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Welcome to the '''ActuallyAutistic Wiki'''!  This is a community-driven guide to all aspects of autism, allism, and helping build bridges between neurotypes. It emerged recently from the #ActuallyAutistic community on Twitter.

== About this wiki ==

* '''Everyone is welcome to contribute to this wiki!'''
* You can '''edit any page''' without even having an account. Just hit the 'Edit' link on any page (including this one!). ''Important privacy note'': editing a page without having an account or without being logged in will show your IP address publicly in the changelog/history of a page.
* The number one rule of wiki editing is to be bold. '''Go ahead – make changes — even large rewrites of big topics'''. Other people can correct any mistakes you make, so have confidence, and give it a try!
** If you disagree with what someone else has put, please consider adding a [[Help:Style guidelines#Comments|note of disagreement]] and what you think/would do after that section, especially if it could be something that varies by country or even situations or if you want to change it to/from an absolute (such as job interviews or eye gaze)
* None of the content here is sacred. Please just make changes, even to articles on 'major' topics! Some of the articles are just starter content or from a particular person's perspective. Earlier versions can always be restored if necessary. '''These are all collaborative documents'''.

== How to contribute ==

* Here is a [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Starting_a_new_page short guide] on how to create a new wiki page from scratch! Please check first whether a similar page already exists to avoid duplicates.
* Here are some of our [[Help:Style guidelines|style guidelines]] if you're unsure about formatting etc. But '''don't worry or overthink too much about "getting things right"''', these are not "hard rules" – and everything can be edited, formatted & moved later without issue anyway! :)
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* Do you have some '''feedback, questions or suggestions''' about this wiki project? Feel free to add them [[Talk:Meta|here]]!

== Meta ==

* [[Community guidelines]]
* [[Help:Style guidelines|Style guidelines]]
* [[Talk:Meta|Feedback, questions and suggestions]]

* Looking for stuff to do, but unsure where to start?
** [[Please help these pages]]
*** [[Add stuff here please]]
*** [[Review please]]
** [[special:AllPages|View all pages]]
** [[Special:Categories|View all categories]]

== Terminology ==


=== Acronyms ===

* [[ADHD|Kinetism (ADHD)]]
* [[Overlapping neurotypes|AuDHD]]
* [[DCD]]
* [[EDS]]
* [[SPD]]
* [[ND]]
* [[Neurotypical|NT (Neurotypical)]]
* [[MH]]
* [[Special interest|SpIn/SpInt]]
* [[Rejection sensitive dysphoria|RSD (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria)]]
* [[Positive Behavior Support (PBS)]] (What's that?)
* [[Augmentative and alternative communication|AAC]]
* [[Applied Behavior Analysis|Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)]]

=== General ===

* [[Autism]]
* [[Neurodiversity]]
* [[Neurodivergence]]
* [[Neurotypical]]
* [[Identity-first language]]
* [[Person-first language]]

* [[Allism]]
* [[Society]]

* [[Spoon theory]]
* [[Neuroqueer Theory]]

* [[Infodumping]]
* [[Stimming]]

* [[Neurokin]]
* [[Neuropeer]]

* [[Executive dysfunction]]
* [[Hyperfixation]]
* [[Hyperfocus]]
* [[Pathological demand avoidance]]

=== Autism specific ===

* [[Monotropism]]
* [[Inertia]]

* [[Masking]]
* [[Mirroring]]
* [[Scripting]]

* [[Meltdown]]
* [[Shutdown]]
* [[Autistic burnout]]

* [[Special interest]]
* [[Autistic joy]]
* [[Echolalia]]
* [[Parallel play]]

* [[Ritual]]
* [[Routine]]
* [[Safe foods]]

=== Other ===


* [[Grok]]
* [[Highly Sensitive Person]]
* [[Justice sensitivity]]
* [[Late diagnosis]]
* [[Rejection sensitive dysphoria]]
* [[Savant]]
* [[Miscellaneous terms]] - for similar/confusing terms and definitions that probably better in one place rather than multiple short articles

=== Outmoded terminology ===

While many autists have moved away from these terms, some continue to use them to describe their experience. Please remember that people may have complex reasons for the words they choose, and that differences in vocabulary are okay. In short, while it's important to understand how these outdated terms play to most autists, it's also not helpful to police other people's word choices.

* [[Asperger syndrome]]
* [[Functioning labels|High- and low-functioning]]
* [[On the spectrum]]
* [[Autism spectrum disorder|Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)]]

== List of Autistic traits (incomplete) == 

Not every autistic person necessarily has many of the traits listed below, but these traits do tend to show up more often in autistic people than in non-autistic people.

