Some thoughts on my experience with tone of voice -
Tone of voice is still possibly the hardest and most exhausting thing for me to mask.

I can't explain how it feels like such a suppression of myself when I try to copy other's tone, the lilting almost sing-songy tone. 1/5
I think it's worse that people perceive(d) me to be a girl/woman, and because of that, the change in pitch I had to show to mask would be ridiculous.

People don't seem to judge cis men as much regarding tone. It felt like an absurd unnecessary constraint on communication. 2/5
For me masking or really more "mimicking" NT tone that other people wanted from me was akin to a person on the street having to put on clown makeup & a red nose everyday.
It has just never made sense. And it's so easy to tell (with people I know well) when my tone is "wrong" 3/5
I was really tired one day but I wanted to have a conversation on the phone. I said "hey" in a very flat, monotone voice and my parent at the other end mimicked my tone and laughed. I explained that me doing the "hey!" *happy* tone is actually part of masking. 4/5
And just saying that one word in a *happy tone* is exhausting. I mean truly exhausting. I wish I could describe why better, but I'm not sure I know why. I just know that I wish allistic people would understand and not take offense at my "unwelcoming" tone & just let me exist. 5/5

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More from @AutSciPerson

7 Jul
TW JRC, shocks

"..Rotenberg and the parents and guardians argued that the shock treatment was beneficial for patients who did not respond to any other treatment"

1. How is shocking people beneficial?
2. Respond in what way?

1/6

reuters.com/legal/litigati…
"'With the treatment, these residents can continue to participate in enriching experiences, enjoy visits with their families and, most importantly, live in safety and freedom from self-injurious and aggressive behaviors,' it said."

2/6
In what world is getting shocked 100 times a day completely out of your control, due to behaviors as innocuous as getting out of your chair, or wanting a drink, or any other regular life thing, living "in safety and freedom"?

3/6
Read 14 tweets
7 Jul
TW JRC, electric shocks, all caps
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
YES THEY'RE STILL SAYING IT'S OKAY TO ELECTRIC SHOCK AUTISTIC PEOPLE.

STOP TELLING US ABA ISN'T ABUSE. ABA THERAPY IS ABUSE, READ IT YOURSELF, RIGHT HERE:

#SayNoToABA
If anyone wants to "approve" this they should have to undergo the electric shocks themselves before they get to officially decide.

This is f*cking barbaric.

YES THEY SHOCK AUTISTIC PEOPLE IN 2021. STILL.
"The ruling was a victory for the Judge Rotenberg Educational Center and a group of parents and guardians of its students, which had challenged the regulation."

Notice they didn't say it was a victory for the STUDENTS.

It was Not a victory for the disabled students themselves.
Read 5 tweets
6 Jul
No shade to this thread as it forces NTs to understand autistic people. But holy sh*t are non-autistic people really that terrible at empathy?

Autistic people constantly tell NTs how we work & they just.. ignore us completely.

It really takes a goddamn simulation everytime?
1/5
Is it really so hard to believe autistic people?
Are neurotypicals taught to disbelieve other people's experiences? To gaslight? To ignore what is being communicated?

I honestly don't know of autistic people who would immediately disbelieve someone's internal experience. 2/5
I'm not joking when I say, is this a neurotypical empathy deficit?

Do they assume no one's experiences as disabled people are true? Or they can't fathom it?

Why is it so hard for them to Just. Believe. Us.
3/5
Read 5 tweets
5 Jul
This is what I mean when I say that transmasculine & AFAB nonbinary people are invisible to the wider public still.

Tech: Ms. [last name]

Me: Don't call me Ms., you can just call me [last name].

Tech: Oh. *5 minutes later*
Wait, did you say you want me to call you Ms.?

1/5
Me: No, I don't want you to call me Ms., you can just say [last name] when you call me up.

Tech: Oh.

This is the first time I've ever spoken up about it. I also wrote on the sign up sheet today "(Not a Ms.)" next to my name.

Physical therapist: Ms. [last name]

2/5
He literally knows that I changed my name and has seen my they/them mask.

I doubt any of the people I interacted with has known an out transmasculine person.

They've been calling me Ms. forever, 2 days a week.

3/5
Read 5 tweets
2 Jul
This thread is why I have very complicated feelings about talking about autism to kids as "a superpower."

I worry that when kids run up against something they can't do, they will feel bad and feel shame because they are not taught that disability is okay.

1/4
My generation growing up was always fed a "you can do anything you want/put your mind to!" mentality.

And that's just not true. That's not reality. I can't go for a walk and not be in pain. I can't go to loud concerts/conventions without managing my time and energy.

2/4
Like yes, my brain does work differently than neurotypical people. And I think that's fine to say. But also, there are some things I cannot do that NTs can, even if I wanted to & tried really hard.

And that's important to let kids know too.

3/4
Read 10 tweets
1 Jul
I'm just remembering the time when there was a really really loud sound at a seminar and everyone around me grabbed their ears and I thought to myself, "oh so it's okay to do that?"

And then realized I taught myself to not do that for every single day for my entire life.
If your patient is autistic and you're assessing their pain, treat their responses like you would someone with chronic pain.

I literally have a pain-with-walking disability and my hyperacusis pain is worse than that 95% of the time.
And it's not to say my pain with walking is actually completely fine or easy to cope with - it's not.

That's how bad my hyperacusis eardrum pain is. I went to work and walked for 1.5 years in pain and only the pandemic made me realize it was at least 6/10 pain daily.
Read 4 tweets

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