1. Current figures and data on autistic people are based on diagnosed people only - that is not everyone!! Many many autistic people are not able to access clinical diagnosis and there are many other folks who may not want to for various reasons!!
#WAAD
2. There are lots of metaphors around around autism (personally I like the knight chess piece), some are really useful but others can be harmful - it's important to listen to the descriptors that autistic people are using and not repeat cliches trotted out by the media! #WAAD
3. Autistic people come in all shapes, sizes, genders, ages and ethnicities!! You may see predominantly white male faces in the media but that's because of historical bias, not factual accuracy!! (Caused and perpetuated by nonsense theories like 'extreme male brain')
#WAAD
4. Autistic people having varying needs and these needs can change depending on our circumstances & situations! What we are struggling with may not always be apparent to you if we are masking or going into a freeze meltdown (shutdown) #WAAD
5. There are divides in the autistic community over lots of things but don't try to play us off against each other! People's needs can range hugely, don't put someone down just because, in your opinion, their needs "aren't as great" as someone else's and don't be ableist
#WAAD
Continuing my list of things non-autistic people need to be aware of on #WorldAutismAwarenessDay
6. There is no cure for autism and trying to "eradicate" it is eugenics against us as a community so stop it!!
#WorldAutismAcceptanceDay#WAAD
7. Just because I don't want to be "cured" of being autistic doesn't mean there aren't thing I wish I could change. I'd love to be able to "turn down" my sensory sensitivities or to not have everything I do cost me so much energy - it's hard and tiring being autistic
#WAAD
8. Sensory sensitivities come in both hyper (too much) and hypo (too little) states and affect autistic people differently. What I sensory avoid (the noise of loud banging roadworks) one day, I may sensory seek another (loud rock music), it depends on my need on the day
#WAAD
9. Sensory overload HURTS!! To me it feels like a vice grip is squeezing my head while hot needles are poked in my temples. Pain behind my eyes radiates outwards and my jaw, shoulders, stomach all clench tight. My legs get restless wanting to run away and everything itches.
#WAAD
10. The recovery from a sensory overload can take as long as recovery from meltdown, ie up to several days if it's been really bad!! Most of the time though a few hours in a quiet, dark, safe environment will be enough to ease the worst of the pain and start recovery
#WAAD
11. Meltdown recovery is individual and will depend on the triggers. How I recover from a fight meltdown is very different to recovering from a flight or freeze one, but there are key elements to all - I must feel safe and in control and I need positive sensory input.
#WAAD
12. Just like with communication and processing, don't try to rush an autistic person through recovery, one of the stages of recovery is processing what has happened and what we need next, this might take a while as we are operating on even less energy than normal
#WAAD
13. Being aware of how our energy levels work is really important, autistic people use a variety of expressions and metaphors for this: spoon theory, energy accounting, credit and debit.
Essentially doing things "costs" us more energy than it does non-autistic people
#WAAD
As an aside my metaphor is fuel in a car - when it starts running out you can hear the car sputtering and clanking, it's fine if you can get to refill quickly there's not too much lasting damage but let it go completely empty and it's an expensive trip to the garage needed!
#WAAD
14. Lots of things can affect our energy levels and some can affect us for longer than just that moment or day. I've talked for years about "social hangovers" and how the combination of sensory input and "peopleing" can really hit you for six the next day
#WAAD
15. Too many days of low spoons/energy or social hangovers impact on us can lead to fatigue and eventually burnout. Imagine each day you are spending much more than you have, how quickly would you go bankrupt?!
#WAAD
16. Autistic people are often accused of having no empathy or feelings, yet we feel very deeply sometimes and we hear what you say about us. I've been called "difficult" at work, labelled as the problem, given grief for wanted to stick to rules/do the morally right thing
#WAAD
17. We can even be "emotional sponges" for other people's feelings, I feel paralysed when around an upset person because I'm so hyper aware of their emotions I can't focus on what I should do to help. I'm also a complete sponge for other people's stress!
#WAAD
18. We may also seem frozen as we are caught in our memories, triggered by the sensory input from the person's crying or something nearby. Most of my memories are very tied to the sensory environment of the time, and so I'm easily taken into a memory by a smell or sound
#WAAD
19. Positive memories can be incredibly useful for avoiding meltdown or helping recovery after - I have a very strong positive memory attachment to the scent of Deep Heat (from childhood) so smelling it takes my mind back to that memory and makes me feel safe
#WAAD
Might have wandered away from my initial list of "things non-autistic people should be aware of on world autism awareness day" but . . . .
20. Autistic people sometimes go off on tangents that may seem unrelated to you but have been a perfectly logical progression to us!
#WAAD
21. Listening to us is very important but give us time to think about what we're saying! Lots of autistics don't like the phone for various reasons but having to respond quickly is a common one, using text based comms is preferred as you can think and edit before sending
#WAAD
