Infantile Autism Puns

Is infantile Autism Severe? I was diagnosed at the age of 5 but i dont Seem to be that autistic. I dont know that much about Autism because i was never told that i had it by my parents.

Guys, I really am afraid to offend anyone with this post. I really don't want to.

I know there are a lot of autistic people here, most of them are F84.5 (Aspies). Is here anyone who had F84.0 diagnosis, which is infantile autism?

Hello everyone,

I just had my first appointement with the local Asperger diagnosis center, the pedopsychiatrist (even though i'm an adult) straight away by looking at my medical record tell me she's sure i don't have asperger syndrome or anything Autism related, but that my problem is a development disorder due to infantile PTSD.

I'm puzzled by that, not only because she said that without me passing any extensive testing (just the usual boxes to tick to be admitted to the diagnosis center, and if she is sure why allowing me to come to get a further appointment for testing ?), but also because i objectively have a lot of the classic Asperger symptoms, fact confirmed by other psychiatrists.

I did have a very rough childhood but i'm well over it now, i have done long therapy work with different specialists and i have progressed alot, but i did no progress on the same symptoms the psychaiatrists told me to get tested for : Being around people exhaust me, i have dyspraxia, i'm too sensitive to my environment, i can't get anything done if it isn't part of a well planified routine,my IQ is above 130, i struggle to look people in the eyes, i spend 8hours a day on my passion, my autonomy is near zero, i'm a loner, there is no medication working on me... etc etc.. i can see how my chronic anxiety, insecurity, and tendency to depression could be linked to a PTSD but the other things are a stretch to me...

I was wondering if maybe some other people here could have an helpful point of view or a similar experience to share. The country i live in (France) is notoriously bad at treating psychiatric problems, let alone Autism... I have red studies that linked heavily Autism and PTSD... I don't know, felt for a second that i finally found something that gave sense to how i function and something to build on, but i'm back in limbo... I don't want to be Autistic or whatever, i just want something an explanation that make sense, and to me the PTSD does not explain everything, maybe i'm wrong and the life of someone living with infantile PTSD and someone with Aperger simply are a lot alike ?

I am 19, from Denmark and have had the diagnosis infatile autism from a very early age. I am also about to start my physical transition from female to male by taking testosterone, beginning September. I have already changed my name and gender legally.

Ask me anything.

I have mentioned here before, but I feel that "normies" love to infantilize us. When some people find out that we are in the spectrum they star talking to us on a different tone of voice. People talk about autism without making us protagonists - it is typically a helicopter mom who wants the best for her kid, but is always putting us down despite her "best intentions". The media portrays stories about us doing normal things, like getting a job or being good as something on a very weird way as well. And I absolutely hate that.

The Autism "symbol" (that thing with puzzle pieces) is also proof of that. Colorful puzzle pieces - not something with the letter A, not a brain or something.... not childish, but puzzle pieces. I feel that we are usually seen as clueless, half-capable human beings that are not really grown up, despite the fact that many of us live normal lives - I, for instance, have a normal job, an apartment, a boyfriend, just like many other people around the world.

Seriously, why cant WE be the protagonists of our struggles? Even when Sia made that horrible movie about Autism she did not use someone in the spectrum. I feel that when someone in the spectrum talks about our struggles people are also going like "OOOH LOOOK HOW MATURE HE IS!!!! OH MY HE IS SO GROWN UP!", just like if an 8 year-old said something smart... except that they don't really listen to us.

To elaborate, I never gotten a permit when I was sixteen until I was twenty-three. My parents and special education teachers thought I would never be able to drive due to my diagnosis. This made me angrier as the years go by. I gave up on getting my license because of my parents words and the incident with my dad yelling me to break it while I was tired from working. I would usually daydream if I knew something what was the teacher was lecturing me about nor it was any importance of me.

I've decided to take focusing into my own hands as well as knowing directions, knowing where certain places are as well as paying attention to my surroundings.

I hate being infantilized for being autistic in a social, public situation, especially by my mom. But I don't mind it as much in private by close friends, because when I'm unmasked I feel really childish and i find comfort in being more kid-like. Even if i can think and comprehend like an adult, just not a neurotypical one.

But what do I hate worse than this? Being pressured and being hated on by society for being disabled and unable to do simple things without help and accommodations. It's either I'm a baby and I can't do anything in life without ANY independence, or I'm a 19 year old adult who should be able to handle myself without any help or accommodations, and that it isn't that hard to get them.

I can't handle a job right now. I've realized since doing more adulting for the first time that I do not think or comprehend like everyone else, and its extremely hard to accept.

I've always known i was autistic, especially after research and fitting every single criteria. But actually seeing it side by side with neurotypicals is hard.

