Johnny Profane Âû Profile picture
One Voice. Raw. Real. Fiercely Neurodivergent. 🎤 Free Updates & Podcast https://t.co/dFv0qjtXXE
Mar 19 7 tweets 2 min read
I just want to put this out there. My autistic experience. Maybe no one else's.

For awhile? I was misdiagnosed bipolar II. Which led to unfortunate meds… and side effects. Permanent.

#ActuallyAutistic #ADHD #Bipolar

🧵1/ Profile silhouette of a person wearing a fedora hat against a black background. Multiple overlapping profiles extend behind the main figure, creating a visual echo effect. Dramatic lighting highlights only the edges of each profile. The repetition and shadowing suggest different states of being or cognition, visually representing the variable cognitive experiences described in the post about autism and misdiagnosis. See… I tested with a gifted IQ. But because of my spiky cognitive profile? I definitely perform at a subnormal level.

Here’s the deal…

During periods of clarity, I can indeed do some things that amaze me. I founded and ran an award-winning magazine at 30.

2/
Mar 18 4 tweets 1 min read
an autistic meltdown is fight flight freeze & appease all at once.

even when it comes out as "fuck You fuck You fuck you."

it's a tiger seagull deer cringing dog all smashed into the same moment. like if a qubit could scream.

1/2
despite my spiritual ... pretensions... this has been my truth. sunce 1953.

My mileage may vary.

2/2
Mar 12 7 tweets 2 min read
I'm an autistic writer and podcaster. I chose the "stage name" of Johnny Profane Âû.

why? I wanted to say what I really needed to say... without masking.

#ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent #ADHD

1/ Abstract black and white sketch with chaotic, intersecting lines creating a sense of movement and transition. Two circular forms emerge from the turbulence - one dark, one lighter. The spontaneous ballpoint pen technique evokes automatic drawing practices of surrealists, capturing raw emotional states. The unplanned, immediate response mirrors the author's journey from masked expression to authenticity, visually representing the "bardo" state between personas. The circular elements suggest wholeness emerging from chaos, complementing the narrative of finding a true voice. ironically I couldn't begin to do that without the fig leaf of internal cosplay.

i wasn't saying these things. Johnny Profane was.

cool thing? in time i wasn't listening to him any more

i was listening to me. then just speaking the truth.

2/
Mar 10 5 tweets 1 min read
We sure blew past that goal! On Day $4!

Thanks to
Bernard Grant,
David Perlmutter,
Tony V in LV,
LivingWithHarmony,
Sam Farmer,
Ian Lawton,
Eric,
Krishna Sadhana,
Kara Mace!

I hope you can forgive me... I'm leaving the 7-day fund raiser up.

Here's why:

#ActuallyAutistic
1/ At left, banner on grafitti sign reads, "AutisticAF Out Loud. On Voice. Raw. Real. Fiercely Neurodivergent." At right, text reads, "Day 3, $210.55, 140% of Goal!, Raised toward $150 Goal. Check back tomorrow... for progress." I'm thinking of adding something. More sponstaneous. Letting me post more often. I could use a few nickles in my pocket to help make it happen.

A new podcast:
"Trigger Warnings: Fiercely 'Divergent News." A sort of "Gimme 10 minutes? I'll give you my neurodivergent world."

2/
Mar 7 8 tweets 2 min read
I believe no one should have to pay to be autistic.
That's why all my resources on living Neurodivergent... out loud? Always free.

But at 70-something, on govt assistance, I need help.
7-day fundraiser: $150 & keep this work going.


#ActuallyAutistic 1/7 ko-fi.com/autisticaf Just in February 2025 alone, I talked directly with:

17 newly diagnosed #autistic adults
11 families raising #neurodivergent kids
12 therapists & caregivers
7 researchers
3 teachers

Hundreds reach out to me yearly.

THEN, the tens of thousands who read/listen. Silently.

