Why I, an autistic person, do not like the phrase "info dumping": 🧵
According to Dictionary[dot]com, info dumping is providing a large quantity of backstory or background information all at once. It is a slang term that almost always has a negative connotation.

The term has no clear origin but may originate from copy/paste responses online.
Most recently, info dumping is used to describe autistic individuals when we talk about our special interests.

Apparently, we don't share our passions. We don't describe our passions. We don't teach about our passions.

We info dump.
Yes, there are times & places when I share my special interest for long periods of time.

Yes, there are people who don't want to listen to me talk about my SpIn for an hour or more.

But there's a neurotypical social power dynamic going on here:
I've heard it said that people won't tell me to stop talking about my special interest because they don't want to hurt my feelings.

So instead of just asking me to stop, they made fun of me, called me and my "info dumping" annoying behind my back. Regardless of my feelings.
I've found that info dumping isn't always about those one hour special interests share alouds. If autistics talk for 10+ minutes about our special interests but do this multiple times over a series of hangouts, we're often automatically considered info dumpers.
Sometimes, I see autistics make self-deprecating comments about so-called info dumping.

The truth is: We're being shamed for our monotropic brains. We're being shamed for our passions. We're being told we are inherently bad.

And we're being encouraged to internalize that shame.
Here are a few slides from my most recent IG post about the importance of special interests for autistics: Autistic special interests ...Ways that special interests...Whenever I stop talking abo...
And for more information about autism and monotropism, check out these slides: Studies and theories about ...Monotropism: Theory that au...According to monotropism, a...Sources: Murray, D., Lesser...

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More from @autienelle

Jan 17,
Let's talk about task initiation. 🧵

Task initiation is hard for many autistics, whose brains may be geared toward staying in the midst of a few high-intensity interests.
Task initiation is an executive functioning skill that involves knowing how to begin an activity. For many autistics, getting lost in the midst of a task comes naturally, but actually kicking off the task is the hardest part.
Starting a task is difficult. It requires breaking down an activity into small pieces. Tasks are usually made up of multiple tasks. In fact, tasks often have multiple starting points. So, in order to initiate an activity, we actually have to start multiple times.
Read 5 tweets
Nov 22, 2021
I am tired of hiding my autistic special interests so that non-autistics will not make fun of me.
I am tired of pretending to not love my autistic special interests so that non-autistics won't accuse me of oversharing.
I am tired of feeling ashamed of my autistic special interests because non-autistics tell me that it's not right to hyperfocus on my passions.
Read 6 tweets
Oct 2, 2021
Ever seen one of these emotions charts? These guides are meant to teach people what emotions are. Except, as an autistic person, I could never relate. Chart reads: How do you fee...
I spent hours staring at these emotions charts. I memorized and copied them. I thought emotions were something to mimic. A set of vocabulary I needed to burn into my mind.

Then, I learned a word for my experience that is often used to describe autistics: Alexithymia.
At first, alexithymia, or the inability to recognize my emotions in myself or others, felt like good way to describe my autistic experiences. Until I started taking off the mask.

I reclaimed stimming. I reclaimed echolalia. I reclaimed my authentic facial expressions.
Read 6 tweets
Sep 18, 2021
Empty phrases like, "How are you?" are social nightmares for many autistics. Turns out, these confusing greetings are called phatic language, and they drive a wedge between autistic/allistic communication. 🧵
Over time, I've scripted replies to, "How are you?" But no matter how many times I say, "Pretty good," "Doing all right," or just nod, I'm filled with panic. Does this person actually want to know how I'm doing? Why did they ignore me when I responded, "Fine. How about you?"
"How are you" is an example of phatic language. Although it seems meaningless, non-autistics actually build social bonds with this kind of greeting. However, given that autistics bond & communicate differently from allistics, phatic language can be frustrating and even isolating.
Read 6 tweets
Aug 19, 2021
Meltdowns & shutdowns are communication. Autistic bodies are telling us & telling others that we've reached a limit. We can no longer mask our pain, force our bodies into situations that harm us, or endure the pressure of doing things that others force us to do.
Autistic brains are working overtime. Our bodies are regulating unsupportive environments. Most environments are designed with NTs in mind.

The result: Overload. Meltdowns. Shutdowns.
When autistic brains reach the processing limit, our bodies respond in ways that are neither good nor bad. Meltdowns & shutdowns may hurt or lead to danger, but they aren't intentional behavior meant to hurt/endanger.
Read 9 tweets
Jul 19, 2021
Autistic overstimulation and overload goes beyond the sensory.

Case in point: Emotional overload is when autistics receive feelings-based information from ourselves or others that are extremely difficult to process.
During autistic emotional overload, the emotional information we receive may feel overwhelming for many reasons. However, the impact of the overload may lead to meltdowns, shutdowns, rumination, and anxiety.
It is possible that emotions are overloading autistics merely because we do not receive emotional explanations and supports that are designed with autistic expression in mind.
Read 8 tweets

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