“Folklore is the expressive body of culture shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group”
The historically perceived rarity of autistic people, paints a picture of a single anomalous person, set apart from the normalised majority. Autistics become quasi-mythological beings. Like a human, not quite a human. A changeling, an alien, something else, disconnected
When autistic people gather in community, we disrupt that myth.
We learn from each other that our ways of expressing, of saying, of feeling and perceiving, are part of another mode of being, which is shared with, and connects us to others
Superstitions concerning fire, may lead us to consider the hearth, and chimney, where apotropaic objects are often concealed as a form of protection to ward against malevolent forces. The chimney was believed to be a gateway for bad spirits #SuperstitionSat
Ryedale Folk Museum, Yorkshire, has 3 “witch posts” in their collection. Positioned near the hearth and carved with apotropaic-style markings, including the X-shaped St Andrew’s cross to guard against spirits entering via the chimney
If the smoke from your fire is billowing out into the room, it’s believed to be caused by a witch, sitting on your roof and blocking the chimney #SuperstitionSat
🎨 = From 'Dialogues touchant le pouvoir des sorcieres et de la punition qu'elles meritent' by Thomas Erastus, 1579
My eldest is #DiagnosedAutistic and this is how it went, within the school system (posted with consent) 1. He was distressed from the day he arrived at school 2. They blamed his behaviour on the fact I let him watch Batman cartoons. They literally said that.
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3. He did things like: tell them they were unfair to make him ask for permission to go to loo 4. He would argue back when they told him he couldn’t leave his seat without permission
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5. He told them he hated their rewards and strike system - if you were good, your name went on the “Happy Side” of the whiteboard with a smily face, if you were deemed bad, you went on the “Sad Side” with a sad face
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1. Bewilderingly, painfully, angrily, anxiously, sadly, awkwardly, passionately existing for many years 2. Am treated for anxiety, depression, insomnia, PPD, have CBT, 3 years of therapy, many medications 3. Nothing works
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4. Eldest son received his autism dx 5. Start sensing that maaaaaybe there’s an answer 6. My ex received his autism dx 7. Curiouser and curiouser 8. Read more about autistic adults, women, and atypical presentations of autism 9. Recognise self and several family members
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10. Become increasingly sure that this is what is going on for me 11. Join Facebook groups. Talk to so many late diagnosed autistics 12. Conclude. Self-identify. It’s me. My answer. 13. Self doubt. Concern. Require further mental health support. 14. CBT and more meds
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Deep in the Mexican rainforest, a wonderland of elaborate architectural structures lies hidden amongst tropical plants and vines. This garden of earthly delights is Las Pozas, a legacy of a life spent in dedication to the wyrd and fabulous 1/#WyrdWednesday
Las Pozas, was created by the late Edward James, enormously wealthy British poet and patron-collector of Surrealist art. James’s passion and enthusiasm for Surrealism was matched only by his love of plants. Las Pozas is the simulacrum of these loves 2/ #WyrdWednesday
Glimpses of the concrete stairs, walkways, towers and portals of Las Pozas can be seen amongst the giant tropical leaves of the surrounding forest, hidden like a lost city, and given names like The House with a Roof like a Whale, and The Staircase to Heaven 3/ #WyrdWednesday