No one will give me a diagnosis because no one around here specializes in adult autism. But because of this, no one will take me seriously when I need accommodations. My insurance won't cover anesthesia to get a tooth removed, because I'm an adult now, so labeling it as "anxiety" (because they can't put autism without the documents) isn't bad enough to need anesthesia. My job won't give me any clients because they want to find something easy enough for me to do, so I have a job, but no money. I don't understand how to apply for disability, I have meltdowns in public when I'm alone and i can't comprehend something as simple as what "cash back" means.

I'm always stuck between wanting to prove people wrong and push myself to be normal and functioning like everyone else, or to give up and let myself feel what I need to feel, even if that means needing more help and being dependent.

I'm just tired of not being seen, and tired of not having professional support, and tired of needing to prove myself. I'm especially tired of trying to fit into boxes- either I'm a strong, independent autistic person, or I'm incapable and disablingly autistic, and have the mental age of a 15 year old or younger sometimes.

I know this is jumbled I just wanted to vent.

Dear god it’s so annoying. I go on YouTube to Tik Tok or some sub like r/wholesome or r/mademesmile and whenever there’s someone who’s autistic all the comments are like “oh my god you’re so precious 🥺🥺🥺” or “must protecc them 🥺🥺” and it’s like bitch, just because someone is autistic doesn’t mean that they’re a fucking “uwu baby” Jesus WE’RE NOT GODDAMN CHILDREN??? WE. ARE. PEOPLE. Like jeez if you posted a video about like recovering from a meth addiction and I was like “awwww, so sweet 🥺🥺🥺 I want to protect you at all costs! You’re such a wholesome bean ☺️☺️☺️” you’d probably be like “wtf”

WE 👏ARE👏NOT👏CHILDREN👏

This isn’t even talking about the people who use autistic as an insult, which is considerably worse, but guys, you’re not being nice. If you see someone be happy about doing something despite their autism, congratulate them like a normal human being.

(PS: I’m an autistic girl , if I didn’t make that clear)

A lot of so-called "success stories" (and we get a lot of them this time of the year) seem to revolve around autistic people simultaneously adapting well to society while also "embracing their singular passions" and "being more empathetic after what they have gone through," and little mention of any difficulties (or actual malicious, not just self-defeating, tendencies). Idk but this seems to me like a whitewash of what autistic individuals actually have to put up with mentally no matter what help they got as a child or whatever, and moreover a narrative that makes us look like a bunch of simpleminded but wholesome folks who deserve the same loving condescension as Hodor.

EDIT: This is a general criticism, but it most applies to those testimonials you see on autism nonprofit sites and the like.

(Sorry if this is difficult to read. I feel frustrated right now so it's hard to write clearly.)

Sometimes I really hate being both autistic and a transsex man. People seem to see trans men as less "adult" compared to cis men and being autistic only makes it worse because autistic people get infantilised as well! Also having body hair gives me sensory issues but shaving my body gives me dysphoria (I'm pre surgery) so I feel stressed whether I shave or not. People like to fake being transsex and being autistic, so I worry that people will be more likely to think I'm faking because I'm both autistic and transsex.

Hey all. Hoping this doesn’t violate rule 12. I’m not autistic, but tiktok loves to push a particularly vocal handful of the autistic community onto my fyp. (Tiktok is so toxic honestly and I swear I’m trying to use it less but I’m kinda addicted lmao)

I have a handful of diagnoses including ADHD and bipolar, and I’ve noticed a common theme on autistic tiktok is to have really extremist views on mental health and ableism. Namely, things like saying bipolar/ADHD/etc are actually all just autism but are ableist labels to describe autism. Okay, I mean I know for a fact that autism isn’t being unable to get out of bed for a month straight and then suddenly having superhuman energy that leads to draining your bank account, partying 24/7 and doing meth with strangers, starting 3 businesses, getting engaged, and ending up getting arrested because you stole a car cause you thought the government was spying on you and you had to escape. If that isn’t textbook bipolar…

Further, a couple people have told me that not identifying myself as autistic is ableist and “deeply disrespectful to the autistic community” and therefore I should just call myself autistic, that my mild sensory sensitivities, intelligence, and learning disability automatically must mean I’m autistic, even though I am extremely effective in social communication and understanding relationships and do not have any repetitive or restricted behaviours. But all science is ableist so throw the diagnostic criteria out the window, right?

Not to mention the clearly fake presentations of autism, persistent infantilizing, and other concerning stuff that goes on on that app, the blatant misinformation and group polarization on tiktok is just ridiculously frustrating.

