It cannot be said enough times: autistic people are people. We're human beings. With human rights. Just like allistic people. We just can't help being a bit different, but we shouldn't be penalised for our differences (although we often are). 💚✊
I like the "we have more of a social disability" and we are prone to getting co-disabilities like Depression, Anxiety, OCD and more, its a very good way to see it! I cant work, i am categorized as disabled, and some people around me is like "Oh but you're not handicapped? You could easily get a good education, you have such a bright head on your shoulders!" or "You should just be working with animals, i bet you would be really good at that" but they don't count in the reality we live in. I have to tell them that i *am* "handicapped" and that i actually live up to the requirements of special treatment, and that i *do* have a bright head on my shoulders, but i cant get through an education on the same terms as everyone else, and my problem is that they cant give me the terms i need in university for example. I also cant afford to study, and after i study i cant even work. I have been "deemed" to be able to work for a max of 6 hours a week after a long year of experimenting with amazing workplaces - this means that no one, will have me realistically, even if i get through an education, my reality is that i cant work that much and no place would hire me. It would be a waste of resources. That's a hard truth for a lot of people, but it is the truth i have to live in every day, and i am coming to acceptance of this, i am okay. I *can* study some here and there, i still need to get through some basic education as i was lost early on in the school system. And i can try to pave my way up to a formal education, which is a goal for me, but it is going to be paid for with our own money, and it will be taken in a phase i am okay with. We are thinking of trying Japanese 0-B after summer as i am roughly at a C level already. CONTEXT: (In Denmark we have a healthcare system and a social security system that financially helps people "on the bottom" to be able to rise up again or at least live a good life. We actually get paid money while we study, this is called SU, it is designed to support young people moving out for the first time and the check is on about 804 Euro before taxes. If you don't have a job you can get a check to live for, this check depends on your age, for me "above 25 and handicapped" it is 1649 Euro before taxes. I have been on this check for almost 10 years while figuring out what my diagnosis was. This check is a bit more then the SU, and i cant financially support myself with the SU, that is why i "cant afford to study" you can get some extra financial help, but its not enough for me, as an adult, living in a bigger apartment, and needing the money for my special foods, items or other aid i might need. I am now finally done being tested and have been moved to a permanent disability box this doesn't mean i cant "get better" and get out of it, but it means that if my work ability stays low, i wont have to fight the system anymore. The check i am going to get now is even more money, around 2279 Euro before taxes. So you can see how to me, i cant go anywhere near down to the SU check if i have to live an actual life. I'm turning 29, and i want to just live, have a dog and a cat, maybe get a child who knows? Also i am somewhat aware that the word "handicapped" is not used in English anymore? People prefers disabled? I hope I don't come across as rude when i describe myself as handicapped, it is simply because that is the only word we have and use for disabled people here in Denmark. We don't have "disabled" but we do have "handicapped" and its not a bad word or anything. My partner said this: i am SO handy, i needed to put a cap on it 😎)
Your voice IS helpful. In your videos you are kind, sweet, understanding, empathetic, informed, compassionate, and open. Glad you're out here representing us.
@@Autistic_AF I was going to ask, with the clean energy conferences - it sounded like you might have been presenting a kiosk for one of the researchers / vendors? If so I think the PR practice is and will continue to pay dividends with the work on your channel.
@@carbon1479 Thanks dude (everyone here is ‘dude’ - where’s my car reference). Not manning but interviewing. Yes, I think you’re right, similar skills overlap. Appreciate you noticing. Thanks, Mike
I know a guy that autistic in Canadian Military. It's the perfect environment for him. Strict routines, he knows what expected of him, he doesn't need to communicate back and that is highly discourage anyways and he has formal ways of reporting to superiors. Mind you he's not soldier, he's does IT and Communications. He said it's autistic dream job.
Good morning,what a nice surprise to have something to watch while making sarnis for school. Very informative and well thought out, a good one for the people in my life that seem to think that I'm imagining the kids Autism will just vanish if we ignore it, even though they are officially diagnosed. Excellent as always Mike. 😊
Lol, as if it just "Goes away" as you age. I have a 9 yr old nonverbal son in school. He was being bullied by his math teacher in 4th grade, really badly. Next Nex Benedict style bullying. I just found out that she was the teacher in charge of his recent autism screening, where he went from "extremely obviously autistic" to "zero to minor symptoms of" ASD. A non-verbal student, requiring assistance to communicate AT ALL, was deemed "no longer autistic" by a teacher actively bullying him. I've changed his school from the "EC" school, thats supposed to be inclusive and made to be better for these kids, to his younger brothers school. He is back to LOVING school, is doing much better AT school, and I am so very grateful for it.
We are not different species out of space. (Although we feel like that sometimes)We are humans as everybody else on this planet What strange 🤔 questions ? Hilarious 😂
Well, actually, autism can get worse *or better* or feel subjectively different during or after pregnancy, breastfeeding, hormone treatments, and/or menopause. It certainly can change in various ways when our hormones (and sleep patterns) drastically change. Personally, I am AutDHD, and together with my shrink I had to pull down my dose of methylphenidate recently, because one of the side effects, anxiety, had got markedly worse after my estrogen levels had settled to the new, much lower normal. Having dropped my dose from 36 mg to 20 or 30 mg per day, I feel much calmer again. YMMV of course, and please don't anyone alter how you take your meds without talking to your health care personnel first! Neat video, as always ❤
I feel like my ADHD is a bit worse now I am offically 40+, for whatever reason, and the energy I have for "acting normal" is at an all time low. It all seems to take more out of me than it did when I was younger, and my strategies for "coping" are getting more onerous than they used to feel. That is why I am so happy I found this YT Channel when I did, it came at just the right time for me, I am happy to have been here at the very start. Hearing all your comments is really helpful.
