Dunkin bacon is lowkey made of car crash victims

How flat affect presents for me:

Limited expressions, I need to be actively thinking about making an expression to have it happen. Additionally, it often takes multiple tries to get the expression I intended. This isn't limited to positive expressions, I also struggle to make expressions conveying things like surprise.

Practicing facial expressions as a child. Being told my smile is "fake" by adults when they wanted a picture.

Having limited tone, I struggle to convey different emotions through my voice unless I am actively attempting. This presents for me mostly as, I will make a joke and people will think I am being dead serious. Multiple times I have made something I thought was very obviously a joke, and then someone will ask me later on if I was being serious.

Shocking teachers and counselors when I do show emotion, but also not showing negative emotions how people without flat affect do. I had a panic attack, and one of my counselors managed to walk right past me crying, because I had a flat expression despite being actively sobbing. The day after this another counselor pulled me to ask if I was ok, she said she was so worried hearing that I'd cried because I "never show much emotion".

I take selfies over and over, because I cannot get the "right expression", which has resulted in me giving up and just taking selfies with my resting face. Of course if I show someone a selfie I took, the conversation always is about how I am not smiling, and how weird that is.

Can’t get out of bed, leave the house, feed themselves, use the toilet, or perform other ADLs without assistance. I see you and you are not gross or weird or lazy or broken. You deserve a good caretaker.

Cannot communicate in any way. Like even AAC doesn’t work for you effectively, so someone else might have to speak on your behalf.

Can’t hold down a job, stay in school, or live independently.

Isn’t a savant, isn’t skilled with their special interests, or can’t do anything without immediate access to their special interests.

Has an intellectual or learning disability.

Has level 2 or level 3 autism that can’t be masked away so that you’re pretty much visibly autistic.

Has disturbing intrusive thoughts. They don’t define who you are, your actions do. You’re not a bad person for having intrusive thoughts; you can’t control them.

Experience delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking, or any other psychotic traits. You’re not crazy or scary, and you’re welcome into this space.

Dissociate, have amnesia from trauma, have gaps in your memory, have an identity or personality disorder, etc.

empathy

love

intelligence

romance

friendship

art

things that do make you human:

belonging to the species Homo sapiens

defining humanity by the things we do or feel rather than what we are is always going to exclude someone. maybe someone you care about. not all humans love, not all humans have or want partners or friends, not all humans are nice, not all humans feel empathy or remorse, not all humans make art, not all humans will make sense to you. they're still human. they're still human. they're still human.

when disabled/chronically ill people tell you they can’t do something, then that is not your cue to tell them that they can actually or that they’ll always find an excuse if they’re looking for one.

when a disabled/chronically ill person says they can’t do something, sometimes that doesn’t mean it’s outside the realm of possibility, sometimes it means if they (attempted to) do that, they will seriously hurt themselves.

when a disabled/chronically ill person says they can’t do something, sometimes it’s preventative care, and they refuse to do that thing to prevent a flare up from happening/their symptoms getting worse in the first place.

these are hyraxes! they're not rodents or canines or anything like that. they belong to their very own order known as hyracoidea. their closest relatives are elephants and manatees, and these mamas and babies have FREAKY teeth

also important to note that the

and: