#buneasy

Day 3 of #autismacceptanceweek!

Sensory Issues!

This includes Sensory Seeking, Sensory Avoiding and Stimming for Sensory regulation!

Autistic people can be sensory seeking or sensory avoiding individuals.

Seeking usually means enjoying bright and colourful things and loud sounds. It also applies to tactile sensation seeking; like being very open to hugging people, using weighted blankets and even putting things in mouth that prolly shouldn't go in the mouth.

Sensory avoiding is more about being sensitive to sounds, sights, tastes and textures. Wearing sunglasses when going outside, using ear muffles to block noise and preferring blander foods are good ways to prevent over stimulation.

Autistic people can be seeking and avoiding at the same time. In my instance, I hate bright lights but I listen to my music pretty darn loud. This ties into sensory regulation which can involve stimming; a repetitive motion which the auty might or might not be aware of doing.

Happy Good Friday!

It's also Day 5 of my #AutismAcceptanceWeek!

Boundaries can be both mental and physical laws you and your friends should apply to!

Autistic people can have trouble understanding boundaries if they're not made super clear. This ties in with not understanding social cues and social norms; one thing works in one scenario so it should work in another. But it often does not.

E.G. An auty is asking a new friend about some personal stuff and its making the friend uncomfy. The auty has other friends that were fine answering similar questions. They'll keep asking questions until they receive a negative reaction or a boundary is made clear.

The same can be applied to physical affection. The auty may be comfy hugging their relatives, so they think it's okay to hug anyone. This of course can be pretty dangerous depending on the person receiving the unwanted affection.

Autistic people might also have trouble understanding their own physical and mental boundaries. They might accept or receive unwanted affection because they believe it's the right thing to do. They might tell people their personal info because they think it's good converse.

Day 4 of #AutismAcceptanceWeek

Masking

Not physically in this case, but please keep wearing your masks until there is no trace of this pandemic left.

Masking is what most autistic people do in social situations. It's sometimes known as chameleoning too! The idea is to blend into a group by guessing what reaction the person they're talking to is after.

Understanding social cues is quite difficult and may require observing a group in real life or even in media to figure out the right responses to certain situations. This can lead to the auty using awkward phrases that might not fit a mood they can't pick up on.

Whether successful or not, masking can be exhausting on any autistic individual and once they are some place safe, they may experience a meltdown or shutdown. They may even over-analyse their conversations of the day to see what they did right or wrong.

Happy Easter guys!

And this also brings an end to my #autismacceptanceweek

Bree's special interest is bunnies, and I thought it'd be perfect way to end the series on a bunny pic for Easter!

Special interests are kinda self explanatory. They can be a temporary or constant fixation on pretty much anything. From physical objects like planes, to TV shows, to animals or characters. It's a form of adoration that just creates so much joy and comfort!

Some special interests can be short lived but super intense! I'd say this is more common in media special interests. If the auty can't constantly access new information on the special interest; like a show has ended with no news of a continuation; the infatuation may dwindle.

The special interest may be so absorbing that it becomes an integral part of the autistic individual. It may be used in part of a grounding method to help calm someone down from a sensory overload. It may also be the cause of an overload, if the interest is taken away.

Day 6 of #autismacceptanceweek

Sensory overload and being overwhelmed can cause meltdowns or shutdowns in autistic people.

When an autistic person is at their limit, within a new area that is too bright or loud for them to handle; or put into a social situation that causes them to panic; they may lash out and cry out. There is a desperate need to get out of the situation and somewhere safe.

Alternatively, they could go into a shutdown. They can become unresponsive, locked in their head. This can last for hours until they have had the time to process everything that has brought their whole world to a stop.

My meltdowns are very similar to panic attacks. I can often feel when one is coming on, and then panic trying to stop it! My fiancé helps by breaking my panicked train of thought with something funny or bizarre. If he is not around to help, I listen to loud music and stim.