moony 🌙

• i love how echolalia turns into play (quoting shows, copying tones, animal noises, favorite words)🎧

• i love how stimming and regression blend together like for me oral stimming with a paci🍼

• i love how routines & sameness can become part of regression

• i love how sameness doesn’t feel boring it feels safe in age re🧸

• i love how we build very specific little setups exactly how we need them & that’s what lets us relax

• i love how regression can make the world feel more predictable when everything else feels too loud or confusing!!!🫠

• i love how special interests come into regression with us

• i love how we can play by lining things up, sorting, stacking, repeating & that is real play!

• i love how parallel play feels natural for us just existing near someone safely without pressure :) age re really allows for this even in online spaces🫂

• i love how our “little selves” aren’t always fully different from our big selves but i also love when they are

• i love how we can be extremely sensitive to many things and how regression can soften that intensity (sometimes at least… lol)

• i love how certain textures can instantly calm us

• i love how safe foods can become grounding rituals

• i love how our bodies show our feelings more

• i love how some of us need more support when regressed and some don’t & neither is “better” (this goes for not regressed too)🩷

• i love how regression can be the only time we feel fully unmasked 🎭

• and that it exists as a space where we don’t have to perform

• i love how trust means everything (who we regress around, who sees us like that)💖

• i love being an autistic age regressor!

• i love that even when i get overwhelmed i have a space in myself that at times feels gentler even with big upset feelings

• i love the autism spectrum and community♾️

• i love that i have seen so many of us in age re spaces

• i love us even though sometimes it’s the hardest thing to deal with!❤️‍🩹

more newborn/baby permaregressor things (i guess part one is this post!)

this is just some ways i came to learn about my permaregession and how it shows up for me in my daily life

laying down - your go to position is laying down bc it feels nice to be laid out horizontally :) is seating provided? no thank u i'll be on the floor or couch (or bed)!

concept of toys? - u dont really know what to do with toys but just shaking them around and looking at them is entertaining enough! u like having them around but dont rlly do much with them

sense of self - theres always a nagging feeling of needing to be near someone, the entire world feels safer when youve got someone there with u (its been studied that for babies, they see themself as part of their mom/parent so when theyre apart its especially distressing bc thats like taking an arm off!)

you take on emotions like a sponge - this gets easier to avoid with practice but often u dont even notice how other people r very much affecting ur day unintentionally, being near someone in a bad mood long enough suddenly turns u sour or being around an especially happy person makes u happy! u likely stick to a certain kind of personality in others bc its stable for u (not that u cant handle an array of emotions its just a lot of intentional work to remain unaffected)

baths r the best - have you ever been interrupted during a shower or bath by a family member saying "youre taking too long in there!" well me too... warm water on ur skin is the epitome of safety, u often zone out and take long showers/baths bc it provides a special kind of mindfulness and peace u cant rlly get anywhere else

theres no such thing as a 'nap' only a mini REM cycle - yeah... u dont rlly nap cus when u do its usually for 3-4+ hours, theres no way a 30 min nap would ever be doable for u

instructions r hard - u dont rlly do well with verbal or written instructions and they dont always stick... having someone guide u thru the process as often as needed is much more doable

repetition = safety - seriously! if ur ever in a relationship with a permababy u better be ready to repeat urself in ever sense of the word! (terms of endearment, phrases, physical affection, routes u take, routines, music, etc)

emotional regulation is physical - sitting down to talk is just about the scariest thing to do... not impossible but scary! pair it with some sort of movement or soothing activity and the chances of whatever it is being talked about sticking is much higher (and the rejection sensitivity is lessened) talking about boundaries? pair it with being rocked! u or ur little one didnt make the best decision? add some deep pats to the back while explaining why that was a bad choice! needs feeling unbalanced between the two? have a cuddle/massage session while working it out!

acclimation is everything! - u wouldnt toss a fish into its new tank without letting it get used to the new water first, right? same thing for babies in new experiences! sure u can get away with it sometimes but most times? theres gotta be some preparation for it beforehand!

sensitive skin - often times stuff with fragrances irritate u so scent less products r kinder to ur skin! too hot out for a regular person? well its unbearably hot for u (ive had heat exhaustion and near heat strokes throughout my life)

sleep is hard - its really a coin toss :/ u could fall asleep the second ur head hits the pillow, u could be tossing and turning all night, u could be waking up every two hours or watching the sun rise... when it comes to sleep u need to bring out every possible "plan b" to up ur chances

talking/words in general - u can grasp concepts and words but using them out loud is mostly out of the question. its partially my autism but im semiverbal and writing comes much easier to me (hence why i like to use big words and long sentences it makes me feel like ive compensated for how a w f u l i am at speaking out loud irl)

movement - u love to move in weird ways! i love to flex my hands and arms/legs bc of how nice it feels! laying on ur back and swinging ur feet in the air, bouncing or rocking urself, taking a deep breath and holding it in, shaking ur head back and forth, the list goes on!

if one skill gets better, a bunch of others get worse - it happens to babies while reaching developmental milestones but sometimes u get good at one skill and in order for ur mind to focus on that and be good at it, it throws out the ability to do other things u normally do

def making more additions but thats all for now!