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Pete Wharmby Profile picture
@commaficionado
Oct 2, 2022 • 4 tweets • 1 min read • Read on X
Autistic Special Interests are more than 'hobbies' or 'obsessions'. They have a regulatory element, helping so many autistic people manage their elevated stress levels in a hostile world. They can be a true comfort and sanctuary.

#autism #autistic
They are not treated by non-autistic onlookers with the respect they deserve, seen as an irritation or quirk.

This causes a fair amount of damage.
I wrote a book about it.

amazon.co.uk/What-Want-Talk…
The moment I made peace with my interests, the happier I was. I no longer try to quash them and embrace them instead, aware of the good they do me.

Life changing.

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More from @commaficionado

Pete Wharmby Profile picture
Dec 23, 2022
How to *not* make Christmas a horrible time for your #autistic friends and family.

A thread 🧵🧵🧵

Please share!

1. Don't force us to smile all the time. Some of us might be very happy, but it doesn't show on our faces. Our emotion and expression don't always match.
2. Do let us escape if we need to, even if it's in the middle of Christmas lunch. It might be an important meal, but if I know I can get up and decompress in a quiet room whenever, I feel far less stressed. #autistic
3. Don't make us join in family games if we don't want to. A busy family Christmas can be hell for social anxiety, and being forced to play Twister won't help that. #autistic
Read 23 tweets
Pete Wharmby Profile picture
Dec 16, 2022
Society needs a total overhaul about the assumptions that are made about people.

We probably can't realistically stop people making instant assumptions based on behaviour, but we can adjust the parameters they're made in.
For example, someone with no knowledge of autism might assume, oooh I don't know, a teenager on an ipod in a theatre is 'bored' or 'rude'.

Someone who knows a little about autism and stims/special interests etc would assume, 'ah, maybe they're autistic, no problem'.
See the difference? It requires a relatively tiny amount of knowledge, and has a massive impact on how negatively weighted the assumptions are.

It would also stop people complaining publicly about seeing such behaviour.
Read 6 tweets
Pete Wharmby Profile picture
Nov 9, 2022
Making vulnerable autistic people do pretty much *all* the work when it comes to bridging the communicative gap between autistic people and non-autistic people:

Not exactly fair, is it?
What does this work include?

Masking, scripting, anxiety, trying to pre-empt misunderstanding, dealing with the fallout of misunderstanding, trying to raise understanding and acceptance of neurodiversity....
The systemic unfairness of this, probably baked into western society for centuries, is going to be a challenge to change but it *has* to change.

Otherwise autistic people will continue to burnout and suffer high levels of depression
Read 9 tweets
Pete Wharmby Profile picture
Nov 8, 2022
Been in the old big smokey apple (London) today doing some filmed interviews on neurodiversity with some lovely film producers from the US. Very fun experience - I now have a blooper reel all of my very own cos I can't keep a straight face.
Then afterwards I got rained on and got really wet feet and socks and went home.

So, swings and roundabouts.
Also, I had t been in London for maybe 6 years - certainly not since my burnout.

What an absolute sensory horror it is. Lovely and packed with architecture, but my word.
Read 4 tweets
Pete Wharmby Profile picture
Nov 6, 2022
None of us wanted to face fascism in our lives but, like our grandparents and great-grandparents it looks like we're going to have to. It's here, and it's loud, and it feels overwhelming.

But there are still good people. Hate can never win completely.
Because there can be no doubt that what we see in America, the UK, Hungary, Italy, Russia is different forms of 21st century fascism, at different stages, wrapped in a modernity that hides its true nature to anyone who isn't paying attention.
It would be better for everyone if those who oppose it stopped pretending and stopped fearing the ridicule of the fascists for daring to proclaim them... fascists.

That's their best defence. Denial after denial after obfuscation after obfuscation. Don't let them do this.
Read 4 tweets
Pete Wharmby Profile picture
Oct 18, 2022
So what's the deal with autistic people and routine?

Many, if not most, autistic people are heavily reliant on set routines of many types. Daily routines, morning routines, routines at work or school, hygiene routines, chore routines....

(a thread 🧵🧵🧵 - please retweet!)
Often these routines are viewed by outsiders as 'rigid' or 'obsessive. Sometimes they are viewed with frustration and autistic people encouraged to ditch them.

This represents a total failure of understanding what's going on.

#autistic
Autistic people, for the most part, don't set up routines for themselves in order to be difficult, or just for fun, or just as a 'result' of being #autistic.

We do it for a good reason - establishing control and improving our lives.
Read 12 tweets

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