#moderate autism

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

*unbolded version under the cut*

there is nothing wrong with seeing your autism as a disorder.

there’s nothing wrong with seeing your autism as a disorder AND disability AND neurodivergent AND be proud of it.

disorder is not a bad word.

saying “autism is a neurodivergence not a disorder” ignores nuance and is actively erasing level 2/3 autistics.

here is to autistics who sees their autism as a disorder.

…

unbolded:

there is nothing wrong with seeing your autism as a disorder.

there’s nothing wrong with seeing your autism as a disorder AND disability AND neurodivergent AND be proud of it.

disorder is not a bad word.

saying “autism is a neurodivergence not a disorder” ignores nuance and is actively erasing level 2/3 autistics.

here is to autistics who sees their autism as a disorder.

#actually autistic #actuallyautistic #level 2 autism #level 3 autism #actually neurodivergent #actually nd #severe autism #moderate autism #autism #autistic

[s1yeye]

kuru am feel tired of how often times when tell others that used to have parent help do 'basic things' (like get dress, take shower and bathe self, brush hair, use bathroom) up until certain recent age, they feel react badly and say parent is creepy or weird or gross, maybe even imply sexual abuse. make kuru very mad frustrate.

kuru need help use bathroom until age 9. kuru need sleep in same bed adult until age 12. kuru need help shower and wash body until age 13. kuru still need help today for brush hair and others. is good thing that parent sometimes gived those help!! not bad. not make parent creep. stop say that imply that. is because kuru meet milestone late and need assistance not learn do right. stop assume everything parent do with disabled kid is become creepy. we not babies who need your protection.

#kuru noises #level 2 autism #medium support needs #actually autistic #level 2 autistic #intellectual disability #high support needs #moderate autism

[eddybear-owo]

"There are many great things abiut autism" yeah, FOR YOU.

I nearly only got the bad parts of autism but i'm still too "normal" for me to have been diagnosed as a child, so yeah, for you it is, for me it is the passion for projects at MOST that is good from my autism. Y'know, that passion that neurotypicals have too.

(This isn't to discredit anyone's opinions on their disability, but using "autism is" and saying something that is entirely subjective makes some autistics like me feel so left out from the community..)

#autism #asd #moderate support needs #moderate autism #actually autistic #actually disabled #disability

[ichverdurstehier]

Is it possible for someone's autism levels to change due to trauma? Like could a 1.5 go to a 2.5 after being kidnapped and tortured? I'm writing a story

#autism levels #level 1 autism #level 2 autism #level 3 autism #level 2 autistic #level 3 autistic #mild autism #mildly autistic #moderate autism #severe autism #lan wangji #actuallyautistic #actually autistic #autistic levels #nonverbal autistic #nonverbal autism #autism #trauma #writing reference #writing resources #writing help #writing stories #writing advice #writing #character writing tips #writing trauma #trauma coping #effects of trauma

[languageshead]

About my last post and the severity of my autism

Hello everyone. Sunday, I was having a really bad day. I have been struggling at University, with friends and with autism. On World Autism Awareness Day I had a shitty day and my biggest special interest after languages is Katy Perry. I have been a katycat since I was 10 years old and I will be 21 soon.  

Because I had such a bad day, I really wanted Katy Perry to say something about autism. Long story short, as expected, she didn’t answer me. I was upset and that’s why I wrote a post to help me cope with my feelings. I posted my text on another social media as well on an autism subreddit and someone was really mean. They wrote “lmao”, then “touch some grass”, then “you are so out of touch with reality”. I was very hurt. I told my mom about this person and we had a conversation about my autism.

My autism is not funny or quirky, my autism is not understanding that Katy Perry is a famous person and no matter how much I care about her, she will probably never answer my messages. My mom tells me since I am young: “We cannot contact Katy Perry. She is simply too famous, it’s hard for her to see your messages”. At this point I understand what this means, but I don’t comprehend it. I simply can’t understand this. This is the reason why I am out of touch with reality, this is why the fact that Katy Perry didn’t see my message makes me sad and upset. I am out of touch with reality, I have always been. This is what autism is. This is my autism.

