Friendly Neighborhood Autistic

If you guys have ADD/ADHD, autism, OCD, or something else that affects your ability to concentrate, I highly recommend the chrome extension Mercury Reader. You just open whatever link you're using, then click on the MR icon (it should look like a rocket) and it'll simplify the page so that it's in a focus-friendly layout. Instead of having random pictures and word boxes all over the screen, it'll be in a vertical format with nothing to distract you so you can focus on what's important. You can also adjust the text size (small, medium, large), font (serif, sans), and theme (light, dark). And the best part is, it's completely free! It's honestly one of the best things I've ever downloaded.

This is an article without the extension. See that messy format, and how the actual article content only takes up a fraction of the page? It's no wonder it took me 7 hours to write that paper.

The same article, this time with Mercury. The user-friendly settings are at the top, and the rest of the article is formatted vertically down the middle with no free-roaming pictures or words. How nice.

YES IVE BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS FOREVER

I dont know how or if I can explain this to Ables (tm) without them attacking me (when do they not lol)

I’m excited to use my wheelchair. I WANT to go out just because I get to use my chair.

Maybe its totally valid that I want to go out because I can leave the house without fearing pain getting in my way or fatigue or getting stranded somewhere because i can’t walk.

But still I worry about people assuming I’m fake for wanting to go out more now.

Which is why I say my thoughts to this lovely community on here.

Okay but this is literally my thoughts on why I want a chair.

if i ever make a post and it’s not accessible for you (eg. no image descriptions, no /s to mark sarcasm, etc)

PLEASE call me out on it so i can correct it. i want my posts to be as accessible and as easy to understand as possible!

So Im someone that gets understimulated easily, especially in right now in quarantine. So i made a list of things to stimulate your senses and I thought I would share it with the autistic and ADHD community.

Tactile:

-putting on tight clothes (tight tops, leggings, socks, etc)

-putting on chapstick

-rolling your feet on a cylindrical object (feet massager, rolling pin, etc)

-using a weighted blanket or pilling blankets on top of you

-asking someone to lay on top of you (if you are both comfortable with the idea)

-sitting cross legged or with you legs under you

-petting you animal if you have one

-running hot or cold water on your hands and/or switching between the temperatures

-taking a bath or shower

-putting on a hat or ears protectors

-massaging your head/playing with your hair

Auditory:

-listening to music

-listening to asmr

-reading out loud

-tearing paper or fabric

-tapping on stuff that make nice sounds

-making a DIY maracas by putting dry beans or rice in a tupperware or bottle

Olfactory (smell):

-making your favorite tea

-smelling or putting on lotion or chapstick

-opening random stuff in your fridge or pantry and smelling them

-starting essential oil diffuser if you have one

-baking something

-cooking up some garlic and butter (found this idea on tumblr)

-opening a window and smelling the fresh air

-smelling your laudry detergent or your shampoo

-hugging a partner or friend to smell their scent (if you are both comfortable with it)

-lighting up a scented candle

-cleaning the bathroom so that it smells like cleaning supplies

Gustatory (taste):

-chewing on a stim toy

-brushing your theet

-drinking juice

-eating something

-finding a food for every type of taste (sweet, salty, bitter, sour, umami) and eating one at a time (ex: a spoonful of jam, then a salty craker, then a piece of dark chocolate, then a a sip of cranberry juice, then a mushroom)

-getting a buch of veggies and then multiple dipping sauces (they can range in heath, texture, acidity, etc) (also got this idea on tumblr)

Visual:

-cleaning up the clutter

-watching people from your window or balcony, trying to find out stuff about them just by the way they are dressed and are walking

-arranging your colored crayons in a way you like, then doing it again and again in other orders

-arranging your folded clothes by colors

-if you have a lava lamp, watching it

-putting glitter and/or little pieces of paper in a see through bottle filled with water and then shaking it (this is one of my favorite stim also)

-watching a nature documentary

Vestibular/ Proprioceptive:

-jumping on your bed

-putting a lot of pillows and blankets on your bed and flopping onto it (also found this one on tumblr)

-shaking you leg while balancing on the other one and switching between them

-spining

-trying to make up/learn a new dance

-holding a really light object in one of your hand and a heavy one in the other. Trying to lift them at the same time

If you have acces to those things:

-making good use of a trampoline

-getting in the pool while hugging your knees and letting the water move you around.

-getting on the swings

why i dislike high-functioning and low-functioning as labels

high-functioning autism basically means ‘your issues arent as obvious as another autistic person’

low-functioning autism is autism with an intellectual disability attached

this is why i personally do not like low and high functioning as labels. i feel like people often think that because you are ‘high functioning’ you don’t need support, or you’re ‘normal’ but just a bit weird. the fact is that high and low functioning, if they exist at all, are on a spectrum much like asd itself.

not a spectrum where one side is really low functioning and one side is really high functioning, but more similar to a colour wheel where around the edges are all the things an autistic person may struggle with, and then the autistic persons ‘functioning level’ is somewhere within the colour wheel

nobody is 100% low functioning and nobody is 100% high functioning because those labels are completely subjective

rather, everyone struggles with different things to varying degrees and you cannot group people together and act like all their experiences are the same based on how they outwardly appear

this is why i do not like high and low functioning labels

PREACH

Autistic peeps, reblog and add what texture you hate the most

Mine is canvas

I’ve had some people ask, so yeah this is post is totally fine for people with adhd to reblog too

Food grade silicone.