@@Autistic_AF Oh yeah like… a lot, I mean it’s a resource for finding friends who are able to understand you because it’s so prevalent in the community.
Ah, interesting! I thought maybe it would be a culture autistic people could gravitate to (different persona, literally masked!) - but also those suits look physically uncomfortable and restrictive!
@@Autistic_AF Full suits and but people use partial suits and just modified clothing or something like kigurumis that at one piece pajamas with their sona. That and you don’t have to be one of us, the only way to really kill your popularly is to be an outright bigot and stand by that. We have all chosen to be outcasts if other outcasts join us we are more than happy to have them.
@@Autistic_AFthere’s an entire fursuit community that does their best to make those suits as sensory friendly as possible. Inside the suit isn’t the scratchy faux fur backing, and as much as possible, there’s vents and breathability built in
6:09 - Trauma, stress, anything that eats bandwidth for masking will of course mean that our traits will come out more than they otherwise would. I still remember a lot of times in my late teens and early 20's I'd have bouts of involuntary mutism and where my eyes would sort of do the Howdy Doody thing because the juice for keeping all of that regulated was gone. I had a Nutrasweet / Splenda / Ace-K allergy as well which I didn't know about and the effects of that were going pale, sweating, and talking a bit like Scooby Doo (thankfully no one thought it was a cocaine comedown - it looks a lot like that).
Oh cool, I was woken up by my kiddo earlier and couldn't get back to sleep! Glad I have something awesome to fill the boredom. Interesting topic as well! 💜
I would disagree about autism getting worse with age. Demands (at least for me) are so much higher than they were in school. And I feel that I’m just exhausted from masking for so long. But that is certainly a different experience for everyone.
I recently had a first date with a girl I got to know through a dating app, she’s autistic just like me only she was only just recently diagnosed and I was diagnosed as a small kid. I really like the dynamic since she had one of those fidget toys and she saw I needed something to fidget with and those small things really do make a difference to me.
Since being diagnosed in my early 40s I also stopped giving AF! Just putting things into perspective, the diagnosis really helped me start focusing on me, instead of pandering to others.
3:05 - I hear the getting older thing is a both and. As you correctly noted the pressure to be 'just like' people you'd never want to be like has a lot to do with being forcibly packed in with random people. The age issue I hear often from people is that sensory issues get worse with age and endurance for masking drops.
Damn, and I here I was thinking mitosis is the way to go... oh well... Jokes aside, my manifestation of autism IS a learning disability, because I process information in a way that I can not tell what part is more important than the rest, so unless I can memorize it all (or my memory takes care of the pruning after the fact), I can not consciously hierarchically structure i.e. prioritize, and therefore summarize information, I also have issues with memorizing sequences, especially if their order is important. For me, the process of memorizing is an all or nothing affair, so if there is a lot to learn, unless it's a special interest, I can't keep up with people who can compress it down to learn it that way. However, this is a far cry away from being an intellectual disability. If it's a special interest, I can give anyone a run for their money in one eight of the time it took them to acquire a skill. Case in point: language is my lifelong special interest, I'm not a native English speaker, and English isn't even my first foreign language (I was fluent by eight months old in my primary language and learned German just watching TV during a summer break at age 8 to the same level of proficiency I am using English to express myself now). "But, you can't be autistic if language is your special interest!" You might think so, if you mistakenly believe that language and communication are the same thing. Language is the tool of communication. The aptitude with which I am able to acquire a language much easier than the average person doesn't change anything about the fact that I still have the same communication issues in every social aspect as everyone else with ASD does.
Well said! I truly wish that my primary school had picked up on how proficient I was with language. Apparently I first started reading at age 2. If I had been encouraged rather than ostracised I could have started learning another language at 5 and if I had had the opportunity to develop the skills I would have been able to make a profession for myself.
@@tracik1277 Oh they haven't caught me either. Someone diagnosed as a child with Asperger's told me I should look up autism 3 years ago and here I am at 38. I was employed a total of two years, each of those opportunities had me translate (and had me perform other things on top of translating I was bad at, social things).
@@Autistic_AF I see, thanks! Terminology is a nightmare, especially for an international audience! It differs from country to country what they call things. Just today I saw a video where the guy said that according to the CDC, vision impairment is a disability too, regardless what level, but because of how widespread the accommodation for vision correction is, it isn't considered that by most people, so you have a schism between what the book says, and what people think.
18:29 - I'm in the US but one of my life-long special interests has been UK drum and bass, especially Goldie and classic Metalheadz and Blue Note stuff. I'd assume a lot of these guys - Goldie, Source Direct, Photek, Matrix, Optical, etc. are 'neurospicy' although probably more in the ADHD direction but their work speaks for itself.