Anyway, just wanted to hear others’ opinions on the topic

this show is fucked. its framed to be this sweet woke show helping autistic people date which is sweet in theory. but like, if you take a step back (and like a verrrrrry small one) it’s obvious that Netflix is just like fully taking advantage and subtly making fun of these low functioning autists

On the whole self diagnosis issue.

As a precursor, I am diagnosed for autism, GAD, was in the past diagnosed with MDD, and I am seeing my psychiatrist in a week about potential OCD.

First off, I believe self diagnosis is overall a bad thing. Self diagnosis results in more stigma against people who actually have real mental illnesses, as self diagnosis is often incorrect and results in people psychogenically displaying symptoms of illnesses that they don’t actually have. People are not objective analysts of themselves, and you’re bound to get many things wrong when viewing yourself from the biased perspective that is YOU. This is why a professional is necessary for assessing your mental state. Furthermore, you should not talk about your struggles with a mental illness unless you have been diagnosed, unless you are explicitly saying you “suspect” it and show healthy skepticism of your own analyses.

I myself have struggled so much with how self diagnosing people have hurt mentally ill peoples and neurodiverse peoples attempts to fight stigma and misinformation. When self diagnosis is readily allowed, fakers become more common. People incorrectly diagnosing themselves becomes more common. These people, whether intending it or not, seriously stigmatize mental illnesses when they talk about the ones they do not have, as if they DO have them. This is bad.

Very bad.

However, it’s also extremely important to take a closer look at the phenomenon. As much as I hate self diagnosis, to stop it, we need to understand WHY it happens. Although there are often economic / accessibility barriers to diagnosis, I find that what ends up resulting in self diagnosis even more frequently is the phenomenon where people are made to feel invalid and ashamed of their struggles unless they have a diagnosable mental illness.

Society has made it so people are ridiculed for struggling. People want to be victims of mental illnesses, not necessarily for “attention”, but to be validated in their struggles. Some people truly do “just want attention”, but I see a lot more people just wanting their very real pain to be recognized as “valid” by others so they can get compassion. Furthermore, seeking attention isn’t necessarily a bad thing- it’s about HOW you seek it. Everyone deserves to be able to vent and receive compassion when life is rough, this is “attention”. Sadly though, rather than showing you compassion, people often infantilize you when you suffer, unless you have an “excus

Hi, I'm not sure if it fits here, but I feel like many of you probably had the same problem... I need some advices on what to do.

At first I thought and was convinced that the problem must be in me. That maybe I'm not explaining things correctly or that I simply can't be believed. But then I met other chronically ill women with same experiences and few men with almost no experiences like that. My boyfriend has hEDS and autism too + different comorbidities (BPD and stuff) and I'm shocked that he never had the issues like I do (I'll give some examples). PS: I know even men experience issues in medicine and I'm in no way dismissing it! Just explaining my personal experience and observations. Everyone deserves to be treated well and respected.

Here are some examples of what's been happening sometimes:

• Many doctors didn't / don't believe my pain - before any tests were performed, I was dismissed many times that "it must be psychological / emotional", "if I considered therapy" (I've been in therapy until recently btw), "if I considered that it could be just in my head", etc. - and then surprise surprise, after months/weeks/days of suffering when I was finally tested for something, they found that something is actually wrong (e.g. kidney ultrasound, spine MRI, endoscopy - many situations like that happened). When my partner is at the doctors and says something, they take it as a fact. And one time - when we were at the ER because of me - I said to them what happened and they were dismissive, etc. and then my partner literally just repeated what I said, just more loudly and angrily - the doctor was like "really? we need to do the test then"... like... what? Maybe we could say that I'm not that confident and I usually don't get mad or emotional... well, I did about 2 times in my life. And it was taken as a further proof that I must be irrational, overly emotional and my issues must be psychological, it definitely didn't help me be taken more seriously. So I feel like there's nothing I can do right...?

• I'm always taken as a weak person, I got many comments on it because even though I'm tall, I'm slender and have very long arms, thin wrists, look younger than I am (I'm 22), so I even feel infantilized sometimes...? My partner's "toughness" was never questioned so when he has some health related complaint - it must be examined and solved because it might be real and/or serious. Meanwhile all I need must be relaxing and considering "sleeping it off" like I'm s

No, this isn't because I'm against autism headcanons in general. I just don't like it for like one reason.

It's not really a good representation of autism in general.

Sky being socially inept because he was raised by a seven year old. He never really grew up in a environment where he could learn what is socially acceptable or not and pretty much is a six year old in a nineteen year old's body.

Sky isn't a deep character, I'll tell you that. Personally to me he was yet another character Tui made to squeeze every 'aww' out of the audience despite him being the same age as Peril.

But, Sky does have an interesting concept. The concept of a dragon who grew up outside of society and having to deal with how different his world view is to everything else. He's a child who just wants to see the best in the world but is stuck in the body of an adult.

Him having autism takes this and spits on it.

It recontextualizes Sky's actions and thoughts as him just being 'autistic'. His pacifism and love for snails just show it as him being hyperfixated on things. It takes a good concept and throws it out just because people are desperate for their autism representation.

But, the part that gets me is how it sort of makes autistic people look childish and immature.

Sky is immature because he was raised by a child and never grew up as what SkyWings should be.

Sky being immature because he's on the autism spectrum just makes people on said spectrum look like they're childish people who need to be constantly monitored. To me it paints Sky's 'cute' actions as autistic, while also still saying that they're 'cute'. It infantilizes people with autism and kind of makes me feel a knot in my stomach.

I'm at my limit. I've had enough of this "neurodivergent people don't understand gender" bullshit. I wouldn't even care as much if people were saying "I personally don't understand gender due to my neurodivergence," but of course they have to generalize an entire group of people, the majority of whom are cis anyway.

I have fought so hard since I was a kid to not be infantilized because of my autism. I've fought even harder to prove that despite being autistic I am capable of understanding what being transgender means and that I have the mental capacity to make decisions regarding transition. I can only hope that I won't be denied hormones and surgery that I literally need to survive.

These xenogender bun/bunself assholes make it impossible to be taken seriously. I don't think a lot of them are actually neurodivergent either. They want all the "cutesy" parts but never talk about their struggles. They've made it harder to simply exist.

This is sort of a mesh of "is this a thing" and "advice needed" because I kind of need both lol, I'm super sorry if this isn't the right place but I have no idea where else to go. Additionally this post kind of rambles, so apologies for that too.

So my entire life, I have always found that no matter where I go, inevitably someone will enter my life and want to "adopt" me. It's likely a combination of being estranged from my actual family (n-Mom), my being autistic, and my being kind of young (23.) I don't know what it is about me that seems to scream "I am a child in need of help" but literally, I've had so many older adults claim I'm their child and help me in various ways.

Of course, when I really did need this help, it was beyond a godsend. I truly wouldn't be where I am today if not for the amazing people in my life who have helped me and expected nothing in return, they just wanted to see me succeed.

But... I'm 23 now, almost 24, and it's still happening and I don't know why–but I'd kind of like it to stop. I don't want to sound ungrateful, but it feels like everyone sees me as a lot younger and more inexperienced and in need of more help than I really am. I met a corporate big wig at my current job who literally looked at me and asked me how old I was because I genuinely think he thought I was a teenager. Obviously I'm not perfect and there are areas in which I struggle, but I can handle my problems myself (especially when I'm the one creating most of my problems lmao.)

I just really have no idea how to project out into the world that I don't need an adult, because I am one now. A young adult, sure, but I've been taking care of myself for the most part since I was 18, and while I can be naive in some ways, I can truthfully say I'm a lot wiser than most people my age just due to some of the shit I've been through. I really don't want that to sound arrogant, so I hope it doesn't, I'm just tired of being treated like a child by everyone around me. I don't know specifically what's causing this, but I know my autism must be playing a part (cuz I've seen a lot of other autistic people mention they're infantilized a lot.)

Has anyone else dealt with this or is currently dealing with this that maybe has some advice?? Or even just talking about your own experiences with this so I feel less alone. :') thanks for reading!!

Introduction
📷
WARNING: EVERYTHING SPOILED
I WILL spoil everything there is to spoil. If you don't like spoilers, turn back.
There won't be separate spoiler tags.

Disclaimer:
I am not a trained psychoanalyst, psychiatrist or a contributing member of society in any way, shape or form. Everything you see here, I merely read from books.

Through this "guide", I hope you will discover new details, make new connections, perhaps gain a new perspective.

Delusions, Hallucinations (Part 1: Freud)
📷
Milk-chan hallucinates and have delusions throughout the story. But where are they from?
We begin to answer this question by first examining where psychosis comes from.

From Sigmund Freud's perspective, it all begins when the Id, the impulse within the psyche, encounters a conflict with reality. In neurosis (normal people), this is resolved through repression. In psychosis, the conflictual impulse cannot be repressed, and it is "resolved" through disavowal— reality is rejected. The subject excludes both the conflictual idea and its corresponding affect, alongside any aspect in the subject’s reality to which they are related.

Then the subject attempts to create "a new external and internal world … in accordance with the id’s wishful impulses."

This new reality is constructed through psychotic delusions, where ideas, judgments, representations, etc. are altered to comply with the the conflictual drive impulses.

To maintain their "new reality", the psychotic subject hallucinates, so that the perceived world comply with the alterations.
📷Notice how delusion and hallucination work together. Milk-chan believes in the healing effects of her newly invented pills, and then she hallucinates that her problems are cured one by one.

Reference:
Freud, The Loss of Reality in Neurosis and Psychosis, 1924

Delusions, Hallucinations (Part 2: Lacan)
📷 But if one hallucinates to keep their delusions, their imaginary, perfect world alive, why would it be as horrible as... Mum?

French psychoanalyst Lacan provided the answer.

Since his theory is radically different from Freud and much less intuitive, we'll take our time to briefly glance at his theory on the origin of psychosis.

Lacan theorizes that the mechanism which leads to psychosis is "foreclosure."

But what is it that gets foreclosed?

Initially, as a newbor

The last 8 weeks have been tough, but this morning I can see the light, and it's all shining from my heart.

Babe and I had a peaceful 6am feeding (as opposed to the jerking and choking that sometimes happens because of my forceful letdown). He didn't spit up and went right back to sleep.

My husband woke up with him at 730 and I slept until I woke up naturally (well, until my boobs woke me up :) )

I had coffee and a cinnamon roll. Both of them hot.

We had ANOTHER peaceful breastfeeding session, followed by lots of smiles and some story time. Still no spit up 🙌

Little guy fell asleep in my arms.

My husband is going to stay home today while I go out to run some errands and probably get myself some Starbucks and read in the car.

The past 8 weeks have been so chaotic. I often wonder if my baby even likes me, and I have bouts of severe anxiety where I will constantly Google "symptoms" and convince myself that my baby has autism or cerebral palsy or infantile spasms. This morning is just peaceful and happy and I love him so much. That's all. I just needed to share with other parents who would either understand this kind of peaceful joy or who are NOT having good Saturday mornings--I promise your time will come and I hope you enjoy it, too ❤️

How can I make my autistic older brothers life easier?

Hi Reddit, I have a 23 y/o older brother diagnosed with infantile autism and ADD, and has since developed a depression. He is high-functioning. In the last year his life has been a pause, he dropped out of his education, has no motivation for anything, easily gets anxious/stressed.

As a 21 y/o little brother, are there things I can do to make his life easier or any tips on how to support him, in ways to make him less stressed/anxious?

He is a very avid gamer, and last year I invested in a console to spend more time with him, even if not physically but is there other things I can do in order for him to relax?

===================================================

allism: an introduction to a little-known condition

===================================================

by Andrew Main (Zefram)

2003-01-30

abstract

--------

Allism is a congenital neurological disorder adversely affecting many

areas of brain function. The condition is not widely known, having been

only recently identified. This article is an introduction to allism,

describing the mental and practical effects of the condition, and giving

an overview of the current medical understanding. This article is aimed

at the general public, though medical professionals may also find it a

useful starting point.

0. table of contents

====================

0. table of contents

1. introduction

1.0. an unrecognised condition

1.1. pronunciation note

2. effects of allism

2.0. direct effects

2.1. social impairment

2.2. the allistic mob effect

2.3. sensory impairment

2.4. general mental impairment

3. living with allism

3.0. social ritual

3.1. issues with text-only communication channels

3.2. problems with truth and falsity

3.3. use of computers

3.4. religion and belief

4. study of allism

4.0. development of allism

4.1. genetic predisposition

4.2. diagnostic criteria

5. postscript

6. introduction

===============

1.0. an unrecognised condition

------------------------------

Allism is a debilitating neurological condition which adversely affects

emotional stability, sensory perception, self-awareness, attention, and

many other areas of mental function. It is a developmental abnormality,

arising from congenital neurological defects that affect infantile

mental development. The effects are lifelong, and there is no cure.

However, despite the wide-ranging effects, sufferers superficially

appear normal, and can partially compensate for their deficiencies to

lead nearly normal lives.

Because of the superficial normality, allism has only been recently

identified as a pathological condition. It has turned out not to

be a rare condition; indeed, it is beginning to be recognised as

alarmingly prevalent. Yet public knowledge is slow to catch on to

these developments. There has been little research so far, and allism

is still almost unknown to the general public, and even to mental health

professionals.

Because of the lack of common recognition, allism is rarely diagnosed.

Indeed, most sufferers are not merely undiagnosed but may be completely

unaware of their condition. As underst

This is a throwaway for personal reasons. I also apologize for the very long post. I can delete this if it breaks the venting rule.

My family consists of me (27F), my autistic older brother (29M), and our parents (50s-60s). My brother and I were essentially raised by our mom and we all live in the same house as it's common in our culture for adult children to live with parents. Dad doesn't live with us.

