#walkinredinstead

I love you. You’re amazing. You’re fantastic.

As an autist, I would like to bring to your attention how absolutely horrendous Autism Speaks is.

Favorite autism resources!

This is a demanding question because I have a lot of favorite resources! I’ll give 5 in each of 10 random-ish categories, and focus on lesser known resources. Favorites are listed in no particular order.

1. Organizations: -AAPD (American Association for People with Disabilities) -CIL (Center for Independent Living- chapter based) -DPNYC (Disability Pride NYC- they run the parade) -INCLUDEnyc -PYD (Partners for Youth with Disabilities)

2. Advocates -Finn Gardiner -Chloe Rothschild -Sara Luterman -Shain Neumeier -Morénike Giwa Onaiwu

3. Assistive Technologies -iPad -Dragon Naturallyspeaking -Smartphone (alarms, GPS navigation, calendar) -Noise Cancelling Headphones -Livescribe

4. Blogs -Stim the Line -Autistic Zebra -The Autistic Bunny -Musings of an Aspie - Not Your Neurotypical Girl/Human

5. Other Websites/documents -Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism -Spaced Out and Smiling -Ollibean -ASAN’s book about college (PDF) -The Hidden Curriculum (Judy Endow)

6. Mental Health -Talk Therapy -Psychiatric Medication -DBT skills (modified) -Dogs -Journaling/writing

7. Coping Strategies -Integrated Routines -Bullet Journal (modified) -Social Stories -Yoga -Music (playing and listening)

8. Apps -iBreathe -Spiritual Me -StudyBreak -30/30 -Social Stories

9. YouTube Channels -Purple Ella -Autistic Changeling -Jayden (An Autistic View) -Phoebe (Phee N) -B Blushes

10. Sensory Items -Swings -Fidgets -Weighted Blanket -Balance Board -Noise-Blocking Ear Muffs

ah labels my frenimy. 

labels labels labels they’re everywhere you go they’re everything you see.Some times they’re helpful but sometimes they’re harmful. They help  you make informed decisions but can also be very negative.

Please do not get me wrong I know how harmful labels can be. I’ve felt first hand how brutal people can be about them  trust me. I know what its like to be labeled but there are some that are helpful.

my youngest step brother is 8 now he’s way behind everyone at his age level and has repeated kindergarten 3 times. The school suspects developmental delays and want him in therapies and want him to get a diagnosis. His mother refuses to get him tested for anything because she “doesn’t believe in labels” a diagnosis is not just a label a diagnosis is how you get help 

I got a diagnosis finally for ASD. I have a diagnosis for Still’s disease. I have a diagnosis for OCD, ADHD, Depression, and a GAD. I have suicidal tendencies. i am working on recovering from eating disorders, I am a recovered self harmer. these are all a part of who I am and can be labels. you can not use these against me. though some of you try your hardest.

I realized that I am very very not conforming when i was probably about 10. I never wore dresses, never had a boy crazy phase. I hated who I had to pretend to be to make my parents happy. when I was 12 I started shaving my head. by 13 i was starting to cross-dress. and i knew i wasn’t attracted to "the proper sex” in anyway but friendship. by 14 I finally came to terms with the fact that I was and am nonbinary and exist outside of male and female. Now, i know I am nonbinary. I do like women. I know who i am and some people might not like it but I am okay with me and that’s what matters.

I am a person that is hyper-active.

I am a person who has had struggles.

I am a person who is both anxious and depressed.

I am a person with autism.

I am a person who is attracted to women.

I am a person who doesn’t conform to your gender roles.

you know what all those have in common?

“I am a person” 

REDInstead Selfie Day

(My shirt isn’t autism related but it is red. It’s a Panda Express parody with a Ranma ½ theme) Stereotypes how do stereotypes affect you?  The “violent autistic” stereotype has affected me a lot. I had my senior English teacher accuse me of planning a school shooting. I had a former friend say I was violent because she saw me cover my ears and rock. Neither of these people had logical reasons to believe I was violent. They jumped to that conclusion because I was autistic.

What stereotypes do you wish would go away?  I think the previous response answers this one.

16. Friends - talk about friends, friendship, etc…

I wasn’t sure whether to talk about my cousin yesterday or today, because he has been my best friend basically my entire life. 

My cousin and I are about 10 months apart in age, and we grew up very closely. He’s almost more like a pseudo-brother than a cousin. 

I’m not sure if this has anything to do with it, but I’m autistic and he has ADHD, and we’ve always gotten along in a way that I haven’t really experienced with any other friends. 

But speaking of other friends... 

I never had a ton of friends growing up. I had a few close friends that I stayed friends with for years. 

Although when I was younger, I made friends more easily and I was more outgoing. 

As the years went by and the rules of socializing became more complicated, I think I began to realize how different I was to the other kids and I became more shy. I stopped making friends with people. Instead, my friends tended to be more outgoing than me and they came to me.

In my later teens, I went through a burnout and stopped reaching out to my friends. I also didn’t have the energy to act as ‘neurotypical’ as I used to. Almost all of my friends drifted away.