Me, Often Called A Vulcan By My Family: ...

Me, often called a Vulcan by my family: 👀... 🖖🙄

Autism culture is identifying with autistic coded characters, but as soon as someone who is not neurodivergent says "Hey you remind me of *insert autistic coded character*" getting very uncomfortable

.

is it weird or normal to have a shutdown instead of a meltdown? like i’m talking about them overlapping and shutdown taking over meltdown kind of thing.

for example, i’m in a highly distressing situation, either in class, the store, on a trip or anywhere else where there is lots of sensory input, changes, new things and people.

rather than starting to pace, hit my head, scream, punch things and cry my brain goes into shutdown and reboots to avoid a meltdown, and i go into non-verbal autopilot mode until the reboot is done and it feels like i’m starting on a clean slate. zero viruses detected.

so is that normal? i don’t like meltdowns because i can get violent, so shutdowns prevent that, so is it like a coping mechanism or something?

also is referring to my brain as a computer system strange? media and the society overall seems to view autistics as robots and many autistics don’t feel like it’s accurate and rather offensive. but my brain has always operated like that.

Shutdowns vs meltdowns are completely normal and individual. Many (not all) Autistics will also switch from physical meltdowns to more internalised ones (shutdowns) as we get older.

We may not even have meltdowns or shutdowns until life circumstances pitch us enough difficulties to cause one. And some never have them at all.

And yes, I think of my brain like a computer system, too! So all normal!!

He had buzz cut before he woke up, too... I wonder if Quaritch requested that. 🤔

There was no fucking reason to make his avatar THAT attractive. 😤

Source ~ @/autisticamente_marcela

Original Text:

The pathological medical model defines #Autistic play as inappropriate, restricted, and repetitive with DEFICITS in imagination, imitation, symbolism and joint attention.

A paradigm that focuses on deficits rather than strengths.

In this context, playing "appropriately" means playing with toys exactly as a typical child would play with toys.

When an autistic child plays in an unusual way, it is considered "inappropriate play." In other words, "it's different, therefore it's bad."

It's not that autistic children don't know how to play. There is no correct way to play. Play is play.

Autistic children's exploration and interaction with the world is outside of society's understanding, and just because society doesn't understand the value of doing things a certain way, it doesn't mean it's wrong.

There is nothing wrong with lining up toys. 🦒🐖🧸

There is nothing wrong with spinning the wheels of a car. 🚙

There is nothing wrong with playing with nature. 🌱

There is nothing wrong with playing with a cardboard box. 📦

Autistic play is appropriate play.

Autistic children are not broken versions of neurotypical children. Same thing goes for autistic adults (we exist by the way 😉✌️). #Autism is a natural part of the spectrum of human diversity... and diversity is beautiful.

We learn, interact and play AUTISTICALLY.

-Autísticamente Marcela 🚙 🦖 ⚽🚂

Publicación en español:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=459514795536353&id=100044335094112

[Image description: an illustration of a child smiling and sitting on the floor while holding a stick with a leaf. The child is surrounded by a display of toys and other household items that have been lined up in a curved row (a piano, a cardboard box, a bucket & pale, a stuffed bunny, a wooden train, two plastic cups, four colored markers, a broom, a toy dinosaur, a hat, two Christmas tree ornaments, a vase with flowers, a toy bus, a potato head, a pop it, a spinner, a book, a boat, a panda bear, a rattle, a number block, a beach ball, a stacking toy and a Peppa Pig). A thinking bubble above the child has a smiley face.]

How would one go about finding out how high ones support needs are? Is there some kinda test you can do to check if you're too lazy to do something or just lack the spoons or something?

There aren't any tests to determine one's support needs. Support needs are determined by how much help is required to get through the day.

This includes:

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) such as showering, dressing, eating, toileting etc

Communication abilities

Physical requirements (mobility aids)

Mental health requirements

Schooling needs/after school needs

And more that aren't coming to my mind at the moment.

A low needs person still needs help in many areas. They just can complete most tasks with little to no help.

Moderate needs will need prompting in many areas and help, but is capable of some independent tasks.

High needs will require daily help in most areas most days.

Now, I'll start with the important notice that high needs individuals can have good days where they don't need much help. This never invalidates them as a high needs person.

Low needs people can have bad days and need more help than usual. They are not high need, however, and shouldn't speak over high need voices.

And every mix in between.