#autistic support

if someone youre with stims, whether youre neurotypical or not, at least for me, dont point it out.

i grew up in a world where those sudden bursts of movements, those little actions, the stimming, the anything, gets you strange looks. thinking outside of the box gets you punished. i have learned to be ashamed, and have learned its against public norms (which if you violate those, from what ive been taught, youre a freak)!

im trying to break free from the mindset of “stimming is abnormal and you shouldnt do it in public” (only applied towards myself), and frankly its hard!

so even when a fellow autistic person or maybe a neurotypical points out “hey wow, youre stimming!” “hey you seem awfully happy!” “youre talking a lot today!” “you seem really fidgety!” i immediately get this horrible and burning sense of shame, even if it was meant positively!

i feel like its important to talk about not only normalizing things like these, but talking about the effects this culture has had on neurodivergent people! i feel like we need to hear from people who are still actively struggling to re-learn that its okay to be their own normal, even if it isnt societies normal.

not to trauma dump, but everything i mostly described up there was things that happened to me in the 7th grade! im a freshman in college currently, and frankly ive made very little progress in healing, which is okay! but people should learn and understand that simple things like those effect people for a LIFETIME.

you don’t automatically gotta learn to accept yourself, and that its okay to be ‘weird’ in public! it takes time and a lot of hard work, especially if its been chiseled into the deepest parts of your brain. dont bash yourself for being too shy to stim or too embarrassed in public by it, take it bit by bit!

this isnt really a complaint post because i love seeing all the positivity in these communities as of lately! but do try and be considerate of people who are still fighting their way out of that mindset! maybe take a little second to ask yourself if pointing out someones ND behavior is needed! theres still a lot of shame in a lot of people, including me, and thats an okay thing to have.

I have a very specific way of doing things. Which means no loud noises, no loud music. People can get upset and wonder why, or argue about how unfair it is they have to give up their ability to listen freely. When I tell them it's because I might have some kind of emotional episode that could lead to irritation and potential violence, their response may be something akin to "you're not that autistic" and my response to it is "doesn't matter, the tendency is still there regardless and I struggle to maintain control at that point, which is something I dislike"

No response given then is taken as acceptable. Why though is it this way? Because overstimulation can lead to emotional outbursts. Which there's only so much of it I have control over. Especially now that I've already begun the process of "demasking". But because I'm very aware of my own tendencies, I can manage it pretty well and keep myself far away from that result because I can plan for things to happen.

At the end of the day, mitigation is key. I know I can never truly get rid of my own tendencies, but I can definitely lessen the impact or potentially prevent them from happening.

Sorry to post this to my casual doodle account, but trying to get this spread around. My partner is already in financial trouble and so is my mom, I’m being spread extremely thin rn and could use some help. Everyone I love is struggling hhh

My mom has been disabled since 2013 (when I was 13) when she got breast cancer and things have only been getting worse since, she’s a stubborn little autistic woman and loves her quiet RV life and pets but things are getting hard for her to keep going, she’s completely disabled and can’t work a job, only getting by on disability checks and ssi, I am not in the same state as her, if she ends up completely homeless there’s not much I can do and I want to prevent that as much as possible.

I brought this baby back TO the US with me in the hopes that I'd find it a home while I'm here. I'd like that hope to come true if it could!

I've used the v1 of this snake design as a stim toy to carry around on my neck and a pillow to cuddle and sleep with for ages. I'm so so so excited to give someone else that same enjoyment. (A smaller rainbow version is also on there.)

I’ve been trying to research this for months but I can’t find any resources that explain it in a way that makes sense to me.

I have been trying to learn more about this community but this is a topic I just can’t seem to understand.

Sorry if this doesn’t make sense or I’ve made a mistake , I just want to learn.

(I am diagnosed autistic)

I'm gonna need a new one!

My shop isn't opened right now, but I am 100% taking one-off commissions or requests via ko-fi! (Or donations, whatever! 3€ requests for art that you don't physically get in your hands are also a thing.)

What do I even do, you ask???? Check out. my craftblr. for scoping out the situation. It's @handmadehazefromtheheart.

I am thinking of trying out embroidery portrait commissions. 🤔 Here is my only example of that so far.

And a WIP.

I cannot legally be employed where I live until December at the absolute earliest!

I am focusing on designing crochet patterns and building an inventory for when the shop re-opens, but those are very much long term reward activities. This is the only way I can make money right now.

I am reliant on the kindness of those around me right now and can only ask for so much! So I want to work!!!