General Autism Discussion

Oh, you're absolutely right. They're in the "let them die once they're out of the womb" camp.

The Catholic Church, at least, has opposed eugenics for awhile now.

Unnatural Vegan has kids and was ranting against someone who said they "cured" their kid's autism with raw veganism. That was fine and dandy, but the eugenic part was unneeded. The worst part? Almost no one in the comments section mentioned it. The video has barely any Thumbs Downs.

Well, no, careless veganism is bad for your health and it sounds quackish anyhow.

I meant that her ranting against the other vegan was fine. Too many vegans, especially raw vegans, have horrible diets. You can't just eat bananas all day.

Damn, I love bananas

I'm really sorry to break it to y'all, but the Nazis got away at 45 (I got it told to me several times by indie radios).^😓  A few of their bigwigs got on trial, but it was just a show to spare all the others, who either exiled somewhere else or even stayed put for a few years before rekindling their extremist flames.
I can almost say the Axis militarily lost, but culturally and socially won, as the ultra-capitalistic dreams of the far right came true in many countries and are invading the rest, constantly undermining and challenging the achievements of La Résistance.

Though, wow, aborting fetuses because they are autistic is no better than the passive genocide we are victim of. Preemptive genocide now ? How cowardly will... those people get ?
Good thing this kind of behavior won't pass, as IT/science firms need autistic talent to innovate at the speed they do, and the "autism as a difference" message is becoming seriously mainstream.

If we point out this is preemptive genocide, people will defend us in masse and will kick them out, but I'm surprised they are launching threats to our existence as widespread acceptance is coming fast, it's like some people are actively resisting against acceptance, with no reasons .
There are definitely people doing the best they can to kill us before they "cannot (for PR reasons)", and I really want those people to be publicly identified and forever branded as criminals against humanity.

I have a question: has anyone besides me ever felt ashamed of being on the Autism Spectrum? I feel this quite often and I wonder if I'm alone in thinking this.

Ashamed...kinda I guess. But really I'd say it's that I feel, not so much ashamed as frustrated at my own limits. My autism and ADHD hurts me severely. I fear I'll never be able to move out of my parent's house to live on my own despite graduating from college. I'm the only one to do so in my entire family yet I'm the 'farthest behind' in this regard.

I want to be a writer but it's a bit more difficult to do that when your brain doesn't quite work like most people's.

Its natural to feel shame occassionally, but the trick is to focus on your accomplishments. Remind yourself what you are proud of, and remember that everyone has some sort of weakness to bear.

I used to do so when I first learned I had it, not wanting to talk much about it and not wanting others to know. However some years later I grew to accept it and got much more open about it

I also felt ashamed as well since learning I had something called autism. I saw it as little more than the reason I couldn't talk at age 3 and had to go to a special "institute" when I was little. I had no clue that limited interests and difficulty learning social skills were related to my condition. I just thought it meant that I used to be "mentally retarded" (pardon the term, but that's how I saw it, and that was the proper term of the time) and couldn't talk, but "overcame" that (ha ha ha), and that's it.

The more I learned about autism, at some point, I started to not be ashamed of it but just started to accept it. I did go through a brief "pride" period of thinking "autism is superior" but got out of that, and now just see it as, well, a combination of disability and harmless difference. That society needs to learn to understand and accept. (That doesn't mean don't try to help us; it means just accept the harmless differences such as lack of eye contact, help us with our understanding of social rules and be understanding when we mess up, etc.)

Focusing on my strengths and what I have is how I get through life. Mainly, I just make jokes about everything. That's key for my mental health, lol. Also, I know I'm not as high on the Autism spectrum as others so I'm able to support others that are. I try and help children and their caregivers in my teaching (preschool teacher and proud aunt of a neurodivergent girl).

I was just recently diagnosed a couple of months ago and I'm finally coming to terms with the full meaning of it and while it's a roller-coaster, I'm lucky to have a good support system. To be honest, it's been kind of a positive thing mostly. My mom isn't so critical of me for one. Just need to give myself the same benefit of the doubt and understanding.

Wanna give a helpful hint at the risk of sounding like a cliche, video games and noise cancelling headphones are the freaking best. Finding an outlet is key. And haters gonna hate. Better to have fellow accepting weird friends than cool mean ones.

