Mastodawn

psychology literature on autism is all so cringe.

"90% of autistic people are men" 100% of us can't believe you've fallen for this self-fulfilling diagnostic issue. ... and 90% of us wear striped knee socks.

"a few autistic people are so high-functioning that they even manage to hold down a job" we are holding down the entire science and tech economy, Clarence.

"a defining characteristic of autism is a lack of desire to share interests with others and a deficiency in theory of mind" I think the issue might be that you have never once spoken to a single autistic person as if YOU possess theory of mind, Karen. Now, the doors have been locked for your convenience, and my six hour presentation on obscure writing systems may commence.

abadidea Dec 31

my husband: "autistic people can't hold down jobs, that's a myth. Jobby McJobberson, who holds down 50,000 jobs as part of his hyperfixation, is an outlier and–"

Fi 🏳️‍⚧️Dec 31

I thought Steve Jobs had died; the numbers should have evened out by now

@munin @0xabad1dea they've got a breeding program going since they were endangered 🙄

The Witch of Crow Briar Dec 31

@munin @0xabad1dea It has made him easier to hold down

@0xabad1dea Book of Job

Willow Brook 💜Dec 31

@arichtman
Imagine my surprise when I found out it was pronounced Jobe.

Ben Rosengart Dec 31

@0xabad1dea “lack of desire to share interests with others”

W-what

Nudeln Al Dente 🐘Dec 31

@fivetonsflax @0xabad1dea Indeed.

@fivetonsflax
i mean they probably meant, lack of desire to talk about someone else's interest that you aren't interested in

but the locked door presentation is still hilarious and earned 😂
@0xabad1dea

@joshg @fivetonsflax @0xabad1dea
The line reminded me of something my father told me. When I was a kid, he tried to talk me into learning how to play guitar, because playing guitar in group settings would make me popular. He says at one point I told him "If you think it's so great, why don't you learn how to play guitar?"

Maybe they actually mean "Autistics are unlikely to deliberately develop or fake interests for the sole purpose of social connection."

Ben Rosengart Dec 31

@Anke @joshg @0xabad1dea indeed … https://tilde.zone/@fivetonsflax/115815695823497494

Ben Rosengart (@[email protected])

@[email protected] @[email protected] I have seen it on the bluegrass scene. “That was a great tune you just played, who wrote that one?”

tilde.zone

Franchesca Jan 1

@Anke @joshg @fivetonsflax @0xabad1dea maybe they don’t realize that interests can be something that you don’t fake for social reasons?

Quixoticgeek Dec 31

@0xabad1dea i once had a shrink say "you can't be autistic, you have a job" took me about 15 years to get a diagnosis.

@quixoticgeek @0xabad1dea
that person didn't even entertain the notion of the possibility that a special interest could be employment

Big Kumera Energy Dec 31

@mmby @quixoticgeek @0xabad1dea special interest: paying rent, eating

Trantion Dec 31

@quixoticgeek @0xabad1dea Maybe this is really why it's easier to be diagnosed as a child 🙃

Quixoticgeek Dec 31

@trantion @0xabad1dea alas when I was a child and autism diagnosis was only given out if you were totally nonverbal...

@quixoticgeek @trantion @0xabad1dea

This.

D. G. Marshall Dec 31

@quixoticgeek @0xabad1dea

I've had someone tell me I can't possibly be autistic, because I'm a writer.

Apparently, there's some bullshit about autistic people being unable to communicate.

So, either I can write, or I can be autistic, but I can't be both.

Franchesca Jan 1

@davidtheeviloverlord @quixoticgeek @0xabad1dea Holly Smale is a best selling author who didn’t know she was autistic until someone pointed out that her popular book series “Geek Girl” was a great depiction of autism in girls. Ditto for Martha Wells after people made a similar observation about The Murderbot Diaries. I think we can assume Tolkien was autistic too (I mean, come on, who writes stories so their made up languages are richer?!)

Rich Alderson Jan 6

@Frantasaur @davidtheeviloverlord @quixoticgeek @0xabad1dea
Well, I wou—Oh. Never mind.

D. G. Marshall Jan 6

@Frantasaur @quixoticgeek @0xabad1dea

Every time I hear a new observation about autistic writers, I recognise myself.

@0xabad1dea many of my friends on the spectrum and all of them chomp at the bit to infodump about their special interests, so I think you're just a bad friend, Karen

Owlor 🦋Dec 31

@0xabad1dea I do in fact wear striped knee socks...

Something that fucks me up about autism is you can be anywhere from incredibly successful to struggling so hard you feel like a fish that's been pulled up on dry land, and it can have very little to do with how 'functional' you are and a lot to do with if you end up somewhere that's conducive to your neurotype and where you can develop your skills into something profitable.

Or to put it another way, I kind of wish I had gotten the computer autism rather than the biology autism at around the time I was getting ready to pick a carrier.

Halla Rempt Dec 31

@Owlor @0xabad1dea Striped knee socks are essential.

@halla @Owlor @0xabad1dea I'm wearing striped knee socks _right_ _now_.

Halla Rempt Dec 31

@overeducatedredneck @Owlor @0xabad1dea Mine are in the wash... It's monkeys and parrots right now for me.

@halla @Owlor @0xabad1dea those count—possibly even count as extra striped—spirit of the law and all that.

Halla Rempt Dec 31

@overeducatedredneck @Owlor @0xabad1dea I've also got knee-high socks with foxes, bats and cats peeping up right above my knee.

Oh, but my wife, @irina has got the cat knee highs right now, because it's winter.

Still, stripes are the essentials.

Owlor 🦋Dec 31

@overeducatedredneck @halla @0xabad1dea I have a pair of knee-high socks with my favorite swedish pastry on them, I definitely feel like they ought to earn me a couple extra autism points.