=== Core autistic traits ===

* [[Autistic empathy]]
* [[Sensory sensitivity|Hyper-senses & hypo-senses]]
* [[Preference for certainty]]
* [[Routine]] / [[Ritual]]
* [[Special interest|Special interests]]
* [[Stimming]]

=== Autistic nonverbal communication ===

* [[Eye contact|Eye contact avoidance]]
* [[Flat affect]]
* [[Flat facing]]
* [[Being an "old soul"]]

=== Autistic verbal communication ===

* [[Accent mimicry]]
* [[Bluntness]] [[Direct]]
* [[Selective mutism|Conditional Mutism]] [[circumstantial or situational mutism]]
* [[Difficulty lying]]
* [[Monotone voice]]
* [[Reframing]]
* [[Verbal footnoting]]
* [[Nonspeaking]]
* [[Phone calls|Phone call avoidance]]
* [[Wordplay]]
* [[Aphasia]]
* [[Auditory processing disorder|Auditory processing difficulties]]
* [[Infodumping|Preference for infodumping]]
* [[Thinking in pictures and struggling to articulate said picture into words]]
* [[Autistic speech prosody]]

=== Gender and sexuality ===

* [[Gender]]
* [[Autigender]]
* [[Autism and LGBTQ+]]
* [[Peritiosexual]]
* [[Xenogender]]
* [[Asexuality]]
** [[Demisexuality]]
* [[Aromanticism]]
* [[Aplatonicism]]

=== Imperatives and neurological ===

* [[Resistance to bias]]
* [[Dissociation]]
* [[Irrational fears, neurological]]
* [[Divergent stress triggers]]
* [[Divergent touch needs]]
* [[Ethical fearlessness]]
* [[Experiential recreation]]
* [[Gullibility]]
* [[Inability to intuit the "point of diminishing returns"]]
* [[Intense world theory]]
* [[Median (plurality)]]
* [[Nonlinear contradiction response]]
* [[Pattern recognition]]
* [[Preference for certainty]]
* [[Prosopagnosia]]
* [[Plurality]]
* [[Susceptibility to trauma]]
* [[Sympathetic animism]]
* [[name? Willful Sensorium Override]]

=== Familial ===

* [[Autistic relatives]]
* [[Multigenerational disability]]

=== Memory ===

* [[Atypical autobiographical and episodic memory]]
* [[Emotion memory imprinting]]
* [[Childhood amnesia]]

=== Psychological ===

* [[Cat empathy]]
* [[Empathy#Hyper-empathy|Hyper-empathy]]
* [[Empathy#Hypo-empathy|Hypo-empathy]]
* [[Preference for animation]]
* [[Preference for autistically coded characters]]
* [[Gravitate towards other neurodivergents]]
* [[Hyper-phantasia]] empathising with inanimate objects.

=== Physical ===

* [[Arthritis]]
* [[Autistic baby face]]
* [[Hypermobility]]
* [[Toe walking]] 

=== Traumagenic Autistic traits ===

* [[Over-apologizing]]
* [[People pleasing]]
* [[High mortality rate]]
* [[Irrational fears, logical]]
{{Comment|(Contradiction...?) --[[User:Fochti|Fochti]] ([[User talk:Fochti|talk]]) 18:56, 26 August 2022 (UTC)}}
{{Comment|No, they are logical fears that are irrational out of context of ND.}}
{{Comment|I think the page could be titled differently then, it sounds very ambiguous/unclear to me? --[[User:Fochti|Fochti]] ([[User talk:Fochti|talk]]) 18:56, 26 August 2022 (UTC)}}
* [[Social anxiety]]
* [[Pathological demand avoidance/pervasive drive for autonomy]] [[extreme demand avoidance]] the following description is purely hypothetical and not composed in consultation with the adult PDA community: the combination of Autism and ADHD driving a non-stop rollercoaster ride of fight or flight responses (the autism wanting routine and the adhd wanting spontaneity) feeding the need to claw back control, reducing the brains capacity to regulate and rationalise likely resulting in crashes and observable ‘extreme reactions’ to what may be perceived as minor events. (This is what I am currently working on as part of my MA in Autism).

=== Additional Autistic traits ===

* [[Comorbid interference traits]]
* [[Overlapping Autistic traits]]

=== Comorbidities ===

* [[ADHD]]
* [[Allergies and Sensitivities (See also MCDs)]]
* [[Anxiety]]
* [[Apraxia]]
* [[Bipolar disorder]]
* [[Borderline personality disorder|Borderline/EUPD]]
* [[Complex post-traumatic stress disorder|CPTSD]]
* [[Depression]]
* [[Dysautonomia]]
* [[Dyscalculia]]
* [[Dyslexia]]
* [[Dysgraphia]]
* [[Dyspraxia]]
* [[Eating disorders / ARFID]]
* [[Ehlers-Danlos syndrome|EDS]]
* [[Hypermobility]]
* [[Hyperlexia]]
* [[Migraine]]
* [[MCDs: Mast Cell Diseases / Disorders including forms of MCAS, HaTS and Mastocytosis]]
* [[Obsessive-compulsive disorder|OCD]]
* [[PMDD Premenstrual Dysphoria Disorder]]
* [[PTSD Post Traumatic Stress Disorder]]
* [[Stress Incontinence]]

== Information and sensory processing ==

=== Information processing differences ===

* [[Aphasia]]
* [[Auditory processing disorder]]
* [[Dyslexia]]
* [[Dyspraxia]]
* [[Dyscalculia]]
* [[Dysgraphia]]
* [[Hyperlexia]]
* [[Misokinesia]]
* [[Misophonia]]
* [[Prosopagnosia]]
* [[Synesthesia]]

=== Senses ===

Many autistics have differences in their senses, such as maybe hypersensitive to sound but hyposensitive to smell. These articles should try to document examples of both types as well as potential ways to compensate.

