ActuallyAutistic Wiki - User contributions [en]

Talk:"Am I Autistic?" Guide

2022-11-12T22:24:03Z

BlueRoan: Unscientific statement

This says "we polled." Who is we? How many people were polled? To present this stat in this way is very troubling, because it's using scientific language but not adhering to scientific transparency in regard to methodology.

Main Page

2022-08-25T21:48:03Z

BlueRoan: /* Senses */

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.

* '''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 [[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! 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'''.
* 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 [[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! :)
* Please remember that '''links are CASE SENSITIVE'''. When linking to a missing page, whichever case you use will be created when someone follows the link and makes that new page. Linking to existing articles is case sensitive for every letter ''except'' the first one. Lowercasing or capitalizing a letter other than the first one will break the link / not link to the page you want. Please read [https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Help:Links this guide on links] if you want to use them!
* Do you have some '''feedback, questions or suggestions''' about this wiki project? Feel free to add them [[Talk:Meta|here]]!

== Meta ==

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

== ActuallyAutistic terminology ==
* [[Augmentative and alternative communication|AAC]]
* [[Allism]]
* [[Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA)]]
* [[Autism]]
* [[Overlapping neurotypes|AuDHD]]
* [[Autistic burnout]]
* [[Autistic joy]]
* [[Echolalia]]
* [[Executive dysfunction]]
* [[Grok]]
* [[Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)]]
* [[Hyperfixation]]
* [[Hyperfocus]]
* [[Identity-first language]]
* [[Inertia]]
* [[Infodumping]]
* [[Justice sensitivity]]
* [[ADHD|Kinetism (ADHD)]]
* [[Late diagnosis]]
* [[Masking]]
* [[Meltdown]]
* [[Monotropism]]
* [[Neurodivergence]]
* [[Neurodiversity]]
* [[Neurokin]]
* [[Neuropeer]]
* [[Neurotypical]]
* [[Parallel play]]
* [[PBS]]
* [[Person-first language]]
* [[Rejection sensitive dysphoria]]
* [[Ritual]]
* [[Routine]]
* [[Safe foods]]
* [[Savant]]
* [[Shutdown]]
* [[Special interest]]
* [[Spoon theory]]
* [[Stimming]]
* [[Miscellaneous terms]] - for similar/confusing terms and definitions that probably better in one place rather than multiple short articles

== (Incomplete) List of Known Autistic Traits ==
{{Comment|I propose to de-clutter this section. For example, make a page for the Core Autistic Traits, and migrating the links in that section to that page. But doing the same for each section. --[[User:Fire Eider|Fire Eider]] ([[User talk:Fire Eider|talk]]) 14:49, 25 August 2022 (UTC)

I actually like being able to see all these links in one spot. It lets you scan and get a sense of things. But because the list is pretty long, we could potentially move this entire section to an `Autistic traits` page. On the other hand — it might not actually just be bad to have a fairly long "Main" page that serves as an index into content generally --[[User:AutExplorer|AutExplorer]] ([[User talk:AutExplorer|talk]])

I also like this, for the moment. It reduces the barrier to entry because people see all the stuff that's currently available for editing in one central place and can then just click on something immediately when they think "Oh, I want to add my thoughts to that!" --[[User:Fochti|Fochti]] ([[User talk:Fochti|talk]]) 18:25, 25 August 2022 (UTC)

Good points. I retract what I said earlier --[[User:Fire Eider|Fire Eider]] ([[User talk:Fire Eider|talk]]) 19:38, 25 August 2022 (UTC)}}

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]]
** [[Hyper-Senses & Hypo-Senses]]
** [[Preference for Predictable Outcomes]]
** [[Special interest|Special Interests]]
** [[Stimming]]

* [[Communication & Interaction (Non-Verbal)]]
** [[Eye contact|Eye Contact Avoidance]]
** [[Flat Affect]]
** [[Flat Facing]]
** [["Old Soul"]]