That is the big thing I learnt, that it presents in culturally unique ways. So stimming can look very different depending on the culture they are coming from. Grew up on electronica in the 90's, not surprised given how soothing I found certain compositions...I can't be the only one who'd have a specific part of a track on repeat for way longer than I care to admit just because that specific set of notes would feel good.
4:27 note that ADHD can actually go away, about 10% of people diagnosed with adhd as a child lose the symptoms as a adult because the symptoms where caused by delayed development of the frontal lobes
Hello, this is the second video I’m watching of yours and I already wanna go out on a limp and say you’re probably the only autism focussed channel I actually like because you don’t baby talk and deminish things. A lot of other channels make me feel like a child which I do not like.
Thank you so much for your accuracy from one autistic person hyperfocusing on this topic to another (I'm sure like so many people who watch your channel). As I learn more for myself and my music therapy clients from across the pond and periodically see your content, it all checks out and is thoroughly researched and gently delivered. It's so much easier to have a better handle on understanding myself, and having accurate resources is extremely comforting. Thank you for the attention to detail and being such a credible source!
I got by masking.....then things happened and it seemed less useful to mask and force the societal conversation. Kinda seems a lot of others seemed to have arrived at similar positions in their own way. I was happy to live a quiet life far from it, mentally editing out that I was probably on the spectrum in some form, happy to be called a hermit or an oddball..... Have you read much about Simon Baron Cohen's work? He did a symposium in 2016 at EPSIG UK on the evolutionary perspective of autistic traits....It was an interesting to see them speculating on non-clinically presenting groups and there ability to function in society, how times have changed. edit. I keep trauma dumping, I'm sorry about that. I'm curious about the stress levels other neurodiverse folks experienced over the last few years,?I'm unsure why it's left such a long jaggered mark from my perspective.
Thank you Mike and Gibson (and Google's algorithms) for today's video. 😺😺 'Do allistic people...' is giving me 'do autistic people...' results. 'Do neurotypical people...' does have results like meltdowns and sensory issues. One result that's come up is 'do neurotypical people exist'. 🤣
Can autism get worse with age? We now know my late grandfather (born in 1909) was FOR SURE autistic. All of his children are, and a lot of the grandchildren. I can attest that certain autistic traits were significantly increased in intensity as senility set in.
as someone who has searched the "does autism get worse with age?" i think it was more to do with my abilty to mask my traits had become to much (late diagnosed audhd) rather than the autism actually being worse. i also met a lot of people with a similar story
❤ Regarding the title, if not, we have to go back perhaps to the stork and cabbage patch to explain how our Apple kids fall under the Apple tree. Not sure how it happens….🥹 The stork places the Apples under the Apple tree perhaps. Not sure what was going on in the cabbage patch but the imagination is running a little wild now.😽😹 On another topic, trauma would seem likely to exacerbate challenges generally. Also being pressured to live lifestyles or in environments that are uncomfortable or even harmful would do that. Thanks Mike for steady explanations and easy to listen to voice. 🙏 😊
OMG, MICRO-FIBER! Does anyone else feel like EVERY fiber is scratching against their skin with micro fiber? (Also, sorry Mike. I know you check these comments. I'm not trying to annoy you. I'm trying to increase your comment count, while also commenting on the specific statements during your video that I can relate to.)
Yesss!! It really gets to me! I wear rubber gloves while using them now and it’s no problem at all! (Something I wish I knew before!). Don’t worry, you aren’t annoying me haha.
This is going to sound really odd - but I’ve started wearing my scuba dry gloves for car washing - with the liners so that I don’t get clammy and sweaty inside them! I know, I know!
First off: Gibson 😻 would be a nightmare for me to have as a pet. (Goth = only black clothing). Izy (my own house panther is all black). I speak sarcasm fluently. All the time. Sometimes, however, it is a tiny bit more difficult to pick it up from others. Don't know why. 🤷♀️ I don't know if autism gets worse with age... it's a fluid thing. Stress is an important factor. So are hormones. I, for one, suspect I'm in peri-menopause right now, even though I'm only 40. But there are some symptoms that trigger my sensory sensitivities a LOT more. Sweating (the absolute HORROR, ewwww). Or muscle aches. My mood also fluctuates a lot more. More (internalized) meltdowns, etc. Thanks for the video. 🙃🖤 Good one. 🤘 - X Sara
Schools that could support autism may be like a safe environment to make struggling autistic more ready for society and the public needs education about autism because I think most allistic people not gonna care without being told. I think we also need more autistic speakers who could deliver messages to the public like you, argument like autism is a disease or something is damaging to the autism community.
Can we join the Army (Military in general). There are plenty of us in, provided, you're not diagnosed at the time of entry. But they won't kick you out for it once diagnosed, well not for being Autistic. But a the higher level of risk exists for things you might be discharged for i.e.. Mental Health. Living that life now...
A note about paradoxical reactions. Not sure whether it's because I have ADHD, but coffee (even tiny amounts) gives me massive brain freeze, as in I can barely function; also alcohol affects me rather like a stimulant.