* [[Auditory perception|Hearing]]
* [[Gastro-intestinal problems]]
* [[Interoception]]
* [[Pain]]
* [[Proprioception]]
* [[Sensory overload]]
* [[Sensory sensitivity]]
* [[Synesthesia|Synesthesia]]
* [[Olfactory perception|Smell]]
* [[Gustatory perception|Taste]]
* [[Tactile perception|Touch]] (texture, temperature)
* [[Vestibular perception]]
* [[Visual perception|Vision]]
* [[Aural sensitivity to electronics]]

== Autistic survival guide ==

=== Allistic sociology 101 ===

* [[Society]]
* [[Ableism]]
* [[Gender]]
* [[Gossip]]
* [[Group dynamics]]
* [[Peer group]]
* [[Phatic expression]]
* [[Saving face]]
* [[Small talk]]
* [[Social power]]
* [[Social contract]]
* [[Social status]]

==== Culture-specific differences ====

* [[Ask and guess cultures]]
* [[High and low context cultures]]
* [[Peach and coconut cultures]]

=== Psychology 101 ===

* [[Alexithymia]]
* [[Anger]]
* [[Anxiety]]
* [[Defence mechanism]]
* [[Depression]]
* [[Empathy]]
* [[Imposter syndrome]]
* [[Learned helplessness]]
* [[Overthinking]]
* [[People pleasing]]
* [[Rumination]]
* [[Social anxiety]]
* [[Theory of mind]]
* [[Trauma]]
* [[Trauma bonding]]
* [[Trauma response]]

=== Neurology 101 ===

* [[Overlapping neurotypes]]

=== Communication and miscommunication ===

* [[Common sense]]
* [[The Double Empathy Problem]]
* [[Getting coffee]]
* [[Literal interpretation]]
* [[Multi-channel communication]]
* [[Pragmatics]]
** [[Body language]]
** [[Eye contact]]
** [[Facial expression|Facial expressions]]
** [[Tone of voice]]
** [[Implication]]
* [[Responding to "How are you?"]]
* [[Social cue|Social cues]]
* [[Idioms]]

=== Office and work dynamics ===

* [[Corporate buzzwords]]
* [[HR interviews]]
* [[Job interviews]]
* [[Meetings]]
* [[Networking]]
* [[Team building / work socials]]
* [[Water cooler]]

=== Dating and relationships ===

* [[Autistic love languages]]
* [[Online dating]]
* [[Neurodivergent relationship|Neurodivergent relationships]]
* [[Neurodivergent sexuality]]

=== Accommodations and support ===

* [[Augmentative and alternative communication|AAC]]
* [[Autism passport]]
* [[Clear instructions]]
* [[Hidden disabilities sunflower]]
* [[Noise-cancelling headphones]]
* [[Support networks and organisations]]

=== Diagnostic journey ===

* [[Formal diagnosis]]
* [[Overlapping neurotypes|Multiple diagnoses]]
* [[Questioning]]
* [[Research]]
* [[Screening tools]]
* [[Self-diagnosis]]

=== Mental health ===

* [[Difficulties with mental health services]]
* [[Depression]]

== Autism "research" and "therapy" ==

Mainstream research on autism is often problematic in various ways.

* [[Autism Speaks]]
* [[Autism stereotypes]]
* [[Bias]]
* [[Deficit model]]
* [[Functioning labels]]
* [[Ethics of autism research]]
* [[History of autism]]
* [[The pathology paradigm|Pathology paradigm]]
* [[Stigma]]
* [[Applied_Behavior_Analysis|Applied behavior analysis]]
* [[Violence against Autistic people]]

== Resources ==

=== Media ===

* [[Books by Autistic authors]]
* [[Podcasts by Autistic creators]]
* [[Autistic representation in fiction]]
* [[Symbols of Autism]]

=== Social media ===

* [[Instagram]]
* [[TikTok]]
* [[Tumblr]]
* [[Twitter]]
* [[YouTube]]

=== Autistic culture ===

* [[Autistic public figures]]
* [[Aspie Humour]]
* [[Autistic artists]]

=== Articles and threads ===

* [[Articles]]
* [["Am I Autistic?" Guide]]
* [[Autism without trauma]]
* [[Non-derogatory DSM-5 diagnosis criteria for Autism]]
* [[Signs you might be autistic]]
* [[Accidentally open secrets regarding Autism]]

== Unsure about where to put something? Just put it here! ==

* [[Things we need good names for]]