What is food grade silicone and why does it sound like something that defintley should not be labled “food grade,”?

Food grade silicone is the stuff that’s sometimes found on tongs and spatulas. It’s flexible and has the WORST texture if you touch it with wet hands.

It’s called ‘food grade’ because silicone can be manufactured in a few different ways for different uses.

Mine is ceramics that Aren’t glazed!

I am obligated to reblog this version of the post because I took ceramics and SAME. Ceramics after the first firing before being glazed had such a grainy texture and I hated touching them.

hey would anybody with autism (and who is touch hypersensitive) mind telling me how being touched affects your daily life? like... how does it feel when people touch you (maybe hugs or shoulder pats)?

im curious bc 1) I might have autism??? (still trying to figure that out) so I'd be interested in seeing if i relate and 2) I'm writing a character with autism who is touch sensitive so i wanna be accurate :)

Ok so, to me, being touched makes me feel very bad, a chill goes over my body and it's very uncomfortable, specially with light touch

Depending on how/by who/where I'm touched, I feel like I'm being violated and immediately start crying and shaking (maybe I have meltdowns? I'm still not good at defining it)

I'm very ticklish, idk if it had anything to do with it

Not all touch is bad, it really depends. For example, I like being hugged by people I trust. I like the pressure of a tight hug.

It quite affects my daily life as it's common for people to touch each other friendly in Brazil. People, specially adults, will hug me, touch my hair, tickle me etc. And because it's so common, people don't understand when I tell I don't want to be touched, and will think I'm just being rude. So most of the time I just have to endure the touch because I have no choice.

Going to the doctor is specially terrible, as doctors will have to touch you to see if you're okay.

I hope I haven't rambled too much! These are just my experiences as an autistic person

I can only handle being touched by people that I trust, but it has to be like, an actual touch. Like there needs to be pressure. When people just barely touch me or brush up against me it’s the worst feeling ever. Bad touches cause me to feel overwhelmed almost instantly and they start meltdowns pretty fast too.

Doctors don’t bother me all that much. I don’t like it when they touch me, but they do it ‘right’ so it’s not sensory hell.

Ah, uh, sorry to butt in but I have some help for English! Unfortunately it might be very specific for the UK (my Mum’s an English teacher here and I help her out sometimes) but hopefully it’ll be useful nonetheless.

1) Spelling and punctuation are surprisingly important (even though it’s very boring to learn) more often than not it’ll take up a reasonable chunk of your mark in exams and even if you write absolute creative gold it’ll be much harder for people to realise it. Unfortunately I don’t know of any really good resources for learning ALL of it but if you search up SPaG (Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar) there should be at least a few good worksheets, youtube videos or websites. 

2) If you need help learning Shakespeare but have difficulty with all of the Shakespearean language you can use No fear Shakespeare, my Mum uses it for her classes and it’s really good!

3) If doing prompts, like the original poster said above, it’s best to think out of the box as not only will it get you better marks in an exam it’ll also be much more fun to write. Sometimes it’s useful to take the first thought you get in your head and twist it (for example, if you’ve got a prompt that’s an image of a lighthouse and your first thought is an old grizzled captain climbing up the stairs, twist it so that the captain finds something interesting at the top that would be unexpected, like a unicorn or an old God).

4) Read! Just read, read, read! Even if you’re reading an old children’s book that you love or a magazine article on something you enjoy, reading is the best skill you can have for learning English and if you want to take it a step further, think about how it makes you feel and why it makes you feel that. Look into the history of the authors and really get inside their head. Think about what the characters are like (if it’s fiction) and your opinions of them, or look at the things in common one article has with another article (for non fiction).

There’s probably a few more I could say but these are the best ones I could think of... Sorry if it doesn’t make any sense or changes tone in the middle of it! (also I feel you on the CAHMS front... It’s not exactly the greatest) 

some tips for when you’re under-stimulated! (this is just some things that work for me - it may or may not work for you. feel free to add on more advice in a reblog or comment, i’m sure it’ll be appreciated)

- if you have a weighted blanket: USE IT! it sounds obvious but sometimes i’ll be sitting on my weighted blanket and be like, damn, i’m rly under-stimulated rn, wish i had a quick and convenient way to deal with that

- if you don’t have a weighted blanket: gather as many blankets/pillows/towels/jackets/whatever and pile it all on top of you. revel in being a dragon slumbering in your hoard.

- in the same vein but only if you’re comfortable with it, have someone lay on top of you

- leg bouncing! leg bounding is so good y’all

- sit crosslegged! or fold your legs under you, whichever you prefer

- wear heavy clothes! a heavy hoodie, heavy shoes/boots, etc etc

- singing or humming! put on your favorite song and sing along and stim to the beat and jump around and move

- wear headphones! you don’t have to play music if you dont want to, sometimes i just really like the pressure on my head

- listen to music! as loud as you need, but try not to hurt yourself (and try to be mindful of others around you, like neighbours or ppl prone to overstimulation)

- listen to white noise / something boring - rain, wind, podcasts, audiobooks, boring (or not so boring) youtube videos, whatever