BC HEALTH
Saved by @WebbDarrrel

Autistic behaviours that are generally discriminated against, despite being harmless and just how we are.

A thread🧵

 1. Stimming - repetitive physical movement to help regulate our stress levels. They feel nice and are really helpful but people seem to hate to see it. #autism
2. No eye contact. We generally find this too intimate and intense, and will avoid. It can even cause pain if forced. But people don't trust us even though we inform them we're autistic. #autism
3. Sitting in 'odd' positions. We're often very bendable - remember Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a common comorbidity - and loads of feel more comfortable in slightly contorted positions. People always comment 'you can't be comfy like that'.

Yes. Yes I can. #autism
4. Stammering when excited. We can get so passionate about some subjects that we struggle to get the words out as they all get caught in the annoying bottleneck of actually having to leave our mouths. But it irritates people, makes them assume we're somehow lesser. #autism
5. Facial movements and stretches. Part of stimming really, as its generally a comfort or stress release mechanism, but can be viewed derogatively as 'twitching' and often a source of mockery. But it's just a natural, harmless action. #autism
6. Meltdown. There's nothing abnormal about having a meltdown - all humans can. It's just #autistic stress levels are so high they tend to happen more frequently. But they're seen as a failing of us, rather than a failing of our surroundings, which is more accurate. #autism
7. Rigid routine. Many of us like this as it removes possible stressors from the day, keeping things nice and calm. But some people seem to view it as weird and bad, for some reason, even though its a perfectly sound way of managing our stress. #autism
8. Organising/lining up/collecting things. It's really only because autistic folk seem capable of being interested in collecting *anything* that there's an issue. As if it's normal to collect football shirts but somehow bizarre and evil to collect pink socks. #autism
9. Flat affect. Some autistic people show very little emotion on their faces, despite still feeling them internally. This is generally taken tremendously badly by neurotypical people around them, even though its a well documented and perfectly natural trait. #autism
10. Missing cues to speak in a conversation. A natural and very common part of what autism actually is and yet even folk who know autistic people can be highly offended when we mess up and interrupt or take too long to speak.
As you can see from this short list, when you're actively vilified for simply living out your existence, because your behaviours don't properly confirm, it can be so unpleasant and miserable. This is why we need to raise understanding that these behaviours are OK.
If we don't, autistic people will continue to feel aliens and unfairly condemned for things outside of their control. And as you can see, none of these things actually cause any harm. Live and let live, please. Is it too much to ask?
Leaving this here just in case you'd like to support... https://t.co/qonxXX3C91

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Autism and meltdowns - what are they and how can you help?

A thread. Please read and share widely. As always, based on my own experiences.

#autism #autistic #Meltdown

Autistic people are stressed. *Very* stressed. Take it from me - our existence is generally peppered with moments of calm on a backdrop of continual tension and intense stress. The reasons for this are complex. /2

Our senses are often way too sensitive, meaning we live assaulted by intense sensory input - sound, vision, smell, touch and so forth. This means our base level stress is always much higher than most folks. /3

We are also usually struggling to make sense of social communication in a way neurotypical people don't need to worry about. Often we have to put actual brainwork into every interaction, as nothing seems to come naturally to us. Even with friends or loved ones. /4

So our glass of stress is very frequently filled to the absolute brim, and it doesn't take very much for us to spill over into a kind of 'post-stress' state, and I guess that's what we call meltdown. /5 #autistic
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30 things you can do that might help #autistic people in your lives.

A thread. Please read and share widely, and add to it as you see fit.

#autism #autistic

1. Let us decompress in quiet areas when we need to. Our desire to be alone is not judgement on you, it's simple self preservation. #autism

2. If you need us to do something, give us very clear, unambiguous instruction. Don't feel like you're being rude doing this, but don't sound irritated or patronising! #autism

3. Do not expect us to react to things in a way you would expect. That way lies disappointment. We often show our emotions in very different ways to what you might expect. #autism

4. Don't assume we aren't capable of thought and feeling if we're non-verbal. Don't assume we're incapable of communicating in other ways either. #autism
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Why do #autistic students get excluded so frequently from school?

Some thoughts, based on my own experiences. If we have an understanding of the 'why', it's easier to address the results.

Please read and share! /1

Autistic students often find themselves being punished more than average at school. Frequently this can escalate to temporary exclusion and similar 'punishments'. Are autistic students generally just more naughty? Of course not. So what's the deal? /2

Everything about the fundamentals of a school day is designed around neurotypical children. Most school day elements are also very old, and have been around since long before people became more 'autism aware'. /3

What we see as the core experience of doing subjects for around an hour, before moving to the next subject, between the ages of 5 and 18 dates back *decades*. So where do autistic students fit in? /4

Well, they don't. Students with an autistic or ADHD neurotype quite simply do not slot into this structure. The only way they can is by essentially squashing their own needs in order to fit in with the majority. If they can't do this? That's where the 'punishments' come in. /5
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Things You Need to Know About Autism - a thread for sharing.

I try to raise awareness, understanding and acceptance of #autistic people. Have a read and hopefully it will help.

#thread #autism

1. Autism has always existed, as far as we can tell. Any increase in the number of autistic people is due to better diagnosis and growing population. There are historic figures who display many autistic traits, such as Isaac Newton. #autism

2. Autism is not an illness or disease. It cannot be caught, nor does it appear to spontaneously happen. You are born autistic and you will die autistic - it is not 'curable'. #autism

3. Autistic people do not lack empathy, nor are we emotionless robots. We often struggle to communicate emotion, and we can have alexithymia, making identification of emotions hard, though. #autism

4. Autism affects the entire demographic - doesn't matter your gender, sexuality, age, class, skin colour, culture. Autism is a human condition. #autism
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How to help the #autistic people in your life get through Christmas - a practical thread of advice.

Please read and share!

(This is based on my own experiences of being autistic)

#autism #christmas

1. Give #autistic people an easy escape route they know they can take without judgement - knowing you can dash off to recharge without being questioned can help so much!

2. Don't play Christmas music really loudly around the house. No one needs that anyway but if you must, make it not too intrusive as it can be difficult for #autistic people to handle. Christmas music is *so* 'busy'!

3. Don't expect clear and unambiguous response to Christmas presents when opened. Many #autistic people struggle to show the appropriate emotional reaction, and are also terrified of making you feel bad. We show appreciation in our own way.

4. Don't forget #autistic friends and relatives may not be as excited about meeting up with family members as you are. There is likely a lot of anxiety there, especially this year. Be mindful of this and don't force it.
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Let's say masks provide 100% protection to both the wearer and others (perhaps non-masked individuals) in close proximity. This is perhaps the worst scenario.

The immune system requires a consistent influx of both microbes and viruses to remain trained.

Halting the exposure to microbes and viruses is extremely harmful in the long run and leaves you exposed to enormous risk in the future.

Without training, you will become susceptible to even weaker microbes that your immune system would have normally handled with ease.

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Your immune system would slowly degrade similarly not able to complete previous tasks.

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Assuming 1 million people take the test (including you):

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as Emerald has scientific property of its molecules getting disturbed when exposed to light/water/sound.This is an ancient Shiva temple considered to be 3000 years old -believed to be where Bhagwan Shiva gave Veda gyaana to Parvati Devi.This temple has some stunning sculptures.
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