@0xabad1dea I have watched the old Defcon talk on elevators at least three times.

I have absolutely no reason to know any of this stuff about elevators, but it's fascinating.

Marcus Helvig Jan 1

@gudenau That sounds like my kind of rabbit hole. Do you mean this talk? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHf1vD5_b5I

DEF CON 22 - Deviant Ollam & Howard Payne - Elevator Hacking - From the Pit to the Penthouse

YouTube

Kevin Boyd (he/him) 🇨🇦Dec 31

@0xabad1dea I wonder whether they might mean "share" in a different way. Like, not as in oversharing, but as in adapting their interests to fit in with a group. To "share interests" with others.

abadidea Dec 31

@kboyd the exact wording was: "a lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interests, or achievements with other people (e.g. by a lack of showing, bringing, or pointing out objects of interest to other people)"

Kevin Boyd (he/him) 🇨🇦Dec 31

@0xabad1dea Oh, thanks. So they do mean it that way, but it seems likely the observation was made on subjects who had (possibly literally) had that joy beaten out of them.

Nudeln Al Dente 🐘Dec 31

@kboyd @0xabad1dea I'm wondering if the author didn't consider interesting the things that the autistic people expressed an interest in or that they couldn't identify a non-NT expression of interest. 🤔 Which relates back to the whole theory of mind deficit (on the author's part obvs).

Tiota Sram Jan 1

@NudelnAlDente @kboyd @0xabad1dea gonna go out on a limb and wonder if these were kids traumatized by ABA therapy... :(

Speed demon 🇪🇺 🇳🇴🇺🇦🇵🇸Dec 31

@0xabad1dea "look how nice" almost always puts me on edge. Yes, sure. What was the question? @kboyd

Irenes (many)Dec 31

@0xabad1dea @kboyd wowwwwwwwwwwww

Kevin Boyd (he/him) 🇨🇦Dec 31

@ireneista @0xabad1dea right?? have they ever been on the same train as an autistic person??

(or at the same pokestop??)

(I should stop using "??" I guess??)

Irenes (many)Dec 31

@kboyd @0xabad1dea dunno, it's one of those constructions that will never appear in any style guide due to its informality, but does still convey something coherent and specific

Mia ‘Meetings? I Abstain’ Luna Tearmoon Dec 31

@kboyd @0xabad1dea to my utter embarrassment I get what you mean

I have some hobbies that I can infodump endlessly on the topic of, but am entirely disinterested in hearing others talk about, instead preferring to research by myself (basically, one-way sharing only), and just about everyone in my family for the past three generations is at least a bit like that (and has an ASD-related diagnosis)

@0xabad1dea Are you perhaps suggesting that 'causes trouble for primary school teachers' is not the most effective diagnostic criteria?

Stahldame Dec 31

@thepi this one had me chuckle.
@0xabad1dea

Zr40 🔜 plenty of places Dec 31

@0xabad1dea so, um, where can I get these striped knee socks?

abadidea Dec 31

@zr40 it's easy to find cheap ones, but they tend to be flimsy and sized for waifs. this site has a good reputation among the, uh, more serious community https://sockdreams.com/

Extraordinary Socks, Inclusive Sizing for All! | Sock Dreams

Based out of Portland, Oregon, Sock Dreams has been selling socks and accessories online for over twenty-five years! It is our mission to create extraordinary socks in an inclusive sizing range, because everybody deserves to have their dream socks.

Sock Dreams

Irenes (many)Dec 31

@0xabad1dea @zr40 yes, good, we came here to recommend Sock Dreams as well. they even have stuff for those of us whose legs have higher-than-usual diameter

Nova🐧✨Dec 31

@ireneista @0xabad1dea @zr40 I need that now thanks to HRT :p

Irenes (many)Dec 31

@technobaboo @0xabad1dea @zr40 yes, same, our legs were skinny prior to that... we got fat redistribution lol

Nova🐧✨Dec 31

@ireneista @0xabad1dea @zr40 mine were always fem but now I got stretch marks all over and they blew up

ᵲηsηʀᶏ Dec 31

@0xabad1dea @zr40

uwu, thx for sharing,
they even have lavender socks :)

@0xabad1dea @zr40 angy paws is also a good option for australians who don't want to pay exorbitant shipping and currency conversion

Angy Paws - Sock Investing.

Are you interested in socks and sock investing? We can help you! Whether you are experienced in socks, or need help delving into the fun and comfortable world of sock investing, we are here for you. Invest in socks today, for a brighter future tomorrow.

Angy Paws

Kathmandu Dec 31

I'd like to suggest FootTraffic.com for whimsical socks in general. Some classic striped, but also socks and tights printed to look like piano keys, skulls, animal faces, cloud patterns...

@zr40 @0xabad1dea the other route to go is compression socks. I got my mother's circulation, so they really help with muscle cramps and keeping my feet warm. But most probably don't need them when not on an airplane (and, arguably, I don't really need them). Sockwell has nice patterns and good quality.

@[email protected] Heaven is where all politicians are autistic, and hell is where Trump, Orban and Putin are interviewed for all eternity by 72 journalists with Tourette's syndrome.

@Life_is
there's no way any journalist deserves that hell
@0xabad1dea

@0xabad1dea I wear knee socks but they're not striped, they're black with green cat faces on the knee! Unless I'm wearing the black knee socks with musical notes on. (Also I'm a woman. So are most of my autistic friends.)

Dan Cassidy 🦌Dec 31

@0xabad1dea I would argue that autistic people are responsible for all of the actually-functioning elements of human civilisation.

Dan Cassidy 🦌Dec 31

@0xabad1dea (notwithstanding that there are a few individual well-known autistic people who are responsible for an enormous proportion of all dysfunction)