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  ~False binaries series~ 8. Real / not real 🧵 And this one is the biggie! We tend to think things are either real or not real. Although put a group of people together and ask them what belongs under “real” and “not real” and they will disagree very quickly. While nearly all remaining absolutely convinced that the distinction itself is binary. ⬇️

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  Is empathy a less reliable basis for morality than people tend to assume? A thread on empathy, morality, and autistic reasoning ♾️ Empathy works a bit like a spotlight. It illuminates a certain bit of the landscape – the bit that’s in front of us, or that we choose to see – but not all of it. That's a problem if we confuse empathy with morality. (Note: at the end I've explained what I mean by 'empathy') ⬇️ #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent #Autism #Empathy #Morality #Social...

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  "What is it about these people?" A thread on abused women, autistic people... and a question asked backwards. Researchers have spent a great deal of time trying to work out what kind of woman is especially likely to end up in abusive relationships. Which personality traits make women susceptible. They've also spent a huge amount of time (and money) pondering over what it is about autistic people that makes them not fit in, and struggle. A thread 🧵 ⬇️ #ActuallyAutistic #Autism...

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  One of the current diagnostic criteria for autism is a lack of imagination. Would you say you lack imagination? Whatever way you answer, I'd love to hear more detail - if you've time & inclination. Reposts also appreciated ☺️ #AskingAutistics #ActuallyAutistic #Diagnosis #Neurodivergent

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  I’ve just signed this open letter calling on Higher Education to strengthen systems of care for Black, global majority and neurodivergent staff and students, following the death of Professor Jason Arday. It sets out three specific demands for action, alongside calls for urgent inquiry into the circumstances leading to his death. You don’t have to work in academia to sign it - please sign or share if you can. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfz8pSxrx8h4iZiw6pywyuW0XxaJpxUj19P5zkPi2dxO...

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  Subject: Trauma and executive functioning difficulties. Are there any links? I’m just having a thought about the constriction of people’s capacities after severe trauma. So... one problem, you can deal with. Two problems to deal with, you can just about manage. Three problems, and suddenly everything falls apart. And I’m thinking how this could resemble some autistic executive-function difficulties. Judith Herman also talks about what powerlessness does to people. If you get used to almost...

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  "Sometimes I wonder just how many autistic people go undiagnosed due to how horrible society portrays autism to be." Credit to @Autistic_Lia on ex-Twitter #Autism #Autistic #Neurodivergent #ActuallyAutistic

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  ♾️ 10 reasons why I like being autistic ♾️ Thanks to @astridpoot@mastodon.social, my thread has now become a beautiful and fully-illustrated zine! Share if you like what you see❤️ https://wise.astridpoot.nl/30-10-reasons-why-i-like-being-autistic/ 🥰 🥳 😎 🙏 #Autistic #Neurodivergent #Neurodiversity #ActuallyAutistic

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  "Why do you need a label?" ⬇️⬇️⬇️ #Neurodivergent #Autistic #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #ADHD

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  Is autistic distress around change necessarily a problem of personal rigidity or inflexibility? The truth is, everyone's more comfortable with change when they choose it, understand it -- and have some power over how it happens. And this is especially true for those who've been traumatised, or had deeply negative (or even just very intense!) experiences, even when others were insisting that everything was fine. So perhaps the deeper issue isn’t sameness, but safety and being listened...

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  "We're all neurodiverse!" I've heard this phrase a lot recently. It’s both depressing and enraging to me that so many of us use it, yet seem unable either to look the word up in a dictionary or to understand the implications of saying it. A thread 🧵 ⬇️ #Autistic #Autism #Neurodiversity #Neurodivergent

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  Two young women in Arua, Uganda, were arrested after allegedly kissing in public. Under Uganda’s harsh Anti Homosexuality act, they could face life imprisonment if convicted. The petition is to call for the dropping of charges against them. #LGBTQ #lgbtqia #lgbtqpluscommunity http://a.allout.org/s/WKp5D/

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  ♾️Ten reasons why I like being autistic♾️ Maybe surprisingly to some, being autistic isn't all bad. Here are some things that may get missed when autism is defined *only* through our difficulties & struggles. #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent #AuDHD A thread 🧵 1/11

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  You've probably got an old phone gathering dust in a drawer somewhere. You meant to get it fixed. But repairing it was too expensive, too difficult, or simply impossible. That’s not an accident. Companies like Apple and Samsung profit when we don’t repair and buy new instead. While mountains of electronic waste continue to grow, we pay the price. Right now, the EU is working on a new law to tackle this mountain of waste. It's called the Circular Economy Act. Done right, it would mean...