My autism is not having sensory issues, is not wearing noise cancelling headphones, is not having cute stims or having issues with small talk. My autism is me not understanding that Katy Perry is a famous person that I can’t just message. My autism is self harm behaviors, is hitting my head against the wall when overwhelmed, my autism is using AAC because my speech impairments make it hard for me to speak, my autism is not understanding boundaries, is violent and bad meltdowns, is crying because Katy Perry didn’t read my message. 

My autism is being out of reality, is not understanding empathy, not understanding the world, not understanding speech from others, is not being able to properly study because of cognitive difficulties. Yes, I am out of reality. This is why my autism is moderate, level 2. This is why I am not like you, not like most people in this community. This is why I needed ABA, because I run away from mom, because I don’t understand language, because I am unaware of everyone, because until I was 8 years old I don’t recognize anyone besides mom dad and grandma. This is why I am 20 years old and I go to OT because I need 1 hour to write this, to type out every word because my motor skills don’t work, because I need a lot of time to think and to process language in my brain. 

I have moderate autism. I don’t have quirky or “I want ASD out of the DSM” autism. I don’t have “not a disability” autism. I have level 2 autism, and yes, I am weird, I am out of reality. And I hate it that the autistic community doesn’t acknowledge me or others like me. No, I cannot comprehend that Katy Perry is famous and I cannot keep myself from being upset because she didn’t see my texts. 

#autism #autism spectrum disorder #autism level 2 #katy perry #katycat #autistic #actually autistic #moderate autism

[mischiefmanifold]

since you’re level 2 can I ask if my experience sounds similar to yours? im trying to figure out which level I am and everyone says different things abt each. i am med? support needs and do need help with BADLS, change has always been distressing for me, verbal loss episodes I think, in general knowing what to say and translating my thoughts into sentences can be hard and social interaction is hard, hard to not just say the same things all the time bc idk how to respond and how to rlly make a friend even after knowing a. Person for years so I only have three/four, I rarely talk sometimes and am rlly quiet and hard to not be quiet and extremely shy, extreme sensory issues, flat effect, big introspection issues, don’t know what counts as being able to masking or not bc even if I could try I know I don’t come off “normal” all the time although to some (who don’t realize the behavior is off bc they’re also autistic or have adhd lol), aaah etc etc idk could u tell me some about your experience?

Some of My Autism Symptoms (From a Level Two Autistic)

Extremely poor interoception (I regularly piss myself and can't control my bladder, as well as not being able to tell when I'm hungry or have to use the bathroom)

Incredible difficulty forming thoughts into words and even separating thoughts

Frequent periods where I can't speak at all, and when I can speak it's hard for me to sound coherent without LOTS of scripting

Meltdowns from very small things such as touching the wrong texture

I have panic attacks or meltdowns when plans change suddenly or without my input

I accidentally eat too much food because I can't tell when I'm full

I can't identify sarcasm in others and also can't use it correctly myself

My repetitive behaviors are so bad I regularly injure myself (I bite my nails past the start of my fingers, causing bleeding and infection, meltdowns cause bruises and scratches)

When having meltdowns I become a danger to myself and anyone in my vicinity (I once threw books all over my room because a plan had changed)

I have only had two or three real friends in my entire life

I do not initiate social interactions unless I am speaking about my special interest (at which point I will not shut up)

Poor affect and ability to match my facial expressions to specific emotions or situations

I have such big issues with food that I can only eat like seven different textures/flavors of food (ARFID is a bitch)

Even if I try to hide my autism symptoms, I am still noticeably autistic

#as for your question: some sound similar to me but I can't assign you a level #asks answered #anon asks #autism #level 2 autism #level 2 autistic #moderate support needs #moderate autism #medium support needs #self harm mention #sh mention

[spooksforsammy]

Everyone love autism until the person needs someone to remind them or help do things like bathe, change clothes, and use the bathroom.

Everyone love autism until they need to be told what to do in social interactions and still can’t do it correctly.

Everyone love autism until they can’t communicate in the way you deem appropriate. Until they need other ways to communicate because they can’t verbally do it. They love autism until they can’t communicate even if they have aac. until they have NO (no) ways to communicate because they don’t understand they can.

