sometimes i forget i’m also a lactation consultant. until i see a video of a baby displaying very obviously hunger cues and remember how ill prepared for parenthood most parents in the US are.
When I moved from Hawaii to Florida at the end of the first grade one of my friends at the time said “you’re going to forget me I just know it” when we were saying goodbye. If your name is Chloe Vidal and you went to Wheeler Elementary School, I haven’t forgotten you.
Me before I realized I’m autistic: “I can’t be autistic, I don’t really recognize patterns”
Also me: *hums along to songs I’ve never heard before because I can predict the melody*
The reality of being autistic is losing all types of relationships… friendships, romantic partners, jobs… having absolutely no idea what you did & never being given a chance to even understand because no one is willing to communicate with you because “you know what you did”
I see Asperger is trending so this is your reminder that Asperger’s Syndrome is an outdated term, no longer used, and rooted in eugenics. Hans Asperger was a N*zi and this term was used to decide which autistic people were worth keeping alive during WWII.
autistic people who experience mutism in relationships when confrontation is afoot should be able to text, write or draw to express their feelings to their partner, friend, family member, without being accused of stonewalling or being immature.
There’s conversation about how black autists are forced to mask more because of black culture but I want to see more people talking about the way black culture also supports a lot of autistic culture which, in turn, *still* makes it easy for us to go undiagnosed for years.
Being misunderstood is so triggering for me.
I’ve spent my entire life meaning what I say and saying what I mean only to have my words twisted or assigned a meaning that isn’t there.
Some autistic children will elope (run away) in response to traumatic stimulation whether emotional, auditory, visual, etc.
In adults that might look like “storming” out in the middle of and argument.
-Spinning yourself around in a 360 chair
-talking into a standing fan
-staring at a light and then closing your eyes to see the shapes and colors
-cloud watching
-watching raindrops fall down the car window
-putting glue on your hands and waiting until it dried to peel it off
Non blacks DNI ‼️
I’m begging black folks to stop saying “nothing wrong with that baby” when someone suggests a child may be autistic. Cause yeah technically you’re right, there’s nothing wrong with being autistic but that’s not what you mean and we (black folks) know it.
-repeatedly popping your gum
-making drum beats with your pencil
-lining up your school supplies on your desk
-listening to music “too loud”
-stepping on crunchy leaves
-watching a lava lamp
-popping bubble wrap
neurodivergence is not just autism and ADHD.
neurodivergence is also mental health disabilities, including the ones that are demonized.
bipolar disorders
schizophrenia
dissociative disorders
personality disorders including yes, narcissistic personality disorder
Y’all better leave Chloe alone 😤 I got no issues with the fact that she doesn’t remember me 🤣 life goes on. Really it’s okay. There’s no need for calling her names 🤦🏾♀️
“Black people are always late” — Time Blind
Repetitive tapping of items to create a beat —
Stimming
Rap music —
Stimming
The need to have the same person make the same dish for family functions and objecting to it being made differently—
Same/safe food
What’s worse is we’re so good at pattern recognition that we can detect the smallest change in someone’s attitude towards us and we know the separation is coming but can’t for the life of us figure out why it’s happening
Because I already know people are going to try to spin this. I’m obviously not saying that all black people are autistic, I’m just saying that a lot of what is seen as black culture supports a lot of autistic traits/culture.
i beg your freaking pardon. i just saw a tiktok that explained how a lot of autistic people experience muscle weakness on one side of their face making their smiles “lopsided” or causing one eye to not open as much as the other and… my left eye. it’s my left eye.
if you are autistic, do you write with the paper straight up and down or do you turn it at an angle/almost completely sideways?
are you diagnosed with hEDS or HSD?
while critiquing the good doctor and other shows with autistic representation not written/portrayed by autistic people, please remember there *are* autistic people whose traits are very similar to the traits portrayed in these shows.
Even on Mother’s Day moms are selfless. Every single Mother’s Day post I see is “thank you to my baby for making me a mom” “thank you to my partner for making me a mom” MOMMA if you don’t thank your damn self. Thank you, all of you moms for raising the world.
Just got the bill for my autism eval. $1,012.85
This is w “good” insurance at an in-network practice.
What happened after I got dx’d?
Exactly nothing. Still experienced being gaslit by my doctor. Still don’t qualify for disability. Still have to pay $10,000 for a service dog.
shout out to the white neuropsych doctor who diagnosed me autistic and ADHD for acknowledging that part of my psych eval coming back for “elevated paranoia” was likely attributed to being a black woman in america ✌🏾 /gen
I see this is about to do numbers so I’m shamelessly dropping this here. I’m in need of a service dog and have been raising money for about two weeks now. Literally any donation is helpful and sharing is as well 🤍
any other autistic people feel constantly afraid that whoever you’re talking to is going to think that you’re lying even though you’re telling the exact truth
curious of how many autistics have been called/told the following through childhood into adolescence:
“too smart for your own good”
“an old soul”
“little professor”
“a thinker”
“living in your own world”
“you’ve been here before”
I was surprised when I read that doing a lil "happy wiggle" while enjoying food was a common autistic stim. Black folks love to celebrate good food so this wouldn't be a sign of neurodivergence in our households.
i would argue that being hyper aware of social cues is just as much a characteristic of the autistic neurotype as having little awareness of social cues.
Ableism runs so deep in our (the black) community. It has to stop. Y’all are preventing these babies from getting critical support and accommodations just cause you don’t want “a label” put on them.
