My disability is most notable when people are in range of seeing and/or hearing me in real life.
They see me, and most see something wrong.
They hear me, and many want me to shut up, 'calm down' speak quieter, 'dont interrupt' no delay in my responses, and hear speech clearly.
I wish visible words were generally accepted as a primary form of communication for some people.
I struggle to get along with most people, because they talk too fast, have invisible languages, and they hate repeating.
I've tried asking for written communications, but they refuse and soon after get mad at me for interrupting, or not hearing them.
I'm disabled dammit. I cant keep up with all the audible chatter.
What state are you in?
Oregon is the fastest talking state. >.>
Its why I think everyone is known for being “quirky” in Oregon…. And also why its 51/51 in mental health… 😬
@Energetic_Nova If only we had text-based communications recognized as a necessary accommodation for some people. I dont know how to use the AAC program, I could use handwritten notes. I got that once, and I felt so happy, he would say the sentence/question and write it down, slide the notepad to me and I speak the answer. That was so helpful.
If only society would get out of their bigotry and kindly help disabled people more than they are. Meds and psyche units are not always the best options.
I think the issue is the systematic help is poorly constructed… I’m in Washington state and its near last place in mental health.
When I went to California… those people were so much more friendly in a stereotypical way. It was weird for me.
@Energetic_Nova I fear going outside, people call the cops, thinking I need to be taken away. I've had people say to me, "you should go to a mental ward"
I been in them, involuntarily. They dont help, they abuse me, but claim to be helping. They dont help to improve my life, and they reward me with early release if I attend groups, but groups feel like I'm participating in kindergarten, with puzzles and coloring pages.
They drug me, expect me to not be anxious. I fear people I dont know.
Washington and Oregon have too few beds to waste them on anyone not criminal. We need supportive housing. Tell them that.
Also, I really dislike how that sort of thing is set up but I think it’s just because coloring is just such an easier thing to set up. But my mental health community center for mentally ill people has peer to peer counseling it also has trips to the museum and the bowling alley.
@Energetic_Nova I dont consider myself as mentally ill (outside of PTSD). My handicap is created by a society with a fixed idea of how people should and should not behave.
I dont need help outside of housecleaning and bodyguard with me when I am outside. Keep people off me when I have sensory overwhelm, overwhelm caused by other people making/allowing too much noise/lights from human-made stuff.
Cars, lights, bells, rush, it disturbs me.
Left alone, I function fine, but society butts in.
@Energetic_Nova yeah. I need my own home, to choose my own time to sleep, choose my own food, choose my own entertainment, and not be bogged down by people I dont get along with. 'they' think I need to go into a group home.
I never want to live in a group home. The rules would cause me significant health damage, physical damage.. like what I get in psyche units.
@Energetic_Nova (ran out of character space)
I currently have my own home with a few people I get along with, also disabled... I still am waiting to get the right kind of help. Been over a year since Regional Center was contacted by a social worker and ten years before that I was made aware of Regional Center but the refusal for text-based communcation (phone only) kept me from getting the help I need. Help I dont need is a common assumption, bathing, meal making, dressing. Ugh.
Well, I’m actually having problems with a lot of the most basic living things but I also have a high IQ so I seem like I don’t need it but I’m just now getting into contact with DDA. And I would agree that it is definitely more focused on stuff I don’t need than it is stuff I do which is mental stimulation. The intellectual sort of mental stimulation and they seemed a little confused by my ask of something like figure skating or karate
But I know what you mean about a need for domestic services. I think the majority of us seem to need somebody to wash the dishes and help us at least initially organize our living space. Because most of us can keep organization but I think a lot of of us struggle to make the organization in the first place
@Energetic_Nova Oh my house is super organized. I love to sort and move furniture.
Organizing schedules and appointments is one of my areas of struggle. That too is a socially-developed thing.
@Energetic_Nova EEEK! I must fold those clothes and put them in shelves or drawers.
My roommates are all quite tidy. but we have toys and decor on every wall. Visually stimulating without mess.
@GreenRoc everyone in my household is ADHD. Every single person who lives here. And so nobody can really help me. It’s really draining on them.
I feel like I need help on this and I feel like a different kind of autistic could do it.
I think the good thing about only needing domestic sorts of services means that they don’t need to use medical professionals to get you the help that you need. You should be logically easier to help actually.
Also like I’m asking for companion services and integration into the community. And though my state offers it it’s like I don’t know kind of weird? I’m being left uncertain about if they’re going to on that.
@Energetic_Nova My IQ is too high to measure, but I cant handle communicatons with other people, as social skills are in a different area of the brain from what I am really good at doing.
what is annoying is too many people associating high intelligence with social skills, so I am often teated like I'm stupid and childish.
My aunt once said to me, "you are intelligent, you can learn to do phone calls"
Uh, the two do not match. And I learned I needed to NOT do phone calls, and so I need help.
@Energetic_Nova I keep getting help services that start with telling me they can help me learn, and do I need hygene, ugh no... There is nothing for me to learn when it is society and pieces of modern living I need the most help with, like phone calls and paperwork, which are relativey new things in the existence of humanity overall.
I tend to believe, there are not more autistics in relation to total human population, there is more sensory bombardment. There is only so much we can cope with
And I would really like to learn something even though society is in pieces and it does feel like it’s a little bit more… well, from what I see my state definitely notices the hygiene and house cleaning part but it struggles more with the education part.
So far, I’m not running into anybody who seems like they don’t understand what autism actually is and what the symptoms actually caused. Which is honestly so so refreshing. Because the whole rest of the system I’ve been interacting with has been extremely uninformed. It’s so nice that DDA of all things actually gets what I’m talking about
I think I’m pretty lucky that despite sharing a house with a bunch of other disabled people I have my own fridge. And basically every two people has their own fridge. Like I share my fridge with my partner. So a normal person to share a fridge with. I live in a garage. I don’t have access to my own stove though.
But yeah I would say that having my own space to pace around and be up all night and watch whatever I want is the most important. I think I’m pretty OK with sharing a kitchen, as long as I have a tiny space for the super special items that I don’t want anyone else to take.
@Energetic_Nova YUK.
Id never trust my kitchen to people who would take my food without permission. Need my own cups, my own spoons, but someone else to clean them, as water is a sensory issue, and it hurts my skin, with visible sores, so housecleaning help for whatever the heck is damaging my skin.
I dont need "supportive services", I need domestic services. Help service language has so many different words, with different meanings. I only learned "domestic services" last week.
I have btw, nothing but nice things to say about my only true vacation in my life. California did feel like it lived up to hype and we were doing a road trip. West coast is beautiful from top to bottom.
I genuinely think Portland just has a higher neurodivergence load than most places. I think it would be cool if there was some sort of concentrated effort to make life better for adhd and autistic people there… feels like a perfect place for a larger experiment. “Keep Portland Weird” means its a pretty accepting place
**portland Oregon specifically is the fastest talking location in the usa
Green Roc Thoughts
Energetic Nova