I thought #sarg2023 was an excellent event - made possible by so much work going on across Scotland addressing research questions of genuine value to the #ActuallyAutistic population.

I loved how many of the themes I discussed had already been brought up in talks earlier in the day!

It left me feeling hopeful.

The talks were all recorded as well as being streamed live to people who got free tickets, so I hope to be able to share my actual talk before long - in the meantime, here's a link to the text again.
https://monotropism.org/wellbeing/

@ferrous Skillsharing between Autistic people could be a way for us to bridge skill gaps by pairing up different people’s spiky skill sets

How does monotropism link to aging, OCD, addiction, psychosis? These are under-researched areas

There are many questions about Autistic experience that only scientific research could address – in the end, speaking from experience isn’t enough, though it goes a long way

Questions now (not posting about these)

#SARG2023 #ActuallyAutistic

@ferrous Bureaucracy can be an obstacle even in self-employment, not to mention the need to market yourself

Many of us struggle with filling in forms or making phone calls, and will lose large amounts of money as a consequence

#SARG2023

@ferrous Similar problems continue into adulthood and the world of employment

Coping strategies that worked at school often go horribly wrong

It’s even difficult for monotropic people to thrive in academia

Spiky skills profiles are a huge problem, when most workplaces demand a broad range of skills

#SARG2023

@ferrous At school, we are not usually allowed to direct our own learning

If we were, we’d usually find things (skills gaps) that we’d need to learn at some point, at which time they’d become interesting to us

Home education or private schools with a focus on self-directed learning can help, but clearly they’re not accessible to most

#SARG2023

@ferrous School is horrible for many Autistic children (yep!)

(Missed a bit here, as I had to go to the loo urgently, getting dragged out of the flow!) 😂

We get into trouble with teachers for failing to follow unwritten rules or to accept minor infringements of rules that ‘don’t matter’

#SARG2023

@ferrous Autistic burnout is a long-term counterpart to a shutdown, says Fergus

There comes a point where we just can’t do it any more – all we can do is to reduce our cognitive load

#SARG2023

@ferrous When polytropic people regularly expect us to navigate the world the way they do, pulling us from task to task in incredible feats of mental gymnastics

Masking demands that we constantly do these things (see also Autistic split – Tanya Adkin)

The stress can lead to meltdowns or the internalised version, shutdowns

#SARG2023 #ActuallyAutistic

@ferrous We’re prone to getting stuck – Inertia – as much as getting caught in a flow state

‘Executive functioning difficulty’ is a slightly woolly way of explaining the same thing, says Fergus

Inertia can be as extreme as catatonia for some Autistic people

#SARG2023