Greta Thunberg’s facial expressions & personal thoughts are not really anyone’s business. However, back in September, a number of #Autists felt that a #BodyLanguageExpert‘s unsolicited projections had so widely missed the mark that something needed to be said. 🧵 1/8 #Autistic people are said to have difficulty reading #BodyLanguage. But this really means they have difficulty reading #Neurotypical nonverbal language. We actually have far less difficulty understanding our own neurotype, despite having been raised to mimic the words ... 2/8

This thread is in response to a recent thread by @leoniedelt that was interesting & provocative & hopefully won’t be a magnet for trolls, but as it stands, deserves a healthy debate.

As a bereaved parent & multiple trauma survivor & a psychiatrist of 30 years & a multiply

/1 #Disabled #ActuallyAutistic & #AutisticParent, I am very accustomed to being a member of heterogenous groups that share one overarching life experience that sets them apart from the rest of society.

In a bereaved parents’ group, we are there to support one another

/2

Differences in thinking styles between #Autistics and #Neurotypicals: Table 1: Information Processing.

This is 1st of about 10 in total (to be Tweeted gradually as they become ready) - all loosely translated & adapted from document below.

Please add examples!

The MYTH of #HighFunctioningAutism

(sorry, long thread; also about #ABA, but PLEASE try to read it!)

For skeptics who believe an #Autistic with a job or a profession or a child or a relationship leads a life similar to a #Neurotypical (#Allistic), please read this./1 Also, to #AutismParents wanting an #Autistic child to grow up looking & acting “normal” & considering #ABA, please read on.

This is a 2-hour snapshot from my fairly functional day as an #ActuallyAutistic, outwardly very “successful” #Neurotypical-appearing health professional./2

It’s not just the general public that misinterprets #Autistic “severity” & hidden meanings from observable behaviours (see analysis in ‘A Tale of Two Ableisms’ by @TheAspergianCom RT @RussellRElliot) re. GretaThunberg & Kodi Lee.

Even professionals can get it wrong. A so-called body language expert’s interpretation of Greta Thunberg’s #Autistic facial expressions is a case in point. For some time now Greta Thunberg has been a convenient target for unsolicited thoughts from all sorts of people in this world, good and bad.