My brother was diagnosed when he was around two-years-old. He doesn't have any physical disabilities. He is very bright and communicates well, but is also very dependent on others. I think a lot of it is due to our mom infantilizing him throughout childhood and now suddenly oscillating between infantilizing him and expecting him to do everything on his own. Now that he's almost 30, she's exasperated by his dependence on other people. I'm genuinely not sure if I'm ableist for saying this but I think my brother often does selfish things as a result of our mom and it impacts my relationship with him.

I'll list a few examples:

• He has a driver's license but doesn't use it at all... And expects other people to drive him around or take care of errands that require driving. When I offered to sit in the car with him so he could practice, he just told me, "I don't want to drive because I don't see a need for me to do it."
• He often refuses to go out on spontaneous errands for our mom because he doesn't want to change his clothes, even if he has nothing important to do. He will complain until our mom gives up and asks me to do it even while I'm working (I work from home).
• He will ask to eat certain things and refuse to cook it, then complain when we don't cook it the way he likes (sensory issues, I get it, but still). He can cook and has done it before when he's wanted to eat something; he just won't most of the time. He gets upset when we suggest he cook.
• He takes food he wants without asking, even when they're gifts for someone else in the family. We often remind him to ask but he doesn't. He has literally taken food off my plate while I'm eating because he wanted it.

These all happened fairly recently. I understand my brother struggles a lot with socializing, flexibility, and empathy, but I'm worried about him. I don't think a lot of other people would tolerate this. My mom enables all of this behavior by saying "your brother has autism" until it gets turned on her, which is when she gets angry and snaps at him. Admittedly, I have a selfish reason for w

Okay, so this is gonna be a tough one.

Recently, I was diagnosed with autism and adhd. I have always suspected that I am on the spectrum, so it didn't really come as a surprise. For personal reasons that I don't really want to get into too much detail about, I decided to keep this to myself. Not even my family or my closest friends know about it, only my piano teacher knows (and she is a person who has known me since my late teens and therefor has witnessed the most integral parts of my personal growth). I recently enrolled in university for my second degree, a degree in fine arts, and never in my life have I been more excited, studying art has been my dream since I was a little girl. But I have a couple of issues that have been giving me an etremelly hard time. First and foremost, the conditions in the studios that our workshops take place in are terrible. Even neurotypical students have trouble concentrating: there are at least 20 people in each room, talking, laughing, scrathcing pencils, opening paint cans and moving about. Can you even imagine the static this creates in my head? Even the textures are freaking me out. There is charcoal dust everywhere, and the cold (we completely lack heating) in combination with my Reynaud's is making my tactile sense all over the place. My sensory issues are flaring up, and the awkwardness of having to react with all these people (and not even knowing how to) are creating a mess in my head. Secondly, from personal experience, I know that my head operates differently, therefor I have to decode all the information that I am given and use my own though process. For example, I know that I get stuck with little details and often miss the bigger picture... Imagine what this does to my work as a whole. Anyways, I know myself. I have learnt to operate on my own terms and get to my destination, I always do. It might take a different root and/or different time, but I always make it, and the result is often exceptional. I know my weaknnesses and my strenghts, and I have learnt to use them accordingly. But my tutors know nothing about my condition, or why I opperate this way, and therefor they draw their own conclusions, whish has hurt my progress, my feelings and my image as a student terribly. Out of the three of them, the one, let's say Mr K, has given me the hardest time. To him, it was a mistake I even became an artist. Being unable to strike conversations or look him in the eye means that I have nothing to say. That nothi

Autistic people are infantilized by media, we are treated like children regardless of how old we are because we’re autistic. Many autistic traits are infantilized and autistic people are only talked about as if autism is something that only occurs in children. As if autistic adults do not exist. We do exist and have always existed, and yet we are treated as if we are children.

How many of you feel you are infantilized by people in your personal life? By loved ones, classmates, coworkers, acquaintances, strangers, etc.?

What are some stories you have from people in your personal life infantilizing you? Have you felt you’ve had to prove yourself because of these events?

View Poll

This is my first time posting here.

In general I feel that autism is very infantilized by people. It is perceived almost as a purely infantile disorder and that it "fixes" as it grows older.

I am still quite young, but not a teenager. Sometimes it is very difficult to adapt to the "adult" dynamics. Sometimes I get angry not understanding certain situations and suddenly I remember "Wait, i am autistic. That's why i don't understand it". Things like adapting to other people's schedules, for example, are still difficult for me, or having to constantly look into their eyes.

What things in the adult neurotypical world still make it difficult for you or do you not fully understand? Has it made it difficult for you to adapt?

In a comment thread I participated in, I realized that there doesn't really exist any training material for autists and communication. The programs that exist (that I'm aware of), are all targeted towards young children, and are pretty infantilizing and unhelpful.

