What is there even to do here? I feel lost, and I am unwilling to try guesswork and try to go blindly into any new communities.

TheChemist [he/him]@hexbear.net · 1 month ago

What is there even to do here? I feel lost, and I am unwilling to try guesswork and try to go blindly into any new communities.

AssortedBiscuits [they/them]@hexbear.net · 1 month ago

Just say you’re autistic or have autism. In general, people also frown upon the low functioning/high functioning distinction.

@[email protected] has a good comment about it:

Last bit as an fyi: I know that you meant no malice by it but it’s worth mentioning that the autistic self-advocacy community frowns upon categorising autism based on “severity” or “functioning” because this pathologizes people who are more unusual or who are more obvious in their autistic traits and it also conceals the fact that lots of people who appear to be very capable of expressing the “appropriate” tone, who use body language as expected, who reciprocate in communication, who navigate social interactions gracefully, and who conceal or suppress their stimming behaviour are often the people who, behind closed doors, struggle deeply with the challenges that come with being autistic. Not to make this all about me but I’m high masking, I’m reasonably smart, and I have been completely fascinated with communication and social interaction since childhood so if you met me in your day-to-day life or at a social function (depending on how much effort I’m putting in) you probably wouldn’t notice that I’m autistic. Too many psychiatrists and professionals didn’t see it in me either. Put me next to a solid third of the faculty at your university of choice and I’d say that you would notice more indications of autism in them than you would me. But with that said, I face significant challenges due to being autistic that can make day-to-day living extremely difficult. Also I will 100% be constantly: chewing gum, cracking my knuckles often, rubbing the tips of my fingers together or running them against certain textures, and my toe or knee will be jiggling. But because I’m not rocking in the fetal-position or flapping my hands, it isn’t obvious that I’m stimming in four different ways so I’m able to socially pass. But if I spent 30 seconds flapping my hands? That’s immediately going to make people think that I’m “more severe” or “lower functioning”. Hence why that framing is frowned upon.