loptr-punk ✩

#30DaysofAutismAcceptance #actuallyautistic

Day 29 Autistic Superpowers

This is a fun one. Being autistic makes me really good at being able to understand people and be non-judgmental, and helps me navigate conflict more easily.

By that I mean: social conventions largely hold no meaning to me and I neither get nor care about what social constructs are supposed to inform us about the meaning of behaviours and certain types of people.

Apr 29, 2019 at 4:00pmWeb
Show threadloptr-punk ✩Apr 29, 2019
I haven't always been great about centering others in conversation, mainly because I haven't and still don't really understand why people tell me things and what they want out of it, but I can definitely track my own growth in that regard-- by analyzing the situation, applying information from some of my special interests (psychology, social justice), and trying a different action to produce different results.
Show threadloptr-punk ✩Apr 29, 2019
We have to do this to navigate and survive allistic social culture anyway, might as well be proud of the skill.
Show threadloptr-punk ✩Apr 29, 2019

I can manage conflicts in some circumstances more easily because I have a LOT of practice trying to make myself understood and trying to make sure I understand what others are trying to say, too.

I know that emotional responses happen and that I can try and make up for the ones I unintentionally illicit by naming it and clarifying.

...but only if I'm given the space to do so. When I don't predict an emotional response and someone lashes out in a way to shut down the conversation...

Show threadloptr-punk ✩Apr 29, 2019

I inevitably shut down as well, like yesterday.

And I have to have the spoons to do this, which I don't always have. It would be nice if allistics put half as much effort into clarifying and asking questions before assuming and reacting as I do.