*Insert Tagline Here*

Wake up, y’all! It’s 8 AM Thursday morning and I’m in the mood for a quick and simple giveaway. :)

Just reblog or reply with your favorite color for a chance to win a stim toy pack containing: 

1. Set of 3 phone cord bracelets

2. Chewable necklace (suitable for your chewing style - light, moderate, aggressive or mixed)

3. Mystery Stimtastic item

All of the items will be in shades of the color mentioned in your entry. 

Details: 

Enter by reblogging or replying with your favorite color.

Drawing will be held at noon Eastern Time on Friday June 8th. 

Open to all followers worldwide.

10 random winners will be chosen Friday afternoon. 

If you win, you must have a way for me to contact you via Tumblr or message the Stimtastic Tumblr when you see your name announced as a winner. 

Stimtastic pays all shipping costs. 

One entry per person please.

From what I understand, scripting with social anxiety is typically due to fear of social situations and a desire to be prepared for these situations. Scripts will be used to help ease fear in social situations. 

With autism, scripting is more about difficulties with verbal speech. We often struggle with verbal speech and find pre-scripted words to be easier to use. There isn’t fear or anxiety involved like there is with social anxiety but rather these words are more comfortable or natural for us to use or help fill in the gaps when we are semiverbal. 

-Sabrina

Social Anxiety is also called Social Phobia. It is explicitly a fear of consequences - I don’t know how to behave, and I am afraid that they will hate me because I do something wrong.

Autism social deficits are about not understanding social interaction, but not inherently include fear - I don’t know how to behave, and I am confused because I did something wrong.

Scripting for social anxiety is done to avoid the consequences of the anxiety. Scripting for autism done to facilitate the interaction.

While it is true that both types of scripting help with both fear and with facilitation, what differs is the intention behind the script.

This is important because sometimes the social deficits of autism cause social anxiety, as is the case with me. Some of my autistic social deficits become social anxiety because I have learned to become afraid of the consequences if I mess it up.

Another way to tell the difference is to determine if you are having intrusive or obsessive thoughts, and what about. If you are having those thoughts, and it is about only making the script perfect then it is probably because of your autism. If it is because you are afraid of the consequences if you don’t script it right, it is probably social anxiety - even if originally the script was rooted in your autistic traits.

It can be hard to distinguish between ADHD and autism at points due to the overlapping traits. However, there are distinguishing factors that help make the determination as to whether it is one, the other, or both. 

The main aspect of ADHD is attention issues. While someone with autism may appear to have attention issues, the appearance of these issues is usually due to too much sensory input distracting from the matter at hand or auditory processing delays that may make it seem like someone isn’t paying attention. Meanwhile, with ADHD, attention is the core issue. An ADHD person will have great difficulty focusing on material that is not of interest to them regardless of circumstances and may be able to hyperfocus on things that are of interest (though autistic people can hyperfocus as well when it comes to special interests). It is the inability to regulate attention that is the distinguishing aspect of ADHD.  

For autism, the main diagnostic aspect is social difficulties. While people with ADHD may have social difficulties as well, the core issues are very different. For an ADHD person, social difficulties typically come down to impulsivity and attention difficulties that may lead to speaking out of turn or struggling to follow along in social settings. For autism, on the other hand, social difficulties derive from a lack of understanding of social rules and conventions. An autistic person may have difficulty knowing when it is their turn to speak because we can’t feel the natural breaks in conversation while an ADHD person may speak out of turn due to impulsivity. Autistic people tend to struggle with knowing what is and isn’t appropriate to say while an ADHD person may say inappropriate things due to impulsivity. The social aspects may appear similar between ADHD and autism, but the reasons for social difficulties are very different. 

The following are some more differences between ADHD and autism taken from this post:

more ADHD than autism:

impulsivity 

getting distracted

constantly forgetting what you were just doing or thinking

being unable to sit still ever

hyperfocusing randomly

hyperactivity

losing every object. always

forgetting plans and appointments and everything really

addiction to distraction and entertainment

more autism than ADHD:

sensory hypersensitivities

sensory hyposensitivities

the bliss that stimming is

the overwhelm of sensory overload

auditory and visual processing difficulties

trouble with verbal communication

trouble with nonverbal communication

being unable to figure out social rules and conventions

relying on sameness, rules, schedules and rituals

As a note, ADHD people may have sensory issues, but sensory issues are not a part of ADHD and would be a comorbid condition while sensory issues are inherently a part of autism. 

