Pete Wharmby is one of our favorite neurodiversity
Neurodiversity is the diversity of human minds, the infinite variation in neurocognitive functioning within our species.NEURODIVERSITY: SOME BASIC TERMS & DEFINITIONS Neurodiversity is a biological fact. It’s not a perspective, an approach, a... More advocates and consultants. We are happy to support his work and recommend adding him to your personal learning network.
Here’s a thread from Pete on autistic
Autistic ways of being are human neurological variants that can not be understood without the social model of disability.If you are wondering whether you are Autistic, spend time amongst Autistic people, online and offline. If... More stressors that we here at Stimpunks
Stimpunk combines “stimming” + “punk” to evoke open and proud stimming, resistance to neurotypicalization, and the DIY culture of punk, disabled, and neurodivergent communities. Instead of hiding our stims, we... More very much relate to.
20 reasons why I (an autistic person) am stressed pretty much constantly…
A thread… 🧵
#autism #experience #autismacceptanceAcceptance means training mental health service providers to look at autism and other disabilities as a part of a person's identity, rather than a problem that needs to be fixed. Acceptance... More1. Nobody ever seems to say what they mean, so I end up having to guess all the time but as I overthink them, the guesses are frequently wrong #autism
2. Everywhere is too noisy, and much of that noise is totally unnecessary. It takes up loads of my brain’s processing powerThe 20th Century political scientist Karl Deutsch said, “Power is the ability not to have to learn.”I quote this statement often, because I think it’s one of the most important... More. The combination of loud background noise and conversation is particularly bad. #autism
3. My brain, probably cos of ADHD
ADHD or what I prefer to call Kinetic Cognitive Style (KCS) is another good example. (Nick Walker coined this alternative term.) The name ADHD implies that Kinetics like me have... More, doesn’t know how to relax so I find myself never getting real down time to gradually recover. It’s layer over layer of stress, like sediments creating continents. #autism
4. The temperature is always uncomfortable. It’s either too hot or too cold and my autistic ass isn’t able to regulate it so I always feel bleurgh. Only solution is cool moving air on my face. #autism
5. Every social interaction has the potential to go awfully wrong. Either some kind of miscommunication or misunderstanding, or a full on argument, because I can’t do conversation automatically – it’s all on manual and fails so often.
6. I’m too burned out from years of maskingMasking is exhausting. Utterly utterly draining. I’ve had people say to me many times over the years “But WHY are you so tired? What have you been doing?” and I’ve... More to be able to do my career anymore, so I’m trying new stuff and it’s really scary. #autism
7. I am petrified of criticism due to how it makes me feel. Its so severe that I avoid any interaction that could lead to it. This is called Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria and it sucks. #autism
8. My brain rebels whenever I am asked to do anything, with an immediate reaction of ‘no way,’ no matter how beneficial the thing might be. I have to do everything in my own time which is a nightmare for actually getting things done. This is Pathological Demand Avoidance
Demand Avoidance Phenomena (DAP) is a neutral term for Pathological Demand Avoidance, which is sometimes conceptualised as an autism subtype. There is much ongoing controversy around the construct. In this... More
9. I absolutely need a set steady routine and anything that disturbs this can make me very unhappy, as my routine is the one thing staving off total stress. #autism
10. Sometimes my interests, which generally act to keep me happy and grounded, just disappear and no longer work in that way, leaving me totally at sea. That’s actually happening at the moment. #autism
11. If I have disclosed being autistic then I tend to get more patronised and spoken down to in a way that never happened before I was diagnosed. #autism
12. It is assumed that as I’m autistic I will have some amazing savant-like skill and I do not. This is irritating. #autism
13. People insist on making small talk all the time. I hate it, as its such a weird
"Weird Pride Flag" by Ferrous and Autistamatic Be proud of what you are.We’re weird, and we’re glad we are.Weird Pride Promo 2021 Autistic Pride is inconceivable without weird pride, and... More little verbal dance that I don’t understand. It’s talk but neither party is at all interested in the meaning of the words. #autism
14. People insist on using telephones and I have a severe phobia. I can’t make phonecalls at all and struggle to answer them too. This causes huge problems. #autism
15. My executive function
Executive functionThe psychological ability to get things done.Autistic Glossary – AMASE Executive Function (n) is a set of cognitive processes that help us self-regulate so we can effectively plan, prioritize,... More is broken, meaning my ability to plan, prioritise, organise and order things is pretty bad. This makes trying to survive very difficult, especially when self employed. #autism
16. I forget everything, all the time. I don’t forget information much but I do forget to *do stuff*, pretty much constantly. This can cause problems with relationships, in work and elsewhere. I’m always dealing with the consequences of this.
17. Everything in the world is made for non-autistic people, meaning that all autistic people are immediately at a serious disadvantage. This is exhausting and depressing. #autism
18. I am painfully aware of rates of depression, anxiety and suicide among autistic people, which makes everything feel much harder to bear. #autism
19. I am constantly afraid that I have upset someone, at some point, somewhere and it makes me miserable. #autism
20. Non-autistic people don’t appear particularly interested in improving things for the sizeable autistic population, which is a constant source of annoyance and sadness. #autism
Now bear in mind all of that is from a cis white male. Throw in any further intersections and the situation gets much more difficult. This is a pretty low level of stress compared to some.
Originally tweeted by Pete Wharmby (@commaficionado) on July 19, 2021.
I, Ryan, relate to every single reason, but especially this one:
I too burned out of my career, and now I’m trying something new with Stimpunks. Scary indeed.