Everyone loves autism until they can’t sit down and stop moving. Until they grunt or moan or make random sounds. Love until moves around and not even realize that their moving.

Everyone loves the idea of autism until it’s not level one low support needs. And not fair that high support needs, medium support needs, level 3, level 2 autistics get so much hate for things can’t help. They should still be loved!

#speech4amy #actually autistic #disabled poc #disability #neurodivergent #autism #neurodiversity #medium support needs #moderate support needs #actually autism #actual autistic #high support needs

[autismaccount]

I've reached 35 responses! They're very interesting, but the sample size is still small, and I don't think it's at all representative of the Tumblr autism community. If I can't reach at least 100 responses, I don't think I'll be able to analyze Tumblr community views on support needs in depth. I'll still post descriptive statistics for the overall sample, but I won't have the statistical power to do anything else.

I'd really appreciate if everyone could help by taking the survey and reblogging this post to their followers!

As a reminder, the survey is meant to understand how people use support needs labels. For example, what makes someone low support needs and not moderate support needs? The survey also helps show what the community is like in general in terms of demographics and experiences!

A summary of the current survey results are under the Read More. Again, especially if a community that you're in is under-represented, please help by spreading the survey link! I'd especially love to hear from more people AMAB, racial/ethnic minorities, people who are not yet diagnosed or were diagnosed as adults, and higher support needs individuals!

Age: Most participants are young; 60% are under age 25%, and 20% are under 18.

Gender: Over half of the sample is AFAB nonbinary, almost 1/3 is trans men, and almost all of the remainder (14%) is cis women. Only 2 people who are AMAB have taken the survey.

Race/Ethnicity: Non-Hispanic White people are very over-represented, making up 82% of the sample.

Diagnosis: 57% are professionally diagnosed, 20% are informally or soft-diagnosed, and 14% are seeking a diagnosis. Only 9% are neither diagnosed nor seeking a diagnosis.

The most common diagnoses are ASD with no level (33%), level 1 ASD (25%), and "mild autism" (13%).

16% were diagnosed before age 8, 24% between ages 9 and 15, 32% between ages 16 and 18, 12% between ages 19 and 25, and 16% over age 25.

Autism Support Needs: The most common self-identified support needs label is "low-moderate" (43%), followed by low (23%) and moderate (14%). Most would benefit from but do not need weekly support (31%), only need accommodations and mental health support (17%), or rarely need any support (6%).

Autism Symptoms: On a severity scale of 0 (not applicable) to 3 (severe), the average is 1.7 overall, 1.8 socially, and 1.7 for restricted-repetitive behaviors. The most severe symptom is sensory issues (2.1), and the least severe are nonverbal communication and stimming (both 1.5).

83% are fully verbal, and 97% have no intellectual disability.

38% can mask well enough to seem "off" but not necessarily autistic. 21% can't mask well or for long.

Most experience shutdowns (94%), difficulties with interoception (80%), meltdowns (71%), alexithymia (71%), echolalia (69%), and autistic mutism (66%). Very few experience psychosis (14%) or catatonia (11%).

Self-Diagnosis: 20% think it's always fine to self-diagnose autism, 29% think it's almost always fine, 31% think it's only okay if an assessment is inaccessible, 71% think it needs to be done carefully, and 11% think it's okay to suspect but not self-diagnose.

15% think it's always fine to self-diagnose autism DSM-5 levels (including if the person has been told they don't have autism), 15% think it's fine as long as autism hasn't been ruled out, 21% think it's almost always fine, 18% think it's only okay if an assessment is inaccessible, 36% think it needs to be done carefully, and 36% think it's okay to suspect but not self-diagnose.

26% think it's always fine to self-diagnose autism support needs labels (including if the person has been told they don't have autism), 29% think it's fine as long as autism hasn't been ruled out, 37% think it's almost always fine, 29% think it's only okay if an assessment is inaccessible, 43% think it needs to be done carefully, and 6% think it's okay to suspect but not self-diagnose.

Disability: 71% feel disabled by autism, 17% feel disabled by another condition but not autism, and 11% are unsure.