I hated music for the most part up until I turned 27 I’m 29 now and the only reason I started listening to music is cuz I needed help relaxing after having a panic attack. Still having things that stress me out so I do occasionally listen now
The part about learning disabilities confused me. I was diagnosed as a child and told that autism was a learning disability by both my doctors and my therapist. It affects my cognitive ability. I was sure it was classified in that way.
Can yes. May is a lot more difficult. The whole persuading someone to be your partner thing... without a good support system that's where the difficulty curve becomes a vertical wall. Autism and CPTSD in tandem make that a shitshow. In terms of non-verbal communication you're already in the uncanny valley, your needs to avoid sensory stimulus will create barriers by making conventional social environments difficult to operate in and create self presentation ick factor for the conventionals, and unless you can find a regular dedicated shared interest crowd creating social bonds is prohibitively difficult.
I've always had women chasing since my early teen years. My issue was I didn't notice till hindsight. I always knew they interested till the games started which I didn't understand. Why say your interested then act your aren't interest. To me that just meant move on not show my love through chasing them.
Out of curiosity, I googled the can “autistic people have sex” thing not because I didn’t think they have sex I mean clearly they do considering that they even exist in general. I was wondering, if autism affects it in any way, like is the experience different from Neurotypical people? Or is it the same?? Idk lol dumb Neurotypical asking 😅
Thanks Mike, thanks Gibson!🤍 🙏 Fun video! Here's a question for the community: who thinks David Attenborough is actually part of the Allistic community? I have a strong suspicion he might not be, even if he doesn’t realise it himself.
If autism can't get worse with age, I'm living proof that ADHD can. My "attention battery" got about as terrible as it gets, and then when it's empty my brain literally can't function anymore and I have to lock myself in my room, against my own will... I also can't even fkn watch a movie or whatever anymore. And that's not because I spend hours watching TikTok, I literally don't have it.
Im acoustic lol. I'm a musician and all of my instruments except one are acoustic. I'm autistic and I find the term acoustic funny. But I have the musical frame of context that leads me to think its funny. I don't like autistic being used as an insult. It bothers me greatly.
Reclaim the term! I agree though; up until very recently - acoustic references music, not autism. It bothers me that autism is used as a slur; especially when it’s not even remotely correct!
I know Hitler could have had autism himself and he fought in ww1. But that was before something autism was really understood or every around. Also I know Hitler was suggested to have autism or probably being on the autism spectrum by a psychiatrist in 2004.
Also I have no idea why these questions even exist. We are human right? Why do they view us like we are a different species, heck maybe not even a different species as every other animal that’s multicellular can breed.
36 yr old MARRIED AuDHD'er. I have two kids, one is clearly autistic. I drive all the time, and my AuDHD gives me a bit of a driving superpower. I used to ride motorcycles, A LOT, and I currently daily drive a 2016 Mustang 5.0 6-speed. EVERYTHING gets worse with stress. This includes Autism. I will disagree with you on whether it is a learning disability. My reasoning is a little angry sounding, but its from a defensive POV because of my son. U.S. Marines is almost exclusively psychotic, damaged autistics looking for reason in an unreasonable world. Prove me wrong. (This POV is based on a childhood friend. A true psychopath, a Marine, and both of his parents were severely disabled.) I hope this was in any way useful to somebody, somewhere. Have a good day, everyone.
Out of curiosity, I googled the can “autistic people have sex” thing not because I didn’t think they have sex I mean clearly they do considering that they even exist in general. I was wondering, if autism affects it in any way, like is the experience different from Neurotypical people? Or is it the same?? Idk lol dumb Neurotypical asking 😅
It cannot be said enough times: autistic people are people. We're human beings. With human rights. Just like allistic people. We just can't help being a bit different, but we shouldn't be penalised for our differences (although we often are). 💚✊
Exactly right! 🧡
Yes. Autism is how we process information and not disease.
I gave my girlfriend Autism
@NutsNBolts-fv9kx no you didn't
"Do autistic people have empathy?" We have empathy but lack social/cultural context.
I like the "we have more of a social disability" and we are prone to getting co-disabilities like Depression, Anxiety, OCD and more, its a very good way to see it!
I cant work, i am categorized as disabled, and some people around me is like "Oh but you're not handicapped? You could easily get a good education, you have such a bright head on your shoulders!" or "You should just be working with animals, i bet you would be really good at that" but they don't count in the reality we live in.
I have to tell them that i *am* "handicapped" and that i actually live up to the requirements of special treatment, and that i *do* have a bright head on my shoulders, but i cant get through an education on the same terms as everyone else, and my problem is that they cant give me the terms i need in university for example. I also cant afford to study, and after i study i cant even work.
I have been "deemed" to be able to work for a max of 6 hours a week after a long year of experimenting with amazing workplaces - this means that no one, will have me realistically, even if i get through an education, my reality is that i cant work that much and no place would hire me. It would be a waste of resources.
That's a hard truth for a lot of people, but it is the truth i have to live in every day, and i am coming to acceptance of this, i am okay.
I *can* study some here and there, i still need to get through some basic education as i was lost early on in the school system. And i can try to pave my way up to a formal education, which is a goal for me, but it is going to be paid for with our own money, and it will be taken in a phase i am okay with. We are thinking of trying Japanese 0-B after summer as i am roughly at a C level already.
CONTEXT:
(In Denmark we have a healthcare system and a social security system that financially helps people "on the bottom" to be able to rise up again or at least live a good life.
