BC LIFE
Saved by @ThomassRichards

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
5. Don't expect #autistic children to 'grow out of' being autistic. They just won't. That doesn't happen.
6. Don't force us to wear particular clothing if we have a visceral negative reaction to it - it's texture or fit might be causing *significant* discomfort and unhappiness. #autism
7. Don't be upset if we don't wish to socialise with you, as we often have considerable limits in our capacity. However do ask as generally it's nice to get the opportunity. #autism
8. Check in on #autistic people from time to time. Don't be upset if they don't respond quickly - all socialising is stressful and many of us are very forgetful and disorganised!
9. Don't use banter or negative insulting humour to autistic people, unless you know they're OK with it from you specifically. There are maybe four people on earth I can be jokingly insulted by without panicking that they mean it. #autism
10. Remember all autistic people have a very different experience of autism - it's a huge, varied grab bag of traits so any list like this has to be taken carefully. #autism
11. Don't force us to make phone calls. Phone phobia is common for many #autistic people and it can be *very* serious. If there's an alternative let us use if without judgement.
12. Don't force eye contact. Many #autistic people find eye contact way too intimate and emotionally draining so they're not gonna want to do it with their boss or a stranger. We are still listening.
13. Let us stim! These movements, sounds of activities are great for regulating our stress levels and are absolutely vital. Unless we're hurting ourselves or others, let us be. #autism
14. Talk to us and listen to us about our special interests. It may be a bit of an info dump but believe me, be a safe listener and we'll appreciate it so so much. #autism
15. Let #autistic people play with their toys however they want.
16. If an #autistic person forgets something, don't be too harsh on us please. It's hard to remember stuff when just surviving is tricky.
17. Remember that many #autistic people have comorbid conditions - from depression to intellectual disabilities. Be sensitive and assume nothing.
18. Don't infantalise #autistic people - we're not big kids or babies, we are adults with agency and minds of our own.
19. Don't spread misinformation about autism and call it out when you see it - eg #autistic people having no empathy and so on.
20. Pay attention to our pronouns and language. Many, many #autistic people are in some ways non-binary, trans, queer or asexual, or more. Again, assume nothing and *listen*.
21. Don't assume we're 'high functioning'. That language can go in the bin. We may well be good at some stuff but behind the scenes you don't know how difficult we find life.
22. Don't treat 'autism' or 'autistic' as if it's a dirty word, avoiding it with euphemism. It's really fucking annoying.
23. Give opportunities to #autistic people, if you're in the position to. We're frequently in the creative arts thanks to our brains, and being given chances can change everything.
24. If you want #autistic people to do stuff for you, pay us as you would non-autistic people.
25. Don't force an #autistic person into a situation they're uncomfortable with unless you know they'd rather you help push them. You have no idea how scared we may be.
26. Let #autistic people follow their routine as much as you possibly can. It helps lots of us immeasurably most of the time and doesn't usually cost anything.
27. If an #autistic person has a meltdown or shutdown, give them space and don't judge them. Be kind. Let them rest afterwards.
28. Don't tell anyone who identifies as #autistic that they're not autistic. First, you have no idea, second, your objection is probably based on incorrect stereotypes. Third, it's rude.
29. Give us processing time to answer when you ask us things. Even if it seems an easy question.
30. Above all, follow loads of #autistic accounts on here, Facebook, YouTube etc and see what they have to say.
Thanks, I hope that was useful. I'm putting this here as I'm trying to support myself by writing about autism.

https://t.co/qonxXX3C91
(Please note this is based on my own experiences and understanding, and I do not speak somehow for all autistic people)

More from Pete Wharmby

Pete Wharmby
Pete Wharmby
@commaficionado
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
FOR LATER READ
Pete Wharmby
Pete Wharmby
@commaficionado
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
AUTISM
Advertisement
Pete 'stay' Wharmby 'the fireplace'
Pete 'stay' Wharmby 't...
@commaficionado
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
SCHOOL
Pete Wharmby
Pete Wharmby
@commaficionado
Once again I'm reminded that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The recent push by a large number of autistic people to 'own' their diagnosis and try to raise acceptance and dispel harmful myths has kicked up a minority of autistic people to fight against this.

This may seem bizarre - who fights against improved acceptance? - but actually has clear roots in the ongoing culture war the West seems engaged in. The identity positive autistic movement, of which I am a part, is viewed by some as another manifestation of 'wokeness'.

This is the right-wing definition of 'wokeness', of course - ie a modern equivalent of the pejorative take on political correctness, but it's definitely at the core of this 'neurorealist' movement - the idea the autistic community is being hijacked by 'woke lefties'.

They believe that the push for acceptance of neurodiversity and rejection of the medicalisation of autism is misguided and drawing attention away from those autistic people who, in their view, need more help and intervention.