I hope this helps!

Except… they don’t.

Do you really think that every doctor spends years learning about every single disease, disorder, or whatever? They would literally never graduate. Ask any psych student how much time they spent actually learning about something like autism. Like, the actual number of concrete hours they spent studying autism.

What I do have to do is take the core requirements, which include general psych classes that might give me two full days of note taking in a lecture. Maybe double that if you include developmental disorders in general. Maybe double that again if you include all the therapies commonly used on autistics - ABA, occupational therapy, speech therapy, etc.

So maybe 32-48 hours total time? On all things autistic? Because that is going to give me such a good over view of a complex neurology. Yep, yep.

I’m pretty sure I spent that much time in the first week of my self-acceptance learning about autism.

A similar thing also happens in education where people think teachers (especially special education teachers) have so much training in disabilities (particularly autism). Your general education teachers, depending on their state, may be required to take one class on disabilities (New York only requires 1 class and it has some of the strictest teacher certification requirements in the US). And that is the most basic crash course type class because not only do we have to cover the developmental disabilities (including autism, ADHD, and the learning disabilities), but also mental illnesses, and your most common physical disabilities as well as info on deaf and blind students, if you’re lucky. I got exempt from this class because my advisor didn’t see the point of me taking it when I am disabled myself and my on campus job was tutoring fellow disabled students in French and Arabic. Plus I got experience during practicum and student teaching. The most people typically learn in this class is that people first language is the only thing that should ever be used along with other things I like to call “fluff language”. Often I find the abled bodied/neurotypical teacher candidates say that the class was “enlightening”. These are the people with little to no previous exposure to actual disabled people.

i have 3, count them THREE master’s degrees in education, two of which focused entirely on disability, and all from super legit programs.  95% of what i know about Autism came from research i did on my own, fostered by you lovely bloggers, leading up to and centering around my self diagnosis. i have the privilege of knowing for a fact that my research methods are super legit because i’m both a trained professional in disability related stuff and a hardcore and published scholar IN AUTISM AND DISABILITY …..but you absolutely don’t need my kind of credentials to feel valid in your self-diagnosis. i’m telling you straight up i would honor anyone’s self-diagnosis in spite of my over-education….because i know first hand you all are just as capable, because you are your own experts in yourselves. I have that institutional “proof” that my self-diagnosis is golden, but because of my experience i can also vouch for the fact that that institutional “proof” is in no way necessary for a good self diagnosis. it’s just symbolic capital (see Bourdieu)

How to make a glitter jar like the one in the GIF

Materials:

a jar with a lid (I used a pasta sauce jar for this one but any size jar works)

water

glitter glue, any colours

dry glitter, any colour (optional but cool. Also I don’t know if it’s actually called dry glitter but it’s the powdery glitter that doesn’t come off for ages if you get it on you)

silver metallic paint

something to seal the jar with when you’re done like duct tape or glue

Steps:

1: completely empty and clean out your jar before you start

2: fill the jar about two thirds to three quarters full with water

3: add glitter glue and dry glitter (if using), mixing it as you go until you have reached your desired colour and glittery-ness. The one I made is mostly blue glitter glue with a bit of gold glitter glue and some red and silver dry glitter. How much glitter glue you add is up to personal preference but the more you add, the stronger the colour will be as the colour of the liquid the glitter is immersed in is dependent on the glitter glue

4: add the metallic paint. There wasn’t much left when I made my jar so it’s not too obvious but the metallic paint is what gives the streaky effect when you spin the jar. Like in step 2, how much you add is up to personal preference but I personally think it looks really cool.