Comorbidities: The most common mental health comorbidities are anxiety (68%), ADHD (62%), and depression (56%).

The least common mental health disorders are schizophrenia spectrum disorders (0%), bipolar disorders (3%), tic disorders (6%), substance use disorders (6%), personality disorder (9%), and OCD (9%).

The most common physical health comorbidities are gastrointestinal issues (29%), connective tissue disorders (29%), autoimmune disorders (24%), neurological disorders or injuries (24%), and hearing/vision loss (24%). All others are below 20%.

Overall Support Needs: When considering comorbidities, the most common self-identified support needs label is moderate (37%), followed by low-moderate (31%) and low (17%).

#autism #actually autistic #actuallyautistic #level 1 autism #level 2 autism #level 3 autism #low support needs #moderate support needs #medium support needs #high support needs

[0th3rw0rldl1n3ss]

So tired of lateral ableism coming from autistics and ADHDers who have symptoms that aren’t severely debilitating. Like just because you don’t need meds or accommodations to function or you can conform well/adapt to NT society to a certain point doesn’t mean other autistics or ADHDers will also be able to?

This post brought to you by a group of people getting frustrated at us for being unable to keep up with a game, us saying “sorry I didn’t take my meds today” and them ALL glaring at me and scoffing about how well they haven’t been on ADHD meds for years. Every single person in the room (there were more than 2 other people). Like ok, good for you, I NEED them to function?? (and even then, I still can’t “pass” as NT.)

We feel so out of place even around other people who are also autistic and/or ADHD. Because so often the other(s) will show just enough traits to seem a bit quirky/odd to NTs, but not get read as visibly ND (except maybe under unusual circumstances, but generally speaking, they can mask effectively enough that NTs wouldn’t perceive them as “having something wrong with them”) but we’re noticeably “slow/r-worded” in a way we’re frequently, under normal, non-extreme circumstances, unable to hide. We’ve heard so many things about how other autistics and ADHDers found other neurodivergent folks and finally felt safe and comfortable after a lifetime of being judged in NT-dominated social circles, and we wish we could relate to that, but honestly we don’t feel any safer with someone just because they’re also autistic/ADHD, because in our experience they’re just as likely to be ableist to us as NTs. Sometimes even worse, because at least NTs can’t say “well *I* can handle (insert task) and I’m autistic/ADHD too so what’s YOUR excuse?”

But yeah. Some of y’all hate to acknowledge that autistics and ADHDers with higher support needs than you exist and you’re quick to throw the rest of us under the bus just because you’re so desperate to make autism and/or ADHD seem more palatable to NTs. Moderate-higher support needs neurodivergents shouldn’t have to beg lower support needs neurodivergents to have solidarity with us.

#lateral ableism #autism #adhd #audhd #neurodivergent #moderate support needs #high support needs #low support needs #medium support needs #autistic #actually autistic #actually adhd #actually audhd #ableism #disabled #disability #developmentally disabled #developmental disabilities #disabled acceptance #disability issues #disabled community #neurodivergent community #audhd things #level 2 autism #disabled solidarity #learning disabled #rant #semi speaking autistic #semi verbal

[five-thousand-loaves-of-bread]

I am wondering what catatonia feels like for you, if you don't mind answering. Hope you are doing well and once again wanted to tell you how important your voice is on this site.

heheh thank you, nice to see u again

gonna talk about general info about autistic catatonia and personal experiences. all the non-personal experience info are from book catatonia, shutdown, and breakdown in autism by dr amitta shah, i very much not far in book but will summarize what i read so far.

so. experience autistic catatonia. which can look different from classic acute & severe catatonia in disorders like schizophrenia (preface/p. 17). so can't speak about that kind of catatonia. but personally also have apraxia and dissociation/dissociate from body, so have hard time separate catatonia experiences from apraxia from dissociation sometimes.

types of catatonia in autism outlined by dr shah (p19-25)

1. chronic catatonia & catatonia-type deterioration and breakdown

change & deteriorate in ability to make voluntary movements & activities, to point where affect daily functioning, independence, behavior, quality of life, etc.