* [[Communication & Interaction (Verbal)]]
** [[Accent Mimicry]]
** [[Autistic Social Bluntness]]
** [[Conditional Mutism (Selective Mutism)]]
** [[Difficulty in Chaining Lies]]
** [[Flat Tone]]
** [[Reframing]]
** [[Verbal Footnoting]]
** [[Nonverbal]]
** [[Phone Call Avoidance]]
** [[name? Inability to understand wordplay]]
** [[name? obsession with wordplay]]
** [[name? unconsciously getting word order wrong]]
** [[name? Conditional Hard of Hearing for words]]
** [[Preference for Infodumping]]

* [[Gender and Sexuality]]
** [[Autigender]]
** [[Demisexuality]]
** [[Disproportionally LGBTQ+]]
** [[Peritiosexual]]
** [[Neuroqueer]]
** [[Xenogender]]

* [[Imperatives & Neurological]]
** [[Bias Resiliance]]
** [[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]]
** [[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 Autobigraphical Episodic Memory]]
** [[Emotion Memory Imprinting]]
** [[name? Lack of childhood memories]]

* [[Pychological]]
** [[Imposter syndrome|Autistic Imposter Syndrome ]]
** [[Cat Empathy]]
** [[Rumination]]
** [[Animation fixation]]
** [[Preference for Autistically Coded Characters]]
** [[Gravitate to other Neurodivergents]]
** [[Social Contracts]]

* [[Physical]]
** [[Arthritis]]
** [[Baby Face]]
** [[Hypermobility]]
** [[Toe walking]]

* [[Senses]]
** [[Aural sensitivity to Electronics]]
** [[Hyper-Empathy]]
** [[Hypo-Empathy]]
** [[Temperature Sensitivity]]

* [[Traumagenic Autistic Traits]]
** [[Chronic Apologizing]]
** [[High Mortality Rate]]
** [[Irrational Fears, Logical]]
** [[Social Anxiety]]
** [[Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA)]]

* [[Additional Autistic Traits]]
** [[Comorbid Interference Traits]]
** [[Overlapping Autistic Traits]]

== Social Media ==

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

== 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]]

== Sociology ==

* [[Gender]]
* [[Gossip]]
* [[Group dynamics]]
* [[Peer group]]
* [[Power]]
* [[Saving face]]
* [[Social status]]

== Psychology ==

* [[Alexithymia]]
* [[Anxiety]]
* [[Defence mechanism|Defence mechanisms]]
* [[Empathy]]
* [[Imposter syndrome]]
* [[Theory of mind]]

== Allistic communication & miscommunication ==

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

== Dating & relationships ==

* [[Autistic love languages]]
* [[Dating apps / online dating]]
* [[Neurodivergent relationship]]
* [[Neurodivergent sexuality]]

== Autistic culture ==

* [[Articles]]
* [[Autistic artists]]
* [[Autistic celebrities]]
* [[Autistic representation in fiction]]
* [[Books by Autistic authors]]
* [[Jokes about Autism]]
* [[Podcasts by Autistic creators]]
* [[Symbols of Autism]]

== Comorbidities ==
* [[BPD]]
* [[CPTSD]]
* [[Dyscalculia]]
* [[Dyslexia]]
* [[EDS / Hypermobility]]
* [[Hyperlexia]]
* [[ADHD|Kinetism (ADHD)]]
* [[Plurality]]

== Accommodations ==

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

== Culture-specific differences ==

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

== Diagnostic journey ==

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

== Problems with autism research ==

* [[Autism Speaks]]
* [[Autism stereotypes]]
* [[Bias]]
* [[Deficit model]]
* [[Functioning labels]]
* [[Ethics of autism research]]
* [[History of autism]]
* [[Stigma]]

== How to help ==

{{Comment|I have no idea what the purpose of this section and the page below is supposed to be..?}}

* [[Capacity]]

