[ most normal weird person ]

Do you want to see the oats I have in my pocket? Let me show you-

(oats blow away in the wind)

- having no empathy. at all

- anger issues, being easily frustrated, explosive anger, destructive behavior

- being "over emotional" and sensitive- laughing for too long or too much, being easily amused, having big meltdowns over things people think "don't matter", having meltdowns because of even being able to hear horror movies or something sensitive someone told you. you could argue this is a type of "taking things too literally" too

- being too rough. i personally throw things i mean to just put down and slam doors i mean to shut quietly

- experimental behavior (saying or doing things just to see what will happen)

- not understanding boundaries

- not understanding consequences

- not understanding that other living things are real and have thoughts and feelings and bodies

- not understanding good and bad

- not knowing how to express emotions

- expressing or feeling a different emotion than is expected

- expressing an emotion you don't feel because you have no other way of communicating

- systemwide flat affect (tone, body language, and face)

- shallow emotions (feeling something but not feeling it as strongly as is expected)

- just flat out not feeling what you're expected to, at all

- what's considered manipulation because your brain just doesn't... work another way

- self absorption. both in terms of "only i exist to me" and "i will walk into the fucking road unless someone helps me watch where i am going". something parents of autistic children often complain about is their child coming out of their room, walking into the room where they are and they say hi and the child doesn't even acknowledge them. that. not acknowledging other people or objects or your environment at all. for me it's because my brain just literally doesn't "see" stuff but also sometimes i don't acknowledge people for reasons i don't even know. if anyone else gets this and knows why you do it lmk

- impulsivity

- incontinence

- not being able to understand, interpret, or process body signals like hunger, exhaustion, or needing to use the bathroom

- dysphagia and problems with eating and talking. can result in drooling

- issues with balance, proprioception, and motor skills (frequently bumping into stuff, tripping, falling, knocking stuff over, spilling, missing trash cans, being unable to grab something, missing your face when you eat, having a hard time dressing yourself, messy handwriting, having a hard time with buttons or staying in the lines or drawing a straight line)

- atypical gaits and mobility issues (may require the use of mobility aids)

- not being able to understand sarcasm or jokes. by themselves. just sarcasm and jokes. no complexity.

the point of this post is "please keep all of this in mind when you think about and discuss autism, and when you interact with others, especially people you know are autistic."