it.

Then I mentioned to my hygienist that I have trouble actually getting at my molars with a toothbrush, and she says "you have a small mouth, you should try getting a kid sized toothbrush".

so I did

I haven't had a problem brushing twice a day since. (Okay, occasionally I only get once in, but that's super rare now)

Turns out a major obstacle in brushing my teeth was that it was uncomfortable and difficult to fit a larger toothbrush head into the corners of my mouth.

No, I don't know any

No, I only know some

Possibly, but I might get some wrong

Yes

What's that?

I can and am curious to know how common that is.

and you know what? everyone was super nice! they said the same thing had happened to a lot of people. they missed an appointment or their appointment was cancelled because of covid and they never made a replacement one.

i dont know why, but for the first time in my life i felt like i didnt have to lie to my dentist? i told them i had trouble remembering to brush my teeth but i was trying, and lately i'd actually been achieving at least once a day consistently for a little while

and you know what? they weren't mad at me for not doing it twice. they said twice is much better, and so is flossing and mouthwash, but im heading in the right direction and should get to brushing twice a day first

at my second appointment i mentioned having a hard time reaching the back corners of my teeth and the hygienist said (with no judgment whatsoever) that i have a kinda small mouth and should try getting a kids' sized toothbrush

now i can say, for the first time in my life that i fairly consistently brush my teeth twice a day. im working up to mouthwash next.

Every day we're learning more about autism, and every day more and more autistic people are being public about their autistic experiences. This is helping people recognize autism in themselves at much higher numbers than before.

i also second the people saying spinner rings, though they can be much louder (squeaky or rattly)

"How to make your autistic child brush their teeth"

"Autistic Children and Sensory issues relating to tooth brushing"

"How to get your little shit to brush his fucking teeth"

If the bristles are a sensory nightmare, try a soft cloth instead. Cloth was one of the methods used before toothbrushes were invented, although they used shit like burlap. Don't do burlap. Cotton or linen should do fine.

You can also buy natural toothbrushes made with bamboo and boar hair. I've never tried them so I'm not sure how different they'd feel compared to synthetic bristles, but they're pretty cheap on Amazon if you want to give them a shot

If even the "extra soft" bristles are too stiff, you could try soaking them overnight in some mouthwash to soften them further. This is what we did when I was growing up, and it worked like a charm. Bonus points that the alcohol in the mouthwash kills any germs stuck on the brush

If the toothpaste flavor is horrendous, make a paste with baking soda and water, then flavor it however you want with a sugar-free extract. Heck, look for recipes to make your own toothpaste, and experiment until you get something you can stand to use.

If the texture of the toothpaste is bad, the baking soda method might work better for you, or you could try scrubbing salt or activated charcoal on your teeth instead—that's what they used before toothpaste was invented. Personally, I'd recommend the baking soda or making your own toothpaste.

Different brands often have different textures, and some even have different flavors (this is especially true of kids toothpastes, which work just as well for adults), so swapping brands might help, too. I can't stand Crest, it makes my mouth feel all filmy no matter how well I rinse, but Colgate doesn't leave a weird feeling in my mouth. Also Colgate is the only brand my grocery store carries that has cinnamon flavored toothpaste as an option, and I'm a whore for cinnamon

You're probably using too much toothpaste anyway. Most people do. You really only need a dollop about the size of a pea. I smush it out across the bristles so I don't have to deal with a glob of it in one spot.

Floss if you can. That's going to do more to stop your teeth from rotting than brushing will. Standard dental floss is obviously an option, but if you're like me and you can't stand putting your hands in your mouth, try disposable floss picks or investing in a water flosser. I still hate the feeling of the floss between my teeth, but it's manageable since I don't have my fingers in my mouth on top of it. Haven't tried the water flosser since the picks work well enough for me

Try chewing sugarless gum, especially right after you've eaten. It's not perfect, but it'll help. Also it comes in a billion flavors so hopefully there's something you like in there

If absolutely none of that is helpful, rinsing with water is still better than nothing. You can mix in salt to help kill bacteria if you can handle it, but bare minimum try to do a rinse and spit.

Obviously not all of that is from my pre-modern teeth cleaning research—some is from personal experience! But hopefully something in there is useful to you