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  "Autistic people aren’t afraid of genetic research – they are afraid of what scientists might do with it" #AutismResearch https://theconversation.com/autistic-people-arent-afraid-of-genetic-research-they-are-afraid-of-what-scientists-might-do-with-it-284387 Thank you @rmblaber1956@mastodon.social for sharing this excellent article.

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  In the UK, 89-97% of autistic adults aged 40+ may be undiagnosed. That's a whole generation of people who've been blamed for traits they naturally had that went unnamed. 😢 #LateDiagnosedAutistic #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent

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  The Deficit-Trauma Loop ➰ 1. Autistic trait exists. 2. The trait is socially inconvenient or misunderstood. 3. The person is corrected, punished, excluded, shamed, or unsupported. 4. Trauma, anxiety, masking, burnout, or co-occurring difficulties develop. 5. The resulting distress is read as autism alone. 6. The diagnosis/deficit story is reinforced. 7. More pressure is applied to reduce the autistic trait. 8. The person is further harmed (PTSD etc.). 9. They exhibit increasingly more distress...

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  Subject: Autistic perception Studies suggest that autistic people give relatively more weight to incoming perceptual detail - and less weight to prior expectations, or assumptions. A thread 🧵 #Autism #AutisticPerception #Neurodiversity #Neurodivergent #ActuallyAutistic

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  Deficit or difference? There are a few things about autism that it takes quite a lot of ingenuity to consistently frame them as negative. I've listed some of them here... A thread 🧵 ⬇️ #Autism #Neurodiversity #Neurodivergent #ActuallyAutistic 1/13

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  Many more women than men have been diagnosed over the years with ‘personality disorders’. These labels are much more personally damning than autism or ADHD - as they judge who you are, rather than explaining how you function. #Autism #ADHD #AuDHD #Sexism #Neurodivergent

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  Many more women than men have been diagnosed over the years with ‘personality disorders’. These labels are much more personally damning than autism or ADHD - as they judge who you are, rather than explaining how you function. #Autism #ADHD #AuDHD #Diagnosis #Sexism #GenderEquality #Neurodivergent

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  Anyone still wanting a reason to not do shitty things? 😂 #AuDHD #ActuallyAutistic #adhd #Neurodivergent

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  What has autism got to do with trauma? Quite a lot, actually. And not only because of what happens inside the autistic person, but because of what happens around us. A thread 🧵 1/10 #Autism #Trauma #Neurodivergent

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  "Why we need to reframe autism" ⬇️ I've just been guest on the podcast that hosted the autism researcher Uta Frith. I did a thread about it: https://mas.to/@KatyElphinstone/116206483353899881 Here's my episode: On substack (but I think anyone can listen to it): https://neurosense.substack.com/p/why-we-need-to-reframe-autism-with On Apple podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/lets-talk-neurosense-the-psychology-of-neurodiversity/id1883007944  On Spot...

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  Most autistic people, despite everything, actually like being autistic. Not all, of course. But most of us. And I don’t just mean ‘making peace with it’. I mean: it's bound up with who we are. A thread 🧵 1/11 (refs at the end) #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent

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  If autistic people are saying ‘this is part of who I am’ and the response is to continue to fund ways to reduce and eliminate autism, while making very sure our voices are not heard. That isn’t neutral. It's chilling. 😨 11/11 End of 🧵 Refs in link below 👇

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  Is empathy political? A thread on autistic empathy. A still-quite-popular belief about autistic people is that we lack empathy. I think this is faulty logic. Here's why: A thread 🧵 1/10 #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent #DoubleEmpathy #TheoryOfMind

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  Replying to Uta Frith's views, one by one. With thanks to all the members of the autistic community who've informed me & inspired me to write this thread. For those lucky not to know about her article in The Times, and various other related statements, links at the end. CW: it's upsetting 😟 A thread 🧵 #UtaFrith #Research #Autism #Autistic #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent

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  #AskingAutistics How would you describe your ordinary daily level of anxiety (if any at all)? #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent #AuDHD

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  Many autistic adults shudder when recalling school memories. But why do autistic people suffer so much at school? Historically, it’s been framed that a) school is above reproach, and b) there’s always something wrong with the child who doesn’t manage, and not the environment. Some are starting to question that. A thread 🧵 ⬇️ #School #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent #EBSA #ABSA #PDA