2/7
Feb 23 4 tweets 1 min read
@perplexity_ai? Most useful AI app I've used to date… & keeps improving at a fast rate.

Deep research,
brainstorming creative writing,
editing,
research,
project organizing via Spaces,
AI assistant to keep me on track,
+ instant search for tech support or any casual thing. Perplexity offers a whole lotta executive functioning help for this #autistic + #ADHD.
Feb 22 5 tweets 1 min read
I'm #autistic. I've re-read the Dune series... maybe a dozen times since 1965.

How about you?

Are you #Neurodivergent? Do you re-experience your faves?

#AskingAutistics

1/2
I love re-reading. LOVE it.

I relive memories. I'm back in the moment. Like that, I re-experience the depth of emotion, insight, beauty each re-visit of a book or movie.

It becomes a deeply nuanced experience. Layers of feeling & sensations from various ages I re-read.

2/2
Feb 19 7 tweets 2 min read
Trump administration identifying #Autism, #ADHD as "direct threats to the American people."

Underlying many of Trump's policies?

Eugenics. Against all disability.

Libertarian survival of the fittest.

#ActuallyAutistic Image Find me as johnnyprofane1 on most text, image, video platforms via

linktr.ee/johnnyprofane1
Feb 8 5 tweets 2 min read
"I was not born to be pitied. I was born to raise Hell. Autistic style."

Now wherever you grab your podcasts...

#YouTube youtu.be/n5zMWz_nzws?si…

#Spotify open.spotify.com/episode/6DcSRn…

#Apple podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aut…

#Amazon music.amazon.com/podcasts/21980…

#ActuallyAutistic #AutismAtWork #ADHD #Neurodiversity More good Karma with me, my friend, @char_boa !
Feb 2 5 tweets 1 min read
#ImagineImpeachment

Start now. As a democracy, we the people are responsible for what our chosen leaders do.

As the economic impact of retaliatory tariffs hit American people, call your representatives.

Whether your state is red or blue.

1/
As things get worse, impeachment is realistic.

We need only a dozen or so Republicans to join Democrats in House and Senate to take back our country.

#ImagineImpeachment

2/3
Jan 2 4 tweets 1 min read
$400 billion.

If you spent 1 million dollars a day...

It'd take you 1,095 years to blow it all.

Now, if you spent a million bucks an HOUR... It would only take 46 years.

A million an hour, 24 million a day, 9 billion a year.

Ya know, we bust up corporate monopolies...

1/
Basically cuz if they get too big, they become black holes sucking up all the money in a market.

At some point, the owner of this platform will control so much wealth...

He becomes a black hole of wealth... and power... sucking up every living thing on this planet...

2/
Dec 23, 2024 8 tweets 2 min read
Content Note: trauma, sexual assault, self-harm, rage, transformative therapy moments + experiences & opinions of one #autistic voice…71.

The Body Abides

"Like I told you
Nothing really happened
Can't sleep is all…."
He repeats his view,

🧵1/
#ActuallyAutistic #Poem #Trauma A haunting black and white image shows a broken glass panel in a dark door, with a shadowy figure visible through the jagged break. The person's shadow looms larger on the adjacent door panel, creating a dual presence that echoes the poem's themes of watching and being watched, fragmented identity, and the persistence of trauma's witness. The broken glass mirrors the poem's climactic moment of mirror-smashing, while the shadow suggests both vulnerability and emerging strength. "The Body Watches", digital illustration by author. Digital tools included AI. "The body watches.
The body ALWAYS
Fucking watches."
"Yeah, he kissed me
Fathers do that.
Yeah, it was weird but…."
He whispers me,

"Your body, your witness.
And this witness ALWAYS
Fucking watches."

2/
Dec 20, 2024 11 tweets 2 min read
I'm an #autistic imagistic thinker. In my 70s. But never realized it til recently.

Are you too? Maybe, like me... without realizing it?