== Mental health ==

* [[Applied_Behavior_Analysis|Applied behavior analysis]]
* [[Depression]]
* [[Difficulties with mental health services]]

== Information processing differences ==

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

== Office & work dynamics ==

* [[Corporate buzzwords]]
* [[HR interviews]]
* [[Job interviews]] - ended up writing like a short essay in this one which boils down to the importance of respecting diversity of thought on this wiki. Maybe it would be better suited to copy into another page, but not sure which?
* [[Meetings]]
* [[Networking]]
* [[Team building / work socials]]
* [[Water cooler]]

== Articles and Threads ==

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

== 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]]
* [[Proprioception]]
* [[Sensory overload]]
* [[Sensory sensitivity]]
* [[Synthesthesia|Synesthesia]]
* [[Olfactory perception|Smell]]
* [[Gustatory perception|Taste]]
* [[Tactile perception|Texture]]
* [[Vestibulary perception]]
* [[Visual perception|Vision]]

== Yet-to-be-sorted categories ==

You can put stuff that doesn't fit anywhere else (yet) here.

* [[Violence against Autistic people]]

== Misc ==

* [[special:AllPages|View all pages]]
* [[Special:Categories|View all categories]]

Research

2022-08-24T14:41:15Z

BlueRoan:

'''Research''' in the context of the diagnostic journey is the process one may launch into to find out as much information as possible to try and deal with the self-questioning.

Examples may include:

* Looking up clinical definitions of autism
* Searching for and studying the content of autistic YouTube and Twitter accounts
* Searching for [[Screening tools|online tests]] that you can do on yourself at home

The strict clinical definitions may be of limited usefulness as they tend to be framed in terms of fairly specific deficits that may be difficult to identify as a match with your personal experience. Autistic social media accounts may prove much more useful as they describe a broader range of more true-to-life experience that may resonate with you more readily. Looking at the content from several different accounts also helps, as each autistic person's own experience is unique to them.

== Podcasts ==

{{Comment|Maybe put this in [[Podcasts by Autistic creators]]?}}

{{Comment|Good thought - I went to do so, then second-guessed, because this pod host isn't autistic (though she has lots of autistic guests) and is not so much representative of "autistic culture" (where the "Pods by Autistic Creators" lives) so much as a source of clinical info (which unlike most clinical info is neurodiversity-friendly). Thoughts?}}

[https://two-sides-of-the-spectrum.simplecast.com/episodes Two Sides of the Spectrum]
The host is a clinician who is not autistic, but who embraces the neurodiversity paradigm and frequently has autistic guest-experts on the show. For those who want to explore clinical perspectives on autism, this is a useful and affirming source.

== Websites ==

[https://embrace-autism.com/blog/ Embrace Autism]
The blog offers research and experiential reflections on autism, written by autistic psychologists.

[[Category:Am I autistic?]]

Research

2022-08-24T14:39:12Z

BlueRoan: Undo revision 1257 by BlueRoan (talk)

'''Research''' in the context of the diagnostic journey is the process one may launch into to find out as much information as possible to try and deal with the self-questioning.

Examples may include:

* Looking up clinical definitions of autism
* Searching for and studying the content of autistic YouTube and Twitter accounts
* Searching for [[Screening tools|online tests]] that you can do on yourself at home

The strict clinical definitions may be of limited usefulness as they tend to be framed in terms of fairly specific deficits that may be difficult to identify as a match with your personal experience. Autistic social media accounts may prove much more useful as they describe a broader range of more true-to-life experience that may resonate with you more readily. Looking at the content from several different accounts also helps, as each autistic person's own experience is unique to them.

== Podcasts ==

{{Comment|Maybe put this in [[Podcasts by Autistic creators]]?}}

[https://two-sides-of-the-spectrum.simplecast.com/episodes Two Sides of the Spectrum]
The host is a clinician who is not autistic, but who embraces the neurodiversity paradigm and frequently has autistic guest-experts on the show. For those who want to explore clinical perspectives on autism, this is a useful and affirming source.