People in the QTs of that tweet that are like “but everyone does this?” are just proving my point. Yes most people regardless of neurotype stim & don’t even know it. Especially kids. Which is why we should stop giving ND people shit when we do it just bc we do it differently
@LavaTheSaint
@SupernovaMomma
i took the course through lactation education recourses! i’m not an IBCLC yet (eventually i’ll get there lol) but my technical title is “Certification Breastfeeding Specialist”. I would also recommend looking into your local WIC office for breastfeeding peer counselor positions —
People in the QTs of that tweet that are like “but everyone does this?” are just proving my point. Yes most people regardless of neurotype stim & don’t even know it. Especially kids. Which is why we should stop giving ND people shit when we do it just bc we do it differently
“You can’t be autistic, you like hosting parties”
Yeah so I can control every little detail to ensure that it’s the exact sensory experience I can tolerate.
Red flags to watch out for when researching “Autism Advocacy” organizations and fundraisers in support of them (a thread): (TW on functioning labels and eugenics).
This is how *my* autistic trait of pattern recognition presents. Before someone comes up in here trying to say I’m meaning everyone who does this is autistic. Every single time a tweet of mine like this does numbers I get a handful of people trying to twist my words.
I just saw a tiktok that explained the reason why people have trouble healing their trauma is because of the fear of having to say goodbye to the person they have become because of that trauma. That really struck a chord.
@plscallmeky
@jbrous41
A dancer friend and I were talking about how our dancing could be stimming, and how probably a LOT of dancers are stimming but we don't notice because "dancers can't ever be still/dance to every sound/Black folks will make a dance out of anything"
What’s worse is you’re letting them go their whole lives wondering why they’re struggling because “nothings wrong with them”. And then invalidating them when they try to express their struggles. Enough is enough
Generational curse I’m breaking — taking my child seriously when she says her joints hurt and not calling her a hypochondriac bc I know I have a genetic condition that causes chronic pain and likely passed it on to her
All the while they getting those labels put on them anyway bc they’re struggling in school a way they wouldn’t be if they had the accommodations they needed.
@prntgdcolonized
Hi!! Black service dog owner who helps me with tasks related to autism, EDS, HNPP and POTS! He did not come from an expensive program and the people who bred and trained him are absolutely incredible! Pls feel free to Dm me 🤍
despite the fact that this happens on a regular basis, the last thing that i ever expect for for my tweets to go viral. i tweeted this bc most of my mutuals know me for my disability advocacy & not lactation.
she literally was like “i have no concerns there nor do i think you’re actually experiencing elevated levels of paranoia. i think your assessment indicates a normal level of paranoia for any black person living in the US”
idk who needs to hear this but choosing not to have your child dx as autistic bc you don’t want them to be “labeled” is doing them a major disservice. and their peers will label them anyway 🙂
I wish people would stop saying “this isn’t normal?” Or “I thought this was normal”. The implications of these statements is that there’s something wrong with or not normal about being autistic. There isn’t. It is normal. Being autistic is normal. Stop.
“I know everything about this shoe. I have it in every make, from every year, in every color. Look how it has evolved over time. Don’t take it off that shelf”
— Special Interest
@cosmicblueautie
@plscallmeky
Especially sneaker culture tbh. Ppl get so uppity about “your buying the same shoe!” But more often it’s the same build with wildly different colors and patterns which I feel would be really good for ppl who need a spefic thing to feel good
TW: Sexual assault
Who tf are we supposed to trust?? I just saw a tiktok where a mom said her baby became part of the 97% at 3 years old and all the comments are like “that’s why you don’t trust anyone with your kids. Not even family” but how tf are we supposed to get a break
Oh y’all talking about “speech delays” bc of the pandemic? Here’s my hot take. Speech delays are over diagnosed. As in they shouldn’t be diagnosed. Ever. Bc guess what — some kids will never speak. Some kids only speak through scripting. Some kids will be situationally mute.
yt folks need to be initiating “difficult” conversations with each other in regards to how they’re engaging with the world around them. it should be a regular part of your relationships with each other to challenge and question how you can do better.
I get so many DMs a day with people asking me question about autism and they’re always like “sorry to bother you” “I hope this is okay” BABY. This is my special interest. I squeal with joy every single time someone asks me a question about autism
I don’t think allistics understand that when autistic people ask for adjustments to what is the “norm” we aren’t doing it to be difficult, we’re doing it to get some equity.
answers to questions everyone asks:
- yes, they’re identical
- no, twins don’t run in the family (identical twins are not a genetic thing like fraternal twins are)
- yes, we did IVF, but we only transferred one embryo that split (again, they’re identical)
“gifted”/“exceptional student” classes in elementary & middle school are just for high masking/perceived low support needs neurodivergent kids. they’d be in “special ed” otherwise.
no i’ve never reacted this way to a hand dryer in a bathroom, but i have reacted this way to other loud noises that i wasn’t expecting or didn’t understand. and there are autistic people who have reacted this way to hand dryers in a bathroom including my autistic child.
i regularly forget i’m a LC until it comes up in conversation. nothing about this tweet was meant to come across as condescending or judgmental. i’m not judging or shaming this mom. i’m stating a simple fact. parents in the US are often ill prepared for parenthood. i know i was.
rarely do i say i’m a lactation consultant when someone asks what i do for work because it’s not something i do on a regular basis. i don’t market it, i truly don’t even market my book bc my main focus is disability education & advocacy,
Every time I see a pregnant person say they’re afraid to take Tylenol bc of the “risk of autism” how it feels is “I would never want a child like you or yours”
yes we need more representation, more diverse and intersectional representation, but that doesn’t take away from the reality that the representation that does exist is still representation.