Way way back I drew a comic explaining what we really mean by âThe Autism Spectrumâ and posted it here back when Tumblr was Huge. Then the comic really blew up!! Last year I did a remake of the comic, with some updated language, and using Mia, a character from a graphic novel I made. Figured Iâd share for Autism Acceptance Month!
I think we should have a turn of phrase for âIâm not in the right, but I AM annoyed with this situation, so I just need to go bitch to a friend about this before I suck it up and go do the right thingâ because more and more Iâm finding this is a critical element of functional adulthood.
Various tags on this post like âisnât that venting?â âisnât that kvetching?â and sure itâs a subcategory of that. But those are missing the key detail of this specific case which is the âIâm not in the right.â
Itâs the âfuck Iâm NOT in the right, I GET that, I WILL be mature about this, I WILL just suck it up, I WONâT take it out on the person whoâs annoying me because they havenât actually done anything wrong, but by satanâs spicy asshole I AM annoyed. So Iâm gonna spend 5 minutes in private being a dramatic bitch about it before I get over it and go be a perfectly civil reasonable adult about it.â
This is important.
Acknowledge the fact itâs okay to be wrong and annoyed about it. Vent the frustration.
Put your adult undies on and be responsible for resolving the issue.
âUnfortunately my circus, unfortunately my monkeysâ
My grandfather used to grow watermelons, among other things, and he told me about most of this, especially the orange spot. Those are the absolute best!
sometimes neurodivergence questions will be like ‘do you find activities more enjoyable when they are activities you enjoy’ and it really makes me wonder if this ‘neurotypical’ thing has just been a big practical joke all along
‘do you find it disruptive to your focus when your focus on a task is disrupted suddenly and without warning’ this CANNOT be diagnostic criteria. they are playing us for fools
Ok but it’s not. These are oversimplifications of the questions.
“Do you find it easier to do things you like?” Obviously but the real question is whether your brain’s reward center triggers when you complete something you don’t like. Do you have a single memory of feeling satisfaction from a job well done, even when you hated every second of the job? Do you feel like you have to be under duress to even try certain things, then feel disproportionately exhausted afterwards? A neurotypical often doesn’t even have to THINK about doing boring, unpleasant tasks, they just know they need to do them and then can move on. A neurodiverse mind (ESPECIALLY ADHD!!!) will actively resist starting the task, and you can’t out-willpower your own brain.
“Do you find it disruptive to be interrupted?” Yes, everyone does to some degree, but a neurotypical will be mildly annoyed and then get back on task. If it ruins your whole afternoon? If you find it hard to even START for fear of some interruption taking you out of it? You’re probably neurodivergent.
which are only meaningful questions if they involve clearly establishing the threshold they’re referring to
‘bread is bad for you’ ‘rice is bad for you’ sorry im not subscribing to the idea that staple grains that have been integral to cultures for centuries are evil. i love you carbs
sibling relationships are so strange… like i love you. you will never understand me in a way that matters. we are the same person in drastically different ways. we are sewn together. we don’t talk. we are attached at the hip. you wish i was never born. can i call you. let’s eat together. i forgive you. etc
i don’t have enough photos of you on my phone to make one your contact picture. we got the same tattoo completely by coincidence. why do you always get to be mario. i love the meals you cook. we live in different universes. you can stay at my house if you need. we have never been friends. you are more important to me than anyone on this earth
ALT
ALT
ALT