== Websites ==

[https://embrace-autism.com/blog/ Embrace Autism]
The blog offers research and experiential reflections on autism, written by autistic psychologists.

[[Category:Am I autistic?]]

Podcasts

2022-08-24T14:36:29Z

BlueRoan:

{{Comment|For now this is just a list. Maybe we can come up with categories and organize once we have collected a bunch of podcasts.}}

* ''[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06sdq0x/episodes/downloads 1800 Seconds On Autism]'', Robyn Steward and Jamie Knight, 2018-now
* ''[https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/21andsensory-podcast/id1271503548 21andsensory]'', Emily, 2017-now
* ''[https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/aut-hour/id1579235089 Aut-Hour]'', Sara Gibbs, 2021
* ''[https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/managing-the-smart-mind/id1615765498 Managing the Smart Mind]'', Else Kramer, 2022-now
* ''[https://shows.acast.com/neurodivergent-moments Neurodivergent Moments]'', Abigoliah Schamaun & Joe Wells, 2022-now
* ''[https://two-sides-of-the-spectrum.simplecast.com/episodes Two Sides of the Spectrum]'', Meg Proctor, 2020-now; note: Proctor is a clinician (SLP) who is not autistic herself, but embraces the neurodiversity paradigm and frequently has autistic guest-experts on the show

[[Category:Autistic culture]]

Podcasts

2022-08-24T14:35:56Z

BlueRoan:

{{Comment|For now this is just a list. Maybe we can come up with categories and organize once we have collected a bunch of podcasts.}}

* ''[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06sdq0x/episodes/downloads 1800 Seconds On Autism]'', Robyn Steward and Jamie Knight, 2018-now
* ''[https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/21andsensory-podcast/id1271503548 21andsensory]'', Emily, 2017-now
* ''[https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/aut-hour/id1579235089 Aut-Hour]'', Sara Gibbs, 2021
* ''[https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/managing-the-smart-mind/id1615765498 Managing the Smart Mind]'', Else Kramer, 2022-now
* ''[https://shows.acast.com/neurodivergent-moments Neurodivergent Moments]'', Abigoliah Schamaun & Joe Wells, 2022-now
* ''[https://two-sides-of-the-spectrum.simplecast.com/episodes Two Sides of the Spectrum]'', Meg Proctor, 2020-now; note:
the host is a clinician (SLP) who is not autistic, but embraces the neurodiversity paradigm and frequently has autistic guest-experts on the show

[[Category:Autistic culture]]

Podcasts

2022-08-24T14:34:47Z

BlueRoan:

{{Comment|For now this is just a list. Maybe we can come up with categories and organize once we have collected a bunch of podcasts.}}

* ''[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06sdq0x/episodes/downloads 1800 Seconds On Autism]'', Robyn Steward and Jamie Knight, 2018-now
* ''[https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/21andsensory-podcast/id1271503548 21andsensory]'', Emily, 2017-now
* ''[https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/aut-hour/id1579235089 Aut-Hour]'', Sara Gibbs, 2021
* ''[https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/managing-the-smart-mind/id1615765498 Managing the Smart Mind]'', Else Kramer, 2022-now
* ''[https://shows.acast.com/neurodivergent-moments Neurodivergent Moments]'', Abigoliah Schamaun & Joe Wells, 2022-now
* ''[https://two-sides-of-the-spectrum.simplecast.com/episodes]'', Two Sides of the Spectrum, 2020-now; note:
the host is a clinician (SLP) who is not autistic, but embraces the neurodiversity paradigm and frequently has autistic guest-experts on the show

[[Category:Autistic culture]]

Research

2022-08-24T14:32:22Z

BlueRoan:

Self-diagnosis

2022-08-23T22:27:36Z

BlueRoan:

'''Self-diagnosis''' (or '''self-dx''') is generally accepted in the Autistic community because often it is both hard and expensive to get a [[Formal diagnosis|formal diagnosis]]. In many cases, an individual may decide it isn't worth pursuing. Many people self-dx after immersing themselves in online [[Autistic community|Autistic communities]], thoroughly researching the available literature, and engaging in intensive self-reflection (something Autistics can tend to do a lot of).