5: when you’re happy with what you have, put the lid on and seal it so the jar doesn’t leak when you shake it

I’ve actually written a long-form piece that details various ways to meet each criteria for autism, DSM Criteria for Autism Explained. I’ve copied over the social criteria explanation below. For more information on how many criteria you need to meet, check out the full article. 

DIY Stim Toy

Materials: - silicon trivet (I got mine for $2.49 at Aldi’s) - keyring (optional, I used a flexible one)

Instructions 1. Hold the trivet and decide what size piece you want to stim with.

2. Use a ruler (or the cardboard from the wrapper) and make lines to cut along.

3. Using scissors, cut along your lines to the shape you want, trim any uneven edges when done.

4. If you want to add a keyring, you can incorporate any pre-made holes in the trivet into the section you cut, or you can use the scissors to cut a hole to put the key ring through.

Note: I included pictures of the second Toy that I made, which is a small strip slightly wider than my thumb, and was the perfect size to attach to my keys!

Image descriptions under a read more for easier scrolling:

Hey everyone!! you guys seemed keen on a tutorial on how to make a more subtle/gender neutral pendant out of the @stimtastic gem bead necklace. so here it is!! i’m sorry if the instructions/pictures aren’t clear enough, message me if you have any questions!!

things you’ll need: • stimtastic’s gem bead necklace • a loom band* (or otherwise small elastic band) • a long needle (i used a needle felting needle so i’m not sure if there are any alternatives?)

*this isn’t completely necessary, it’s used to secure the bead. however you could just tie the string. i prefer the loom band as it’s slightly squishier/matches the chew texture more.

NOTE: this is quite fiddley to do, people who struggle with hand eye coordination/fine motor skills will likely struggle with this!! see if you can get someone to help you doing this! also worth mentioning that this pendant is able to be chewed w/ back teeth.

with all that out of the way, let’s get started!

STEP 1: start off with the original necklace. untie the small knot inside of the clasp, and slide the clasp + beads off the string.

STEP 2: grab your needle + string, find the middle of the string and push the needle into it.

STEP 3: get your bead and and push the needle + string through until you reach the other side of the bead. (fair warning that 1. you will probably puncture the string but it’ll be fine so don’t stress if there’s a stressy rip noise 2. needle felting needles have ridges through them therefore increasing grip so i don’t know how a smooth surface would work 3. this will probably take a few tries)

STEP 4: use your fingers to pick at the string peeping through the bead hole, until you have enough to pull a decently sized loop. take this time to pull either side of the string to make sure your bead is centred.

STEP 5: thread your loom band through the string loop. created a slip knot with the loom band by looping it inside itself. (to be fair i can’t exactly remember how i achieved this but the idea is to create a ball on the end which will prevent the bread from falling off) keep looping and twisting the band (it was trial and error for me so i’m really sorry i can’t explain it) until it’s created a ball.

ALT FOR STEP 5: tie your string into a simple knot and tighten it. (i prefer the loom band as it’s more compact and the rubber consistency triggers my gag reflex a lot less)

STEP 6: slide your bead as close to the ball/knot as it can get. rethread your clasp onto the string & re-tie the knot so everything is secure.

STEP 7: give yourself a pat on the back, congratulate yourself on your craft, put on your necklace and look amazing!!!!

i hope you found this helpful! message me if you have questions, and make sure to tag me if you try this yourself! i’d love to see if it worked for you guys! ( @stimtoybox !! )

[image descriptions:

1: a plain white background with stimtastics gem bead necklace on it. the necklace consists of 3 horizontally threaded beads in the colour order of black, burgundy, black. the string is black.

2: a light skinned persons palm holding the string from the previous necklace, displaying the small knot holding the clasp onto the string.

3: the same palm, this time showing one of the roughly cut “gem like” black beads, and a long needle felting needle.

4: the same palm, holding the needle pointing into a loop made by folding the string. the needle + loop are pointing towards the bead.

5: the palm holding a black bead, now with the string fully threaded through it to form a loop on the other side.

6: fingertips belonging to the same hand, are holding the loop of string. the loop now has a smaller rubber band threaded through it.

7: fingers holding the bead and showing how the previous rubber band had been repeatedly looped until it formed a ball.