Let’s talk thinking in pictures…

#ActuallyAutistic

🧵1/ A haunting close-up of a pale, mouthless face with wide, intense eyes against a dark background. Metallic spheres float above, trailing ethereal lines. Fiery oranges and deep blacks create a turbulent atmosphere. The face appears to emerge from dripping paint, suggesting the struggle of translating rich internal imagery into external expression. Do you find yourself gesturing at invisible objects while talking, as if others can see what you see?

Do you struggle to explain things linearly, because you get concepts all at once? Like puzzle pieces suddenly snapping into place?

#Neurodivergent #Neurodiversity

/2
Dec 5, 2024 5 tweets 2 min read
AFTER THE SECRET

I have strengths.
Not one is my superpower.
I have challenges.
Not one is my kryptonite.

I love cosplay.
But I don’t have to fly
Wear a mask
Or sport a cape
To be autistic.

Still…

I get to be the hero
of my own life. Digital illustration in anime style shows a Gothic cathedral interior. Afternoon light through a broken stained glass window casts green beams across hardwood floors. A discarded superhero cape lies centered on the floor, while a human shadow stretches toward it in farewell. The shadow's source remains unseen. The composition uses gothic arches and parallel lines to guide focus. Illustrates the poem 'After the Secret' about autistic identity and moving beyond masking toward authenticity. Slight tweak. I needed to adjust the reality balance...

AFTER THE SECRET

I have strengths.
Not one is my superpower.
I have challenges.
Not one is my kryptonite.

I love cosplay.
But I don’t have to fly
Wear a mask
Or sport a cape
To be autistic.

Still…

I get to be the hero
Or bald evil genius
of my own life.
Dec 2, 2024 7 tweets 3 min read
Cyber Monday Gifts... #Neurodivergent style!

Give a bright, wide-open Neurodivergent future this year! Buy a poster… give your kid, employyee, student pride, recognition, acceptance…

Plus a FREE 6-month premium subscription to #AutisticAF Outloud!
johnnyprofaneknapp.substack.com/p/images-and-p…Image Buy a poster… give your kid, employyee, student pride, recognition, acceptance…

Plus a FREE 6-month premium subscription to #AutisticAF Outloud!
johnnyprofaneknapp.substack.com/p/images-and-p…Image
Nov 30, 2024 5 tweets 1 min read
Mainstream media about 2 steps behind. Per usual.

This ain't Elon as VP.

This is Elon showing off the president he just bought.

Signaling to all his billionaire friends. Crowing, "Be afraid. Be very afraid."

1/

May I remind you there's only one winner of end stage capitalism?

Notice how Zuckerberg made a sudden trip to Mar-a-lago?

Bezos likely booking his flight as you read this.

2/2
Nov 16, 2024 7 tweets 2 min read
I'm in a ridiculously tearful nostalgic meltdown for our music days together.

I'm gonna submit you to a playlist. With your patience and permission...?

Humble.

But live... By and large.

1/

Our Neurodivergent love song... to each other.

Yeah. I cry. Autistic Elder gets to do that.

2/

Nov 11, 2024 4 tweets 1 min read
It's so strange. A few people have praised me lately.

It makes me nervous. Odd. I'm thinking about that. Demand avoidance?
Nov 8, 2024 10 tweets 2 min read
"Trigger Warning: Neurodivergent Abuse" Newsletter...

I'm very excited... after a LONG absence... to be relaunching our weekly newsletter!

In this issue... Schools, Police, Institutions, Action Items...

#ActuallyAutistic #ADHD #AuDHD #Disability

1/
perplexity.ai/page/recent-ab… NEWS REPORTS OF NEURODIVERGENT ABUSE 11/1 to 11/8
• Colorado school bus aide arrested for physically abusing three non-verbal autistic children
• Federal investigation launched into Littleton Public Schools and The Joshua School
2/
Nov 8, 2024 12 tweets 3 min read
"Trigger Warning: Neurodivergent Abuse" Newsletter...