Barriers to receiving a formal diagnosis include: [[Gender bias|sexism against women]] who are recognised as Autistic, racism, poverty, lack of access to healthcare, lack of access to [[Autism and LGBT|queer]]-accepting healthcare, and the fact that many doctors [[Difficulties with mental health services|refuse to diagnose adults]] who were not diagnosed in childhood.

Some people may also avoid seeking a formal diagnosis due to the [[Stigma|stigma]] of having an autism diagnosis on their medical record. Consequences vary from country to country, but for example, autism diagnoses have been used to deny child custody, access to medical care, entrance to some countries, and general autonomy.

Note, some autists on their self-dx journey may be hesitant to "diagnose" themselves, viewing diagnosis as a word that denotes a clinical determination. In this case the term "self-assessment" may be useful. Laypeople as well as clinicians can and do assess their own traits, struggles, needs and strengths; the Autism community affirms that people are experts on their own experiences and qualified to draw conclusions about who they are.

[[Category:Autistic paradigms and terminology]]

[[Category:Stubs]]

Research

2022-08-23T22:04:37Z

BlueRoan:

'''Research''' in the context of the diagnostic journey is the process one may launch into to find out as much information as possible to try and deal with the self-questioning.

Examples may include:
* Looking up clinical definitions of autism
* Searching for and studying the content of autistic YouTube and Twitter accounts
* Searching for [[Screening tools|online tests]] that you can do on yourself at home

The strict clinical definitions may be of limited usefulness as they tend to be framed in terms of fairly specific deficits that may be difficult to identify as a match with your personal experience. Autistic social media accounts may prove a lot more useful as they describe a broader range of more true-to-life experience that may resonate with you more readily. Looking at the content from several different accounts also helps, as each autistic person's own experience is unique to them.

==Podcasts==

[https://two-sides-of-the-spectrum.simplecast.com/episodes Two Sides of the Spectrum]
The host is a clinician who is not autistic, but who embraces the neurodiversity paradigm and frequently has autistic guest-experts on the show. For those who want to explore clinical perspectives on autism, this is a useful and affirming source.

==Websites==

[https://embrace-autism.com/blog/ Embrace Autism]
The blog offers research and experiential reflections on autism, written by autistic psychologists.

[[Category:Am I autistic?]]

Research

2022-08-23T22:04:07Z

BlueRoan:

'''Research''' in the context of the diagnostic journey is the process one may launch into to find out as much information as possible to try and deal with the self-questioning.

Examples may include:
* Looking up clinical definitions of autism
* Searching for and studying the content of autistic YouTube and Twitter accounts
* Searching for [[Screening tools|online tests]] that you can do on yourself at home

The strict clinical definitions may be of limited usefulness as they tend to be framed in terms of fairly specific deficits that may be difficult to identify as a match with your personal experience. Autistic social media accounts may prove a lot more useful as they describe a broader range of more true-to-life experience that may resonate with you more readily. Looking at the content from several different accounts also helps, as each autistic person's own experience is unique to them.

==Podcasts==

[https://two-sides-of-the-spectrum.simplecast.com/episodes Two Sides of the Spectrum]
The host is a clinician who is not autistic, but who embraces the neurodiversity paradigm and frequently has autistic guest-experts on the show. For those who want to explore clinical perspectives on autism, this is a useful and affirming source.

==Websites==

[https://embrace-autism.com/blog/ Embrace Autism]
The blog explores research and experiential reflections on autism, written by autistic psychologists.

[[Category:Am I autistic?]]

Main Page

2022-08-23T21:51:53Z

BlueRoan: /* Outmoded terminology */