I would like to try my hand at changing this, and create a handbook that explores situations where there's a communication breakdown due to neurodiversity, and then analyzes how and where the communication broke down, and what reasonable steps all parties involved can take to avoid this breakdown in the future.

This will heavily focus on autism because:

It's one of the more common NDs where communication breakdowns happen regularly, and

I'm autistic, so this is where the bulk of my experience that qualifies me to write about this is.

With that said, I would want to try to branch out into other neurodiverse conditions - so I welcome suggestions for other ND conditions to include.

So... the ask: Please share with me your stories about communication breakdowns.

Ideally, I would have verbatim examples of what was said - audio recordings, transcripts, links, etc., but I recognize that this isn't really feasible for examples that occur IRL. Please provide as much and as accurate information as you have - don't just state that the other person ignored you, etc.

Please be aware that your stories may be selected for inclusion and re-worded/re-structured, or even be used as an inspiration for a hypothetical situation where we can provide motivations that may or may not be present in the provided situation. So by providing your stories, you're giving me permission to reproduce them myself.

I plan to run these analyses by the relevant communities to help ensure that other perspectives and insights are included, before they're formally "published".

Thanks in advance to everyone who's willing to share their stories, and I hope this is well-received and helpful to everyone!

Has anybody encountered the "All autistic people are short" stereotype where people think you are not autistic just because you are tall? This happened to me once or twice before where someone claimed I am not autistic simply being of my height. I'm 6 ft 1 inch tall which can probably be considered unusual for an autistic but I know i'm definitely not the only one. Any other tall autistics here?

I visited my friend last night and we ate dinner and just talked.

She told me that she and her son (my godson) had been at an evaluation and that the results came in and that her son has Asperger's syndrome (It's still being used here, regardless of the update to the DSV, before anyone says something about this part).

I have Asperger's myself, and I only see it as a blessing so I said "Nice! Then I can teach him all about that Aspie life :D". She didn't take that well at all. She said she's downhearted and that he will never have a normal life and what's wrong with me for saying "Nice!".

I gently reminded her that I myself have it and that I only see myself having it as a good thing, and I also remind her that I live a great life, where the only hard part I have in life connected to it is dating but in literally every other area I have it great. I also told her that if I were to say something along the lines of "Awe, I feel for you, that's awful", I indirectly say that there's something wrong with me when I don't. I consider my AS a blessing and I can't see myself without it as it adds so much to my life. That I could lie to her face but that would go against how our friendship has been all these years, built on 100% honesty.

I also told her that he will probably have an even better life than I as his diagnosis was found out at 9, while with me it was 22 and that there's great information (I intentionally avoided the word "help" as I find it infantilizing) to learn more of it.

She was still mad and asked how I could be happy. I just said "I'm not necessarily happy, but I see it as another thing to bond with, and I'd love to teach him and show things to navigate the world.

Come on. You've known me for 10 years and I have shattered every picture you've had of people with Autism. You know my life is great, and <son's name>'s life will be as well."

She kind of agreed but still said I shouldn't have shown so much excitement.

I went home and it still felt like she was mad at me but I'm not sure. What do I do now?

I myself am autistic, and I understand it’s an older movie from a time when autism was barely in the public conscious, but I feel like the movie has aged kind of poorly with the way it infantilizes Raymond

People have a tendency to avoid swearing around me, or apologize to me after making more “adult” jokes, even though I’ve never expressed discomfort with either thing.

When that happened again today I said—trying to sound joking—“I’m not a baby, you know, haha.”

Then my other friend said “that’s debatable.”

I laughed it off at the time but now I’m crying after. It just feels difficult, because (while at least part of this may come from the fact that I’m in my mid-20’s and they’re in their 30’s. Or at least I hopes so; as I want to give them the benefit of the doubt) I have told them before I have a sensitivity to being infantilized, and that it’s actually pretty bad for me since I also have trauma related regression on top of my autism that can get triggered by being treated that way.

I’m very sad and upset. I wonder sometimes if anyone will ever really see me as a whole, and grown human. And even worse, I wonder if my being infantilized because of my autism will doom me to constantly have to fight off my trauma regressions.

It feels like it was such a small moment but at the same time I feel so sad and tired now.

UPDATE: I’m good today so I thought I’d share.

Thank you everyone for your comments and support. I appreciate them all very much, and I’ve taken the advice that a lot of you have echoed here, reaching out to my friends and reminding them about my feelings about being infantilized, and being implied to be a baby.

It’s like a lot of you thought. The apologies and self-filtering around me were some admitted biased slip ups one some friends part, and also some miscommunication (‘cause I wasn’t laughing out loud, but no one can SEE me chuckle and smile over voice call. I always forget to preform auditory joy in that setting 😅). We talked about it and worked it out; and I think we all feel relieved and speak a lot more freely now. And the couple friends who make jokes along the lines of it being “debatable” whether or not I was a baby, they were in fact under the impression I would understand it as being because I’m the youngest of our group, and promised to avoid making jokes like that in the future.