The trouble is, this view is pretty much baseless. Firstly, there is little evidence that autistic advocates who push for acceptance are in any way harming autistic people who require more help and support. Second, the view effectively silences those of us who are able to share.
HEALTH
Pete 'stay' Wharmby 'the fireplace'
Pete 'stay' Wharmby 't...
@commaficionado
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.
CULTURE

More from Life

Olaudah Equiano\xae
Olaudah Equiano®
@RealOlaudah
The story of Aare Ona Kakanfo Afonja, and the fall of the great Oyo Empire is absorbing. If you're interested in this beautiful history of pre-colonial south western Nigeria, keep a date with me later tonight. 🙏🏾

The Kakanfo and fall of Oyo Empire.
Thread.
Of the 14 Kakanfos so far, the tenures of three of them who were military commanders considerably impacted the history of, first, the Old Oyo Empire, and by extension, the rest of Yorubaland.

The three Kakanfos were Afonja of Ilorin, Kurunmi of Ijaye, and Obadoke Latoosa of Ibadan. The last two of the 14, who were civilians and honorary holders of the title nevertheless impacted the history of Yorubaland, and also the entire Nigerian nation.

Aare-Ona-Kakanfo Afonja:
In the mid-1700s, around 1750 and thereabouts, a powerful Oyo warrior was growing in stature; a man called Afonja. His father was Laderin. Laderin himself was the son of Alugbin, who himself was the son of Pasin.

Alaafin Majeogbe ruled Oyo from 1754 to 1770, and was succeeded by Alaafin Abiodun same year. Abiodun was on the throne for about 19 years, until 1789 when he was murdered by his own son, Aole.
Aole became Alaafin, and ruled from 1789 to 1796.
LIFE
ArmaniTalks \U0001f399\U0001f525
ArmaniTalks 🎙🔥...
@ArmaniTalks
Your Most PRECIOUS Currencies:

-Energy

-Time

-Attention

-Trust

-Love

-Loyalty

-Respect

Only give these currencies to high value people. Never spend these currencies on low value shitheads eg: trolls, weasels, snakes, naysayers etc.

'Wait, I thought money was the most important currency?'

Nah.

Once you adopt abundance mentality, you realize their is no shortage of money.

Making the dollars your most important currency will have you leading an empty life.

Time to flip your perspective.

👇

▪Energy

When you strip yourself to the core, you are an emotional creature.

Emotions are your internal worlds energy.

Harnessing that energy is crucial for leveraging yourself to obtain whatever you want.

You have a finite amount everyday, so spend it wisely.

▪Time

A second that is lost will never be returned.

You start valuing the hell out of this currency the more you mature.

As the years start adding up, you realize time is precious.

You must always have a scarcity mindset towards time.

Once you do so, you will not be lazy.

▪Attention

You can be here, but not present.

Attention is completely mental.

Giving someone your attention means you are clearing up mental bandwidth to make room for them.

Only give your attention to people who help you grow.

For the negative ones?

Ignore their existence
LIFE
Advertisement
Trader knight
Trader knight
@Traderknight007
FEAR - It’s the re-experience of failure in advance.

Many traders face the issue of Not entering in trades because of fear.

A thread on How to pull the trigger when the opportunity knocks.


Lets First start from knowing the cause of this "FEAR" of pulling the trigger.

A traders goes through many phases before becoming Profitable.

The first phase is the " APUN HI BHAGWAN HAI" phase-

When we first begin Trading, we don’t know any concepts, we don’t know about the risks , the dangers.

So we start trading, and like most guys by beginners luck we start making good, we start to calculate how much money we will make in next 1yr, 5 yrs, Greed start to Hop in.


We get introduced to Various instruments, F&O, LEVERAGE.

We take big positions as we don’t have any FEAR cause we haven't seen those bad phases yet.

Now we get the Big blow, account down -50%, or in many cases wiped out.

The first phase ends here.


Now we know How the market can kick our ass, we now know the risk that comes with those big positions.

"THE LEARNING PHASE"-

Now we know that we were just lucky initially and now we have to learn why we get those losses, so we start learning concepts , fundamental, Technicals.
TRADING , LIFE
Julie Zhuo
Julie Zhuo
@joulee
Do you struggle with "office politics," like when Colleague got a promotion because they seem to have the same hobbies as the boss?

Do you have no idea how to play the game?
Do you recoil at the very word?

Then this thread is for you 👇

First, what exactly is "office politics?"

The definition I'll go with is that it's the actions people take to advance the things they care about in the workplace.

These can be:

1) The company hitting its goals
2) The success of one's projects and initiatives
3) A promotion
4) A plum assignment or leadership role
4) A change in workplace culture, values or process
5) The advancement of a colleague / group of people
6) Personal reputation

If you read this and think, "hmm, this list sounds boring and not at all bad," I agree with you!

Office politics has a negative connotation but is simply another manifestation of humans being complicated and having multiple, sometimes conflicting desires.