also occur w regression of skill & independence

may not show classic signs of acute catatonia

2. acute catatonia (general)

aka the classic signs of catatonia

3. catatonia as shutdown

temporary shutdown of social interaction & communication during acute stress & get back to normal after stress pass

4. episodic/lifelong catatonia-type difficulties

not deterioration/breakdown but have chronic or episodic difficulty start movement & activities

5. catatonia features

not necessarily diagnostic of autistic catatonia especially if don't have deterioration or affect independence

so personally. when i say autistic catatonia, mean #1, chronic catatonia. have trouble voluntarily control own movements and also deteriorate so much.

don't really mean #3. although also experience it sometimes. autistic community call it "autistic shutdown" more and like that more because distinguish from chronic autistic catatonia.

primary difficulties & manifestations of autistic catatonia (p29)

increased slowness (in walking, response, self-care, etc)

movement difficulties (diffcult initiate, freezing & getting stuck, hesitations, difficulty crossing thresholds, difficulty stopping movement, may affect speech & eating)

movement abnormalities

prompt dependence

passivity & apparent lack of motivation

posturing

periods of shutdown

catatonic excitement

fluctuation of difficulty

personally pretty much experience all of them, except for maybe #6 posturing and #8 catatonic excitement? (also don't have a lot of trouble cross threshold like go through door and such), or at least only very mild forms of 6 & 8.

personally. get stuck a lot. have trouble start thing, from get out bed to brush teeth to do homework etc, all the big and small things. sometimes want to say thing and can't get body to say thing. may freeze mid action, like typing this post, do it very slowly because freeze in between every few words. sometimes mid doing things, just start staring and freeze in the position i hold.

biggest way to describe is just. get stuck all the time. stuck in head. freeze. body inclined to stay still, have really hard time control. so many times stay in head and stim inside head when can't stim with body because can't control body.

literally like newton's first law!!!!! objects at rest will stay at rest, object in motion will stay in motion (unless acted upon by an external force aka in this situation prompts).

need a lot of prompts. verbal or even physical prompts from other people. habit charts and behavior charts and phone reminders and even alarms don't work. need someone prompt.

autistic catatonia + communication difficulties mixed together means that rarely initiate conversation (either no interest or catatonia can't), need specific concrete questions, can't answer general vague big questions. literal stuck when asked big vague questions. sometimes stop talking/freeze when finish answering the explicit part of the question bare minimum and physically cannot continue elaborate unless someone ask another follow up question for prompt (other times don't recognize need to say more but that's more autism communication differences).

somedays good days and body more unlocked. many many many days body stuck.

not really fun.

#autistic catatonia #actually autistic #actuallyautistic #level3 autism #high support needs #level 2 autism #medium support needs #moderate autism #catatonia #nd #asd #autism #autistic #actually neurodivergent #loaf screm #answered

[s1yeye]

is true lot people autism and ID not violent, or agressive, or danger to others. lot people have those conditions can be very nice and kuru maybe even say often people with those conditions like this. but. also lot people autism and ID (especial med-high support or moderate severe etc) can be violent. can be threat others, can want try to hurt. can even have criminal record. disorder can cause issue that do lead to violent violence and impulse urge do lead to hurt harmful thing sometimes. please not generalize or state that never cause these symptoms, or that always people these disorders nice and nonviolent.

kuru autism (possibly in combination ID and ASPD) cause homicidal impulse sometime. cause want urge hurt, even kill others because not understand, because see them as threat or as bad thing that need to make stop. is part of kuru siyeye life. please do not erase. erase these symptoms make even harder to get need support for those who have the symptom.

#level 2 autism #medium support needs #actually autistic #level 2 autistic #intellectual disability #actually mentally ill #actually autism #mild id #high support needs #moderate autism

[eddybear-owo]

I feel sad knowing that i look and act "normal" but will probably only live away from my ma and pa if it's with another person that can help me with shit.

I can't go to the supermarket alone, i can't cross any remotely busy road, i have significant issues with hygiene and i need to wash the dishes rn but i can't and i couldn't yesterday either and now i'm kinda crying because of it...

