Autism 101  

After a professional diagnosis of autism some autistic people can doubt their diagnosis. Years of internalized ableism and doubts from others can contribute to a feeling of being an imposter.

Imposter syndrome isn’t discussed as much in the community but is something many struggle with.

image: Very Helpful Chats

#ActuallyAutistic @actuallyautistic

Jul 29, 2023 at 1:57amWeb
Show threadUntempered Steel 🇺🇦🇬🇱🇪🇺Jul 29, 2023
@autism101 @actuallyautistic
I am highly empathetic, to the point if I think about or observe a person getting injured, I feel pain usually in my lower body. High empathy + social awkwardness can come across as not being empathetic I guess. Been told for years by people I am not autistic, until my diagnosis, then some of them switched to saying "I told you so".
Show threadTanquistJul 30, 2023
@untemperedsteel @autism101 @actuallyautistic
"Empathy deficit" is one of the most insidious myths about #autistic people. It arose from misinterpretations of limited clinical observations. #empathy
Show threadMikeJul 30, 2023
@tanquist @untemperedsteel @autism101 @actuallyautistic I have been told, and feel, that I am an Empath.
Show threadJulie SmithJul 30, 2023
@Thumptastic @tanquist @untemperedsteel @autism101 @actuallyautistic I foster high needs animals which requires a very high degree of empathy 🙂 That combines well with hyper focus & autistic stoicism, especially if I'm bottle feeding something 🤣 💝
Show threadAlex the Artistic AutistJul 30, 2023
@tanquist @untemperedsteel @autism101 @actuallyautistic yeah I'm hyperempathic. Being around people in emotional pain, even when they're masking it, is torture to me. I might not know how to respond to this in the way society would wish me to, but I sure hell don't lack the empathy to know it's there.
Show threadLauralee Dukeshire HAS MOVEDJul 30, 2023
@AlexTheAutisticArtist @tanquist @untemperedsteel @autism101 @actuallyautistic
I wonder if the reason some of us don't look at faces as much (or some of us have difficulty discerning emotions from facial expressions alone) is because we don't NEED to look at faces to sense emotions. I suspect we are more highly attuned to the emotional energy coming from others, can feel it when they walk in the room and it's often different than the "expression" they present so, we don't rely on faces.
Show threadJulie SmithJul 30, 2023

@untemperedsteel @autism101 @actuallyautistic I've always had a high empathy & yes my vagus nerve contracts sharply when I observe distress or an injury. The sharp contraction is the opposite feeling to how people describe the bottom falling out of their heart... that weird dropping sensation of shock which is the vagus nerve going slack very suddenly.

Interesting to me I was diagnosed as autistic around 4 but my mother decided to ignore the dx because she did not want the stigma 🥴😆 I was never told I was autistic but well someone telling you doesn't change whether you are, aye 🤷‍♀️ Years later I received a TBI in a motorcycle accident & was referred to a research study looking at ways to promote recovery... after all the scans & tests the researchers told me >>you are autistic<< 🤔🙄🤷‍♀️ The stereotypes for autism are abysmal 💔 The misunderstanding about the >>differences<< are abysmal 😪 The difference is NOT abysmal 💝

Some people with autism will not have empathy just like some non divergent don't have any...

Show threadUntempered Steel 🇺🇦🇬🇱🇪🇺Jul 31, 2023
@juliasnz @autism101 @actuallyautistic
The closest analogue to the sensation, is when a car goes too fast over the top of a hill or perhaps on a roller-coaster. The sensation is normally in the stomach but sometimes as a unpleasant internal pressure in the area where I imagine the other person feeling pain. It often does have to be imagined pain also, sometimes the other person does not actually injure themselves.
Show threadJulie SmithJul 31, 2023
@untemperedsteel @autism101 @actuallyautistic exactly!
Show threadElkenumber1Jul 30, 2023
@untemperedsteel @autism101 @actuallyautistic
I am not autistic. But I read about you feeling physical pain when hearing of (or seeing) someone else's injury or suffering.
Glad to hear that does exist. I am not crazy or imagening that. I have that also, sometimes. I wondered if that was my imagination.
Show threadJenny BristolJul 30, 2023
@elkepattyn Empathy so strong it's literally painful. Yup. Always had it. #ActuallyAutistic
Show threadFinnley Dolfin ​ ​ Jul 29, 2023
@autism101 @actuallyautistic let’s see which I have experienced…
Every-single-one
Show threadAaronJul 30, 2023
@FinnleyDolfin @autism101 @actuallyautistic I haven't hit bingo quite yet, but working on it.
Show threadPablo (Sr Brightside) 🇪🇸🏳️‍🌈Jul 29, 2023
@autism101 The person who assessed me said most of the stuff in this picture to me as why it was “severe anxiety” and couldn’t possibly be autism. This is why I remain self diagnosed.
Show threadRyanJul 29, 2023

@autism101 @actuallyautistic except for being female, I'm every single one of these.

Any mention of Imposter Syndrome must be met with this meme.

Show threadDźwiedziuJul 29, 2023

@autism101
Answer to any of those should be “You don't look/act like a mental health professional. Are you one?”

@actuallyautistic

Show threadAaronJul 30, 2023
@dzwiedziu @autism101 @actuallyautistic Which works whether they are one or not.
Show threadAmatJul 29, 2023
@autism101 @actuallyautistic I mask well enough to be "odd but ok". Professionally diagnosed late (40). Colleagues then expected me to conform to their idea of autism, and I think I did too. I initially found the diagnosis distressing, as I had reached an accommodation with my strangeness, and had a narrative to explain it. I felt that my differences, some of which I valued, were no longer "me" but the product of aberrant brain architecture. The new accommodation was difficult.
Show threadAaronJul 30, 2023
@autism101 @actuallyautistic First thing I heard after telling my boss at my old job that im autistic: "You seem like a normal person to me." I've heard many different variations of this, often from bosses who mean well and are trying to be kind. They think it's reassuring. It's not.
Show threadMiakoda Aug 19, 2023
@autism101 @actuallyautistic I had ruled out the possibility I was because I use sarcsm. Ah, misinfo sucks