I'm looking to get a car soon. I can drive but haven't in three years and I'm a little scared but I believe in myself (and my ability NOT to run over other drivers)

Shame is not the right word in my case.

I would say I feel that my condition hinders me severely at fields which are very important for living a happy life. This will sound extremely pessimistic, I know, but thinking about my strengths does not make much difference. Honestly, I would trade all of my knowledge about history or my good memory for the ability of making friends or, more importantly, forming romantic relationships any day.

If it's okay to ask, have you ever worked with a therapist about stuff like that before?

The reason I ask, is because a lot of people (myself included) can find that really helpful. I even have a few suggestions for how to find one that will work for you.

Edited by megaeliz on Jan 30th 2020 at 6:28:13 AM

That's a sentiment I see many autistic people express. :(

Like seriously guys, working with a therapist can be genuinely helpful. They can help you problem solve, learn new coping strategies and ways to deal with anxiety, work on social skills etc.

Generally you want to look for someone who has experience working with Autistic people, and has a more concrete, solution based, cognitive behavioral type approach.

here’s a good resource on things you can look for in a therapist.

and Here’s one more talking about things to potentially consider when you are trying to find one.

Edited by megaeliz on Feb 3rd 2020 at 11:41:55 AM

I guess I used to think negatively of my autism when I was younger because I actively tried to avoid engaging with that part of my identity and didn't appreciate the implication that I should need special help or accommodations because of it. As of the last few years I've had to let that go and try to make peace with it, or at least acknowledge it. I still don't like revealing to people that I'm on the spectrum, but since my current job made that public knowledge in the workplace I've had to contend with people bringing up on occasion. It was an odd experience.

I'm also pessimistic about my ability to make meaningful relationships with other people at this point, but part of the reason is because of where I live - for US-based people, imagine if you lived in an area that went 60% trump and so there's a good chance the person around you is at best an enabler, at worst actively bad.

To be honest though, I don't really mind this too much since I still have my family (mostly my siblings, my relationship with my mother is complicated) - that mostly satisfies my need for social interaction. I experienced how acutely this mattered earlier this month when my mother and sister went away for two weeks and how dull and lifeless the house felt without them.

Edited by Draghinazzo on Jan 30th 2020 at 7:55:40 AM

I mean, I've tried to see a therapist. Problem is they're just too expensive. And if I could afford them, I still couldn't find the time.

Edited by kkhohoho on Jan 30th 2020 at 6:21:20 AM

yeah, I get it. It just seemed like important information to get out there, since it can be really helpful, and a lot of people don’t realize that.

Edited by megaeliz on Jan 30th 2020 at 8:10:08 AM

Actually, I went and still go to therapists, but it has been clearly fruitless so far. Granted, I was quite resistant to it for a while, not believing that I actually need this kind of help.

My approach to improving my social skills to find new friends or get a girlfriend changed only about two years ago, when I realised that I had to change if I didn’t want to die alone.

Edited by LordforlornII on Jan 30th 2020 at 9:31:57 AM

Do you know if there are any Autistic Adult meetups in your area?

I live in Massachuetts and I know I’ve done stuff through the HMEA Autism Resource Center.

I live in Hungary, so unfortunately no. I do go to therapy, and my therapist seems to be a competent and experienced specialist, so I do entertain some hope about this.

I didn't notice this thread existed until recently. As a person in the United States, I have been trying to find people in Real Life with common interests. Considering me and several other people have been open about Girls' Frontline in TV Tropes I've yet to see signs of the game being played by other people (aka people outside my family) in the States. Considering common interests, I heard that having real life friends benefit people like me more, but GFL is just a blip on the radar where I live.

The game even has characters in the Trope Pantheons, despite being such an obscure title in most parts of the world.

"Honestly, I would trade all of my knowledge about history or my good memory for the ability of making friends or, more importantly, forming romantic relationships any day."

I hear ya. The bad news is that as someone with Autism, this will likely always be a challenge for you. The good news is that, although it may take longer than you would like and will always be a little bit harder for you than the normative people around you, you can train yourself to do these things. Mostly, they just require practice, and a tolerance for failure. But if you make it a personal goal, and commit yourself, eventually you do get there.

Edited by DeMarquis on Jan 31st 2020 at 5:54:46 AM