All-in-all, I feel a lot better than I did, and I’m super glad I posted here. You guys gave me the advice and boost I needed to talk about my feelings with them instead of bottling it up like we’re kinda taught to do about our social needs. Thanks a lot guys!

I had a few social workers who tried to get me into a program called “best buddies.” I tried the program and didn’t like it for two reasons.

1. The members had a habit of infantilizing the kids with disabilities such as autism and Down syndrome which made me very uncomfortable. Whenever someone does that baby talk tone towards them in front of me it makes me uncomfortable.

2. A lot of the members were just girls who were trying to make themselves look good. They had no interest in having a long lasting impact on us, they just wanted to put it on a resume.

Finally at sophomore year and be coerced about three times now, as a 6th and 7th grader as well as freshmen year, I finally put my foot down and essentially told her it wasn’t going to happen a forth time.

Anyone else here have something similar happen, what did you do?

Hello everyone,

I just had my first appointement with the local Asperger diagnosis center, the pedopsychiatrist (even though i'm an adult) straight away by looking at my medical record tell me she's sure i don't have asperger syndrome or anything Autism related, but that my problem is a development disorder due to infantile PTSD.

I'm puzzled by that, not only because she said that without me passing any extensive testing (just the usual boxes to tick to be admitted to the diagnosis center, and if she is sure why allowing me to come to get a further appointment for testing ?), but also because i objectively have a lot of the classic Asperger symptoms, fact confirmed by other psychiatrists.

I did have a very rough childhood but i'm well over it now, i have done long therapy work with different specialists and i have progressed alot, but i did no progress on the same symptoms the psychaiatrists told me to get tested for : Being around people exhaust me, i have dyspraxia, i'm too sensitive to my environment, i can't get anything done if it isn't part of a well planified routine,my IQ is above 130, i struggle to look people in the eyes, i spend 8hours a day on my passion, my autonomy is near zero, i'm a loner... etc etc.. i can see how my chronic anxiety, insecurity, and tendency to depression could be linked to a PTSD but the other things are a stretch to me...

I was wondering if maybe some other people here could have an helpful point of view or a similar experience to share. The country i live in (France) is notoriously bad at treating psychiatric problems, let alone Autism... I have red studies that linked heavily Autism and PTSD... I don't know, felt for a second that i finally found something that gave sense to how i function and something to build on, but i'm back in limbo... I don't want to be Autistic or whatever, i just want something an explanation that make sense, and to me the PTSD does not explain everything, maybe i'm wrong and the life of someone living with infantile PTSD and someone with Aperger simply are a lot alike ?

===================================================

allism: an introduction to a little-known condition

===================================================

by Andrew Main (Zefram)

2003-01-30

abstract

--------

Allism is a congenital neurological disorder adversely affecting many

areas of brain function. The condition is not widely known, having been

only recently identified. This article is an introduction to allism,

describing the mental and practical effects of the condition, and giving

an overview of the current medical understanding. This article is aimed

at the general public, though medical professionals may also find it a

useful starting point.

0. table of contents

====================

0. table of contents

1. introduction

1.0. an unrecognised condition

1.1. pronunciation note

2. effects of allism

2.0. direct effects

2.1. social impairment

2.2. the allistic mob effect

2.3. sensory impairment

2.4. general mental impairment

3. living with allism

3.0. social ritual

3.1. issues with text-only communication channels

3.2. problems with truth and falsity

3.3. use of computers

3.4. religion and belief

4. study of allism

4.0. development of allism

4.1. genetic predisposition

4.2. diagnostic criteria

5. postscript

6. introduction

===============

1.0. an unrecognised condition

------------------------------

Allism is a debilitating neurological condition which adversely affects

emotional stability, sensory perception, self-awareness, attention, and

many other areas of mental function. It is a developmental abnormality,

arising from congenital neurological defects that affect infantile

mental development. The effects are lifelong, and there is no cure.

However, despite the wide-ranging effects, sufferers superficially

appear normal, and can partially compensate for their deficiencies to

lead nearly normal lives.

Because of the superficial normality, allism has only been recently

identified as a pathological condition. It has turned out not to

be a rare condition; indeed, it is beginning to be recognised as

alarmingly prevalent. Yet public knowledge is slow to catch on to

these developments. There has been little research so far, and allism

is still almost unknown to the general public, and even to mental health

professionals.

Because of the lack of common recognition, allism is rarely diagnosed.

Indeed, most sufferers are not merely undiagnosed but may be completely

unaware of their condition. As underst