We actually get paid money while we study, this is called SU, it is designed to support young people moving out for the first time and the check is on about 804 Euro before taxes.
If you don't have a job you can get a check to live for, this check depends on your age, for me "above 25 and handicapped" it is 1649 Euro before taxes.
I have been on this check for almost 10 years while figuring out what my diagnosis was. This check is a bit more then the SU, and i cant financially support myself with the SU, that is why i "cant afford to study" you can get some extra financial help, but its not enough for me, as an adult, living in a bigger apartment, and needing the money for my special foods, items or other aid i might need.
I am now finally done being tested and have been moved to a permanent disability box this doesn't mean i cant "get better" and get out of it, but it means that if my work ability stays low, i wont have to fight the system anymore.
The check i am going to get now is even more money, around 2279 Euro before taxes.
So you can see how to me, i cant go anywhere near down to the SU check if i have to live an actual life. I'm turning 29, and i want to just live, have a dog and a cat, maybe get a child who knows?
Also i am somewhat aware that the word "handicapped" is not used in English anymore?
People prefers disabled?
I hope I don't come across as rude when i describe myself as handicapped, it is simply because that is the only word we have and use for disabled people here in Denmark. We don't have "disabled" but we do have "handicapped" and its not a bad word or anything.
My partner said this: i am SO handy, i needed to put a cap on it 😎)
That is interesting. Disability is very different in USA.
Your voice IS helpful. In your videos you are kind, sweet, understanding, empathetic, informed, compassionate, and open. Glad you're out here representing us.
Thank you, Lumi. You’re the kindest! 🧡
@@Autistic_AF I was going to ask, with the clean energy conferences - it sounded like you might have been presenting a kiosk for one of the researchers / vendors? If so I think the PR practice is and will continue to pay dividends with the work on your channel.
@@carbon1479 Thanks dude (everyone here is ‘dude’ - where’s my car reference). Not manning but interviewing. Yes, I think you’re right, similar skills overlap. Appreciate you noticing. Thanks, Mike
I have 3 autistic kids. I think that proves that autistic people can have sex and pass their genes along 🤣
I know a guy that autistic in Canadian Military. It's the perfect environment for him. Strict routines, he knows what expected of him, he doesn't need to communicate back and that is highly discourage anyways and he has formal ways of reporting to superiors. Mind you he's not soldier, he's does IT and Communications. He said it's autistic dream job.
Yet another great video which made me smile at the often ridiculous ways allistic people view autism... still so much education needed...
Good morning,what a nice surprise to have something to watch while making sarnis for school. Very informative and well thought out, a good one for the people in my life that seem to think that I'm imagining the kids Autism will just vanish if we ignore it, even though they are officially diagnosed. Excellent as always Mike. 😊
Lol, as if it just "Goes away" as you age. I have a 9 yr old nonverbal son in school. He was being bullied by his math teacher in 4th grade, really badly. Next Nex Benedict style bullying. I just found out that she was the teacher in charge of his recent autism screening, where he went from "extremely obviously autistic" to "zero to minor symptoms of" ASD.
A non-verbal student, requiring assistance to communicate AT ALL, was deemed "no longer autistic" by a teacher actively bullying him.
I've changed his school from the "EC" school, thats supposed to be inclusive and made to be better for these kids, to his younger brothers school. He is back to LOVING school, is doing much better AT school, and I am so very grateful for it.
Its alot of Autistic people in the military. But if youre diagnosed before you join then it may affect your way going in.
We are not different species out of space. (Although we feel like that sometimes)We are humans as everybody else on this planet
What strange 🤔 questions ?
Hilarious 😂
Well, actually, autism can get worse *or better* or feel subjectively different during or after pregnancy, breastfeeding, hormone treatments, and/or menopause. It certainly can change in various ways when our hormones (and sleep patterns) drastically change.
Personally, I am AutDHD, and together with my shrink I had to pull down my dose of methylphenidate recently, because one of the side effects, anxiety, had got markedly worse after my estrogen levels had settled to the new, much lower normal. Having dropped my dose from 36 mg to 20 or 30 mg per day, I feel much calmer again.
YMMV of course, and please don't anyone alter how you take your meds without talking to your health care personnel first!
Neat video, as always ❤
Menopause changes many things, good and bad.
I feel like my ADHD is a bit worse now I am offically 40+, for whatever reason, and the energy I have for "acting normal" is at an all time low. It all seems to take more out of me than it did when I was younger, and my strategies for "coping" are getting more onerous than they used to feel. That is why I am so happy I found this YT Channel when I did, it came at just the right time for me, I am happy to have been here at the very start. Hearing all your comments is really helpful.
_"Can Autistic People Have Sex?"_ I mean... if we can't, explain furries.
😅 are there a lot of autistic people in the furry culture? (I don’t know!).
@@Autistic_AF Oh yeah like… a lot, I mean it’s a resource for finding friends who are able to understand you because it’s so prevalent in the community.
Ah, interesting! I thought maybe it would be a culture autistic people could gravitate to (different persona, literally masked!) - but also those suits look physically uncomfortable and restrictive!
@@Autistic_AF Full suits and but people use partial suits and just modified clothing or something like kigurumis that at one piece pajamas with their sona.