I won't be able to work on a schedule or timely manner even if i want to, i will live my life afraid that one day i will choke on my food and DIE because choking happens so fucking often, i won't be able to drive a car because i literally can't focus on anything if i'm on the road.

Atleast i learnt how to deal with meltdowns alone and i don't hurt myself too much during them!! That's a plus!!

Anyways... i will go wash some dishes if i can, buhbye..

#i hate this #so. much. #asd #actually autistic #moderate support needs #moderate autism #it's weird that i have more problems with things like eating and bathing and running errands than cleanin is it not? #huh #only noticed it now

[strange-nd-creature]

Autistic Stigma Axis Chart

This isn’t meant to be taken really seriously, just comparing how different people experience different forms of ableism I guess. Honestly I think most autistic people have dealt with all of these things at some point.

[Image: Axis chart with the horizontal being a scale from high masking to low masking, and the vertical being a scale from high support needs to low support needs. High support needs and high masking reads “told they don’t need accommodations because they look normal.” High support needs and low masking reads “infantilized by neurotypicals 24/7.” Low support needs and high masking reads “anxiety from being expected to be a savant genius.” Low support needs and low masking reads “perceived as allistics who are rude, weird, lazy, etcetera.”]

#idk how to do ids sorry #neurodiversity #neurodiverse stuff #autistic #actually neurodiverse #actually autistic #autism #developmental disabilities #high masking #low support needs #low masking #high support needs #moderate support needs #support needs #masking #neurodivergent masking #autistic masking #neurodivergent #autistic things #autism memes #autistic community #ableism #developmentally disabled #neurodivergent things #neurodivergent community #neurodivergent memes

[heather-elissaaa]

Statements about autism that shouldn’t be controversial -

If you do not meet the diagnostic criteria for autism, then you are not autistic

Autism is a disability, not a different ability

Support needs labels are not the same as functioning labels. They are beneficial and often necessary

Parents of autistic individuals are entitled to be a part of our community

It really should be that simple

#autism #actually autistic #autistic things #autistic adult #autistic experiences #autistic community #autism community #autism spectrum disorder #ASD #special interest #neurodivergent #neurodiversity #neurodiverse stuff #actually neurodiverse #disability #disabled #moderate support needs #higher support needs #being autistic #autistic spectrum #autism advocacy #autism awareness #autism acceptance #audhd #audhd things #autism assessment #aspergers #low support needs #autism levels

[mischiefmanifold]

The way many LSN/level 1 autistic people talk about autism is really gross and weird actually

I think many of you forget that autism is an actual disorder and not a personality trait

#autism #actually autistic #low support needs #medium support needs #moderate support needs #level 1 autism #level 2 autism #neurospicy #actually neurodivergent #neurodivergent #neurodivergence #autism spectrum #asd

[anxiously-sidequesting]

Hey so I'm curious, if y'all have ever thought about this reblog/tags/notes with your favorite spell casting sound (the little music notes/sounds that play as you cast a spell)

#y'all already know what my answer is LMAAOOOOO #like i think my second favorite is..... wow its hard #ice and death sound so pretty. im leaning towards death because of the night sounds and the rippling water/river noises #and also its just my aesthetic the fucking wet snarl at the end is so mecore #i also like the balance spell sound. it fucks #OKAY WAIT I ALSO LIKE THE STAR SPELL SOUND #the little magical plink at the end. it makes my autism happy #whoever composed the music/sounds for each spell deserves 1 billion dollars because they're so creative and pleasant #like the variety. shadow magic sounds warped/whisper like and balance ice life and storm are just pure music #also the different instruments for different magic schools!!?!?!? the horns for fire and the string instruments for life???? THATS SO SMART #i just like sounds. sounds sre pleasing to me #idk if anyone has ever paid attention to the spell music or if im just odd #but even as a kid that always stood out to me. its the reason why i have moderate tinnitus #if kingsisle released like ost for each magic school i would pay thousands for each track #like an asmr ambience of each magic school that sounds so pleasing #except for fire idk why that just gives me the “not relaxing” vibes. itd be like intense orchestra music #wizard101 #wiz101 #w101 #text posts