Our workplace desires feel more more high-stakes b/c:

1) there is clear hierarchy + power dynamic (ceos, managers, etc)

2) how we perform at work impacts our self-esteem, identity, and ability to sustain ourselves

3) we spend 1/3+ of our waking hours in our workplace
LIFE
AutisticPB #KindnessMatters \U0001f499
AutisticPB #KindnessMa...
@AutisticPb
I'm going to write a thread on the way #autistic people perceive pain. Something that I haven't talked about much before. #autism /1

For some #autistic people, what neurotypicals might interpret as mild pain actually feels like sensory hell. Some autistic people are really sensitive to pain. #autism /2

It's important that medical professionals understand this. Even if they think that it's mild pain, it's actual sensory hell for the #autistic person.#autism /3

Medical professionals shouldn't accuse #autistic people of being "silly" or being "extra" if they are sensitive to pain. This has happened to me before. Medical professionals shouldn't invalidate the way autistic people perceive pain. #autism /4

Some medical professionals just don't have enough understanding of the way #autistic people perceive pain. I hope this thread will help them understand better. #autism /5
LIFE

You May Also Like

Seth Abramson
Seth Abramson
@SethAbramson
(MAJOR NOTE) The reason Manafort took over Trump's campaign in just 3 weeks despite being hired as a mere delegate counter is that ROGER STONE initiated a whisper campaign against Corey Lewandowski. That campaign started...days after Manafort returned from meeting with WikiLeaks.

2/ Stone and Manafort are longtime business partners; we'd expect Manafort to tell Stone what Assange told him, and for him to expect Stone to then pressure the campaign not only to hire him but quickly elevate him.

And who was Stone in touch with at the campaign? Trump himself.

3/ I bet you Manafort's late March emails are very interesting and that some of them are to/from his longtime business associate Roger Stone. And I bet Roger Stone's late March phone calls are very interesting and that some of them are to/from his longtime friend Donald Trump.

4/ At the end of March 2016, Trump suddenly convenes a NatSec meeting. At that meeting he directs his NatSec team to change the RNC platform in July to benefit Putin. Who later takes credit for that change?

Paul Manafort's business associate, Kremlin agent Konstantin Kilimnick.

5/ Why did Donald Trump suddenly convene a NatSec meeting 3 days after he finally hired Manafort? Why did he issue a pro-Kremlin directive at that meeting that Manafort's camp would later take credit for? What did Manafort tell Trump in the days leading up to that NatSec meeting?
POLITICS
Egypedia
Egypedia
@Egypediax
Ancient Egypt was the most advanced civilization in the ancient world. Why was Egypt so special?

There are so many firsts in Egypt that we all know about, and that makes Egypt unique. For example, the Sumerians did not build the pyramids of Egypt.


Save as history
HISTORY
Advertisement
STEALTH JEFF
STEALTH JEFF
@drawandstrike
One thing that makes this #Khashoggi story difficult to assess when it comes to who's responsible is that there are different factions within Saudi Arabia constantly jockeying for power. It's not one monolithic thing.

Bin Salman heads only one faction.

Mohammad Bin Salman [MbS] not only has to deal with states in the region that want to thwart his plans for Saudi Arabia [SA} & the Middle East [ME] such as Iran, Turkey, Syria, Russia, Quatar...he also has people inside SA itself that don't like his reforms or agenda.

So when the narrative gets presented that "The only way Khashoggi could end up dead is on the direct orders of MbS" you might want to keep this in mind.

There are SEVERAL ways Khashoggi could end up meeting his demise at the hands of Saudis not working on the orders of MbS.

Powerful factions within SA, several of whom do not like the Crown Prince's reforms or the fact he was promoted to his current position ahead of others in the royal family, could have done this in the hopes of pinning it on MbS.

Too many false/fake news stories came out of Turkey in the past week to say anything further. This latest news comes just after it was reported Pompeo heard an audio of the killing that was quickly walked back in less than a day.

/end
ALL
Maker Weekly
Maker Weekly
@makerweekly
#24hrstartup recap and analysis

What a weekend celebrating makers looks like.

A thread

👇Read on

Let's start with a crazy view of what @ProductHunt looked like on Sunday

Download image and upload

A top 7 with:
https://t.co/6gBjO6jXtB @Booligoosh
https://t.co/fwfKbQha57 @stephsmithio
https://t.co/LsSRNV9Jrf @anthilemoon
https://t.co/Fts7T8Un5M @J_Tabansi
Spotify Ctrl @shahroozme
https://t.co/37EoJAXEeG @kossnocorp
https://t.co/fMawYGlnro

If you want some top picks, see @deadcoder0904's thread,

We were going to have a go at doing this, but he nailed it.

It also comes with voting links 🖐so go do your


Over the following days the 24hr startup crew had more than their fair share of launches

Lots of variety: web, bots, extensions and even native apps

eg. @jordibruin with
MAKERS
Matt Fuller
Matt Fuller
@MEPFuller
They’re shooting into the chamber.
POLITICS