That and you don’t have to be one of us, the only way to really kill your popularly is to be an outright bigot and stand by that. We have all chosen to be outcasts if other outcasts join us we are more than happy to have them.
@@Autistic_AFthere’s an entire fursuit community that does their best to make those suits as sensory friendly as possible. Inside the suit isn’t the scratchy faux fur backing, and as much as possible, there’s vents and breathability built in
6:09 - Trauma, stress, anything that eats bandwidth for masking will of course mean that our traits will come out more than they otherwise would. I still remember a lot of times in my late teens and early 20's I'd have bouts of involuntary mutism and where my eyes would sort of do the Howdy Doody thing because the juice for keeping all of that regulated was gone. I had a Nutrasweet / Splenda / Ace-K allergy as well which I didn't know about and the effects of that were going pale, sweating, and talking a bit like Scooby Doo (thankfully no one thought it was a cocaine comedown - it looks a lot like that).
Oh cool, I was woken up by my kiddo earlier and couldn't get back to sleep! Glad I have something awesome to fill the boredom. Interesting topic as well! 💜
Same for me buddy but it’s the chihuahua snoring that’s kept me up! I get to sleep shortly though :) haha. Thanks, ZS!
I would disagree about autism getting worse with age. Demands (at least for me) are so much higher than they were in school. And I feel that I’m just exhausted from masking for so long.
But that is certainly a different experience for everyone.
I recently had a first date with a girl I got to know through a dating app, she’s autistic just like me only she was only just recently diagnosed and I was diagnosed as a small kid. I really like the dynamic since she had one of those fidget toys and she saw I needed something to fidget with and those small things really do make a difference to me.
Since being diagnosed in my early 40s I also stopped giving AF! Just putting things into perspective, the diagnosis really helped me start focusing on me, instead of pandering to others.
Me too! A phrase from the Lethal Weapon films comes to mind… “I’m getting too old for this s#!t !”
Nice surprise this morning to have a new video waiting for us. Fun AND informative, thank you so much! 🙏🏼🌈
@@TheAutisticRebel your Austim video was also awesome and *very* creative 🌷
That cross culture comparison 🤯🤯🤯🔥🔥🔥 excellent
Hey Jenn! Nah, this stuff writes itself - literally!
3:05 - I hear the getting older thing is a both and. As you correctly noted the pressure to be 'just like' people you'd never want to be like has a lot to do with being forcibly packed in with random people. The age issue I hear often from people is that sensory issues get worse with age and endurance for masking drops.
Yep. I think this is true for everyone, too.
Oh no!
Gibson is a very good boy
Who drinks from the livestream aquarium! 🐈 🐟
Damn, and I here I was thinking mitosis is the way to go... oh well...
Jokes aside, my manifestation of autism IS a learning disability, because I process information in a way that I can not tell what part is more important than the rest, so unless I can memorize it all (or my memory takes care of the pruning after the fact), I can not consciously hierarchically structure i.e. prioritize, and therefore summarize information, I also have issues with memorizing sequences, especially if their order is important. For me, the process of memorizing is an all or nothing affair, so if there is a lot to learn, unless it's a special interest, I can't keep up with people who can compress it down to learn it that way.
However, this is a far cry away from being an intellectual disability. If it's a special interest, I can give anyone a run for their money in one eight of the time it took them to acquire a skill. Case in point: language is my lifelong special interest, I'm not a native English speaker, and English isn't even my first foreign language (I was fluent by eight months old in my primary language and learned German just watching TV during a summer break at age 8 to the same level of proficiency I am using English to express myself now).
"But, you can't be autistic if language is your special interest!"
You might think so, if you mistakenly believe that language and communication are the same thing. Language is the tool of communication. The aptitude with which I am able to acquire a language much easier than the average person doesn't change anything about the fact that I still have the same communication issues in every social aspect as everyone else with ASD does.
Well said! I truly wish that my primary school had picked up on how proficient I was with language. Apparently I first started reading at age 2. If I had been encouraged rather than ostracised I could have started learning another language at 5 and if I had had the opportunity to develop the skills I would have been able to make a profession for myself.
@@tracik1277 Oh they haven't caught me either. Someone diagnosed as a child with Asperger's told me I should look up autism 3 years ago and here I am at 38. I was employed a total of two years, each of those opportunities had me translate (and had me perform other things on top of translating I was bad at, social things).
Thank you for sharing!
Here in the UK we call, “intellectual disability” - “learning disability” (
@@Autistic_AF I see, thanks! Terminology is a nightmare, especially for an international audience!
It differs from country to country what they call things. Just today I saw a video where the guy said that according to the CDC, vision impairment is a disability too, regardless what level, but because of how widespread the accommodation for vision correction is, it isn't considered that by most people, so you have a schism between what the book says, and what people think.
Languages can definitely be a special interest!
I actually think almost any subject could be a special interest
18:29 - I'm in the US but one of my life-long special interests has been UK drum and bass, especially Goldie and classic Metalheadz and Blue Note stuff. I'd assume a lot of these guys - Goldie, Source Direct, Photek, Matrix, Optical, etc. are 'neurospicy' although probably more in the ADHD direction but their work speaks for itself.
That is the big thing I learnt, that it presents in culturally unique ways. So stimming can look very different depending on the culture they are coming from.
Grew up on electronica in the 90's, not surprised given how soothing I found certain compositions...I can't be the only one who'd have a specific part of a track on repeat for way longer than I care to admit just because that specific set of notes would feel good.
Thank you for this wonderful explanitory video!
I feel represented!
♥
4:27 note that ADHD can actually go away, about 10% of people diagnosed with adhd as a child lose the symptoms as a adult because the symptoms where caused by delayed development of the frontal lobes
Ohh, that explains it, for me.
Interesting!
Hello, this is the second video I’m watching of yours and I already wanna go out on a limp and say you’re probably the only autism focussed channel I actually like because you don’t baby talk and deminish things. A lot of other channels make me feel like a child which I do not like.
Thank you so much for your accuracy from one autistic person hyperfocusing on this topic to another (I'm sure like so many people who watch your channel). As I learn more for myself and my music therapy clients from across the pond and periodically see your content, it all checks out and is thoroughly researched and gently delivered. It's so much easier to have a better handle on understanding myself, and having accurate resources is extremely comforting. Thank you for the attention to detail and being such a credible source!
Gm, thanks for Friday vid :)
🫡 Mornin’
I got by masking.....then things happened and it seemed less useful to mask and force the societal conversation. Kinda seems a lot of others seemed to have arrived at similar positions in their own way.
I was happy to live a quiet life far from it, mentally editing out that I was probably on the spectrum in some form, happy to be called a hermit or an oddball.....
Have you read much about Simon Baron Cohen's work? He did a symposium in 2016 at EPSIG UK on the evolutionary perspective of autistic traits....It was an interesting to see them speculating on non-clinically presenting groups and there ability to function in society, how times have changed.
edit. I keep trauma dumping, I'm sorry about that. I'm curious about the stress levels other neurodiverse folks experienced over the last few years,?I'm unsure why it's left such a long jaggered mark from my perspective.
At age 55 after a very difficult life I no longer have the patience to hide my autism or my accumulated irritation.
Great video, I wonder if they have a set of questions for allistic people 🤣
Thank you Mike and Gibson (and Google's algorithms) for today's video. 😺😺
'Do allistic people...' is giving me 'do autistic people...' results.
'Do neurotypical people...' does have results like meltdowns and sensory issues. One result that's come up is 'do neurotypical people exist'. 🤣
😂😂
I did the same search in my native language (Polish) and the most frequently searched question was... "can autistic person be a doctor".
Wow interesting! 🧡
I noticed "Can an autistic person know they are autistic?" which I found rather amusing given the context. Yes and no? Yes... eventually? 😊
Thanks!
Thank you, Spooner!!! You didn’t have to - and thank you ☺️
Can autism get worse with age?
We now know my late grandfather (born in 1909) was FOR SURE autistic. All of his children are, and a lot of the grandchildren. I can attest that certain autistic traits were significantly increased in intensity as senility set in.
Oooo I didn’t think about dementia, yes, that would make sense. I do wonder for instance, how I or the people here would be when very old. Hmm!
@@Autistic_AF Also: menopause.
Interesting thought!
Love the way you represent us, Mike. Another good one!
I try! 😅
as someone who has searched the "does autism get worse with age?" i think it was more to do with my abilty to mask my traits had become to much (late diagnosed audhd) rather than the autism actually being worse. i also met a lot of people with a similar story
❤ Regarding the title, if not, we have to go back perhaps to the stork and cabbage patch to explain how our Apple kids fall under the Apple tree. Not sure how it happens….🥹 The stork places the Apples under the Apple tree perhaps. Not sure what was going on in the cabbage patch but the imagination is running a little wild now.😽😹
On another topic, trauma would seem likely to exacerbate challenges generally. Also being pressured to live lifestyles or in environments that are uncomfortable or even harmful would do that.
Thanks Mike for steady explanations and easy to listen to voice. 🙏 😊
15:05 Me taking the first hit of my vape 😅
Yeah... Makes sense 😂
😅
Read all the comments now brain too full 😊😊😊 for the algorithm. Thanks Mike ❤
Thank you, Traci! Love to the kitties!
"As a British autistic person I just assume everything is sarcasm" should be everyone's takeaway.
@@anyndel it’s a safe thing to assume for us! 🇬🇧
15:15 Yeah, I love a good nap after a cup of coffee. One of life's little pleasures. 🥱
☕️ 🥱
OMG, MICRO-FIBER! Does anyone else feel like EVERY fiber is scratching against their skin with micro fiber?
(Also, sorry Mike. I know you check these comments. I'm not trying to annoy you. I'm trying to increase your comment count, while also commenting on the specific statements during your video that I can relate to.)
Like, it scratches the skin, its rough, it just feels like a physical embodiment of ICK! Sorry, thinking about the feel has me all edgy...
Yesss!! It really gets to me! I wear rubber gloves while using them now and it’s no problem at all! (Something I wish I knew before!).
Don’t worry, you aren’t annoying me haha.
This is going to sound really odd - but I’ve started wearing my scuba dry gloves for car washing - with the liners so that I don’t get clammy and sweaty inside them! I know, I know!
First off: Gibson 😻 would be a nightmare for me to have as a pet. (Goth = only black clothing). Izy (my own house panther is all black).
I speak sarcasm fluently. All the time. Sometimes, however, it is a tiny bit more difficult to pick it up from others. Don't know why. 🤷♀️
I don't know if autism gets worse with age... it's a fluid thing. Stress is an important factor. So are hormones. I, for one, suspect I'm in peri-menopause right now, even though I'm only 40. But there are some symptoms that trigger my sensory sensitivities a LOT more. Sweating (the absolute HORROR, ewwww). Or muscle aches. My mood also fluctuates a lot more. More (internalized) meltdowns, etc.
Thanks for the video. 🙃🖤
Good one. 🤘 - X Sara
Schools that could support autism may be like a safe environment to make struggling autistic more ready for society and the public needs education about autism because I think most allistic people not gonna care without being told.
I think we also need more autistic speakers who could deliver messages to the public like you, argument like autism is a disease or something is damaging to the autism community.
Can we join the Army (Military in general). There are plenty of us in, provided, you're not diagnosed at the time of entry. But they won't kick you out for it once diagnosed, well not for being Autistic. But a the higher level of risk exists for things you might be discharged for i.e.. Mental Health. Living that life now...
A note about paradoxical reactions. Not sure whether it's because I have ADHD, but coffee (even tiny amounts) gives me massive brain freeze, as in I can barely function; also alcohol affects me rather like a stimulant.
I hated music for the most part up until I turned 27 I’m 29 now and the only reason I started listening to music is cuz I needed help relaxing after having a panic attack. Still having things that stress me out so I do occasionally listen now
The part about learning disabilities confused me. I was diagnosed as a child and told that autism was a learning disability by both my doctors and my therapist. It affects my cognitive ability. I was sure it was classified in that way.
Can yes. May is a lot more difficult. The whole persuading someone to be your partner thing... without a good support system that's where the difficulty curve becomes a vertical wall. Autism and CPTSD in tandem make that a shitshow. In terms of non-verbal communication you're already in the uncanny valley, your needs to avoid sensory stimulus will create barriers by making conventional social environments difficult to operate in and create self presentation ick factor for the conventionals, and unless you can find a regular dedicated shared interest crowd creating social bonds is prohibitively difficult.
I've always had women chasing since my early teen years. My issue was I didn't notice till hindsight. I always knew they interested till the games started which I didn't understand. Why say your interested then act your aren't interest. To me that just meant move on not show my love through chasing them.
i would take a pill to get rid off it because its so depressing having it
Out of curiosity, I googled the can “autistic people have sex” thing not because I didn’t think they have sex I mean clearly they do considering that they even exist in general.
I was wondering, if autism affects it in any way, like is the experience different from Neurotypical people?
Or is it the same??
Idk lol dumb Neurotypical asking 😅
Thanks Mike, thanks Gibson!🤍 🙏 Fun video! Here's a question for the community: who thinks David Attenborough is actually part of the Allistic community? I have a strong suspicion he might not be, even if he doesn’t realise it himself.
Hey, he could be! I wonder!
If autism can't get worse with age, I'm living proof that ADHD can. My "attention battery" got about as terrible as it gets, and then when it's empty my brain literally can't function anymore and I have to lock myself in my room, against my own will...
I also can't even fkn watch a movie or whatever anymore. And that's not because I spend hours watching TikTok, I literally don't have it.
Im acoustic lol. I'm a musician and all of my instruments except one are acoustic.
I'm autistic and I find the term acoustic funny. But I have the musical frame of context that leads me to think its funny.
I don't like autistic being used as an insult. It bothers me greatly.
Reclaim the term! I agree though; up until very recently - acoustic references music, not autism. It bothers me that autism is used as a slur; especially when it’s not even remotely correct!
I'm not acoustic, I'm artistic!🖌️
I know Hitler could have had autism himself and he fought in ww1. But that was before something autism was really understood or every around. Also I know Hitler was suggested to have autism or probably being on the autism spectrum by a psychiatrist in 2004.
Also I have no idea why these questions even exist. We are human right? Why do they view us like we are a different species, heck maybe not even a different species as every other animal that’s multicellular can breed.
Liked that.
36 yr old MARRIED AuDHD'er.
I have two kids, one is clearly autistic.
I drive all the time, and my AuDHD gives me a bit of a driving superpower. I used to ride motorcycles, A LOT, and I currently daily drive a 2016 Mustang 5.0 6-speed.
EVERYTHING gets worse with stress. This includes Autism.
I will disagree with you on whether it is a learning disability. My reasoning is a little angry sounding, but its from a defensive POV because of my son.
U.S. Marines is almost exclusively psychotic, damaged autistics looking for reason in an unreasonable world. Prove me wrong. (This POV is based on a childhood friend. A true psychopath, a Marine, and both of his parents were severely disabled.)
I hope this was in any way useful to somebody, somewhere. Have a good day, everyone.
Most autistic people aren't psychopaths.
Out of curiosity, I googled the can “autistic people have sex” thing not because I didn’t think they have sex I mean clearly they do considering that they even exist in general.
I was wondering, if autism affects it in any way, like is the experience different from Neurotypical people?
Or is it the same??
Idk lol dumb Neurotypical asking 😅