I have access to automatic speech, but not conscious speech.

For example I might see a dog and say, “Puppy!”, but by the time I’ve gone through I want to pat the dog, to pat the dog you have to ask the owner, the owner is over there, I should say please, I want to say to the person over there “Can I pet your dog please?” I can’t figure out how to get the words to come out of my mouth.

I have access to prompted speech, but not unprompted speech.

For example, if you ask me what book I am reading, I might be able to tell you it’s Bridge to Terabithia, and it’s good, but if I see you sitting across the room and want to tell you what I’m reading about I will not be able to initiate the conversation.

I have access to planned out speech, but not spontaneous speech.

I have to memorize what I’m going to say and how my mouth is going to move to say it, before I say it.

I have access to speech but it’s mentally exhausting. 

OR

I have access to speech but it’s physically exhausting.

OR

I have access to speech but it’s physically painful.

OR

I have access to speech but I have to attempt talking many times before the words actually come out of my mouth.

I have access to speech, but only scripted speech.

This can be because I don’t have access to new words, or because I don’t have time to create new words and log them and run them through filters (not even necessarily filters of “is this polite” but filters of “is this actually true”) while carrying on a conversation, or because other people’s words are more comfortable then my own.

Most of what I say is a patchwork quilt of scripts pulled out of the scrap bag of my brain and hemmed together, actually.

Scripted speech isn’t necessarily bad or noncommunicative, and there are different levels of scriptedness from “kneejerk response” (“How are you? Fine”) to “looking for scripts that fit what I’m trying to say and splicing them together”. (I sometimes create scripts in advance specially for specific conversations with specific people. That is definitely not noncommunicative.)

I have access to speech, but not the words I want to say.

“Make no because the thing is curtaining” I say, unable to do grammar entirely, hoping someone will turn off the light. When I looked for pictures of light in my brain, I found a picture of light filtering through curtains, and “make no” means “make not exist”. Communicative, but damn hard to understand. 

A side note: it is cruel to make someone in this state use proper grammar or polite phrasing before you acknowledge what they have said.

I have access to speech, but not communication.

This can contain some or none of things above, and it’s hard to talk well about. What I can say is:

-A lot of it was taught to me by therapy

-For a long time, and still now sometimes, people labled uncommunication as real communication and real communication as uncommunication

Not all autistic people will experience all of these speech patterns, but the opening post is a useful resource for those of you trying to write dialogue or work out how your character communicates.

The last point by stimmyabby, “I have access to speech, but not communication” may be a little confusing to some of you. It made me think of the following example from my life:

I find tag questions very difficult, especially when asked by strangers or people in authority. I am not able to answer tag question accurately because they often require contradicting the asker and I can’t work out how to do this. This means that I can end up verbally agreeing with the asker, even though I want to say the opposite. For example:

Doctor: Your symptoms are much better now, aren’t they? Me: Yes

I was seeing a doctor for a review appointment and had symptoms that were getting worse, but because he framed his opening question in this way, I was not able to communicate this. He did ask me additional questions, and I was able to use speech to respond to his questions, but I was never able to communicate the problems that I was having (or that I was having problems at all).

This is just one way that I find myself with access to speech but not communication. I don’t know if it is the best example to illustrate what stimmyabby meant; there are many other ways that it can happen.

Oh my god, what have I found. Well, they call it a Tangle RXZ Bling?  (UK Amazon link)

but the best part is - it has SPIKY SECTIONS:

✦ADHD is not a personality quirk

- some things that tag along with ADHD are:

        ~sensory processing disorder

        ~executive dysfunction

        ~poor fine motor skills

        ~sensory overloads (that lead to meltdowns)

        ~sensory seeking (self stimming)

        ~hyperfixations

        ~moderate to severe memory problems

        ~Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria- is an extreme emotional sensitivity and emotional pain triggered by the perception that one is being rejected, teased, or criticized. The emotional response is complete with suicidal ideation and people suffering from RSD often get misdiagnosed with serious personality disorders. RSD is only seen in people with ADHD and the emotional sensitivity/reaction is much more severe than that of a neurotypical person.

✦Some other “fun” ADHD things! 

          ~inability to regulate emotions

          ~no concept of time

          ~noticeable public stimming (resulting in stares from neurotypicals) 

          ~no impulse control

          ~insomnia

          ~listen but cannot absorb what is being said 

          ~no volume control 

          ~increased inability to focus when emotional

          ~difficulty stopping a task and transitioning to the next 

          ~social anxiety

          ~higher levels on generalized anxiety

          ~extremely forgetful 

          ~”all or nothing” mentality  

@ neurotypicals- some things to be aware of: 

- you cannot hyperfixate. only people who are neurodivergent can hyperfixate. please don’t use that word when describing your latest obsession :-)

- please don’t stare at neurodivergent people who are stimming in public

- be respectful of those who actually need fidget toys so they can subtly stim in public 

- if we forget something you tell us it is not because we don’t care, we just have a million other thoughts racing through our mind and no way to filter through them. 

A friend shared this new shop with me*, and while I haven’t bought anything there yet, I think it’s worth sharing, because it’s something new and different in the sensory market.

I haven’t bought anything from them yet, but a lot of their products are different from what I’ve seen before. I also like the idea of higher quality sensory items that might cost more, but are better made, will last longer, and have available information about how and where they’re made.

The best things

Lots of wooden products! I love wood.

The jewellery section is lovely, and I especially like the comfort egg, that’s like a wooden version of half an avocado you can rub like a worry stone. (Comfort egg necklace is AU $39.)

Sensory friendly clothing for adults! In a very cool style.

Lots of different products

[Image description: Photo of a comfort egg pendant on a necklace cord, sitting on a wooden surfact. The pendant is made of dark wood, and is shaped like half an egg, or half an avocado. At the wider end, it has a circular indent, like an avocado when the seed has been pulled out.]

Things that you might not like

High quality products cost more money than run of the mill products, and a lot more money than a lot of stuff on ebay. (I don’t think they are overcharging for anything, but so many of us are on a tight budget.)

The shop is split into “kids” and “adults”, and a lot of the stuff in the kids section would definitely appeal to some adults.

One common exchange for people with auditory processing disorder is:

Person: *talks*

Me: What?

Person: *starts repeating themselves*

Me (cutting the other person off): Oh! *answers*

If you identify with that exchange, particularly if it happens a lot, you may have APD. APD is difficulty understanding spoken speech. Some examples of how if may affect people are as follows:

Similar words may sounds identical, like seventy and seventeen

Not being able to hear the person next to you due to background noise

Difficulty recalling things you’ve heard

Difficulty understanding and recalling the order of sounds or words. 357 may turn into 735 or elephant may turn into ephelant

Difficulty following spoken directions, particularly multi-step instructions

Easily distracted by background noise

Difficulty with word based math problems

Difficulty following conversations

Difficulty learning the words to songs

I hope this helps!

What is Autistic Burnout? a guide from Autism Women’s Network

Signs: • Lack of motivation (hard to care about goals when everyday life is overwhelming) • Loss of executive functioning abilities (decision-making, organization, etc.) • Difficulty with self-care • Easier to reach overload or meltdown • Loss of speech, selective mutism • Lethargy, exhaustion • Illness, digestive issues • Memory loss • Inability to maintain masks or use social skills • Overall seeming “more autistic” or stereotypical • May have period of high energy before collapse

Causes: • Passing as neurotypical / suppressing autistic traits • Doing ‘too much’, too much stress • Aging: needing more downtime, having less energy • Changes, good or bad (relationships, jobs, living arrangements, belongings, environment, routines…) • Sleep deprivation, poor nutrition, dehydration • Illness • Sensory or emotional overload

Strategies: • Time • Scheduling breaks, managing spoons • Leave of absence • Stimming, sensory diet • Exercise • Massage • Reminders and supports • Routines • Better environment/job/etc. • Boundaries, saying ‘no’ • Dropping the mask/façade • Solitude • Absolute quiet • Creative projects, passions, special interests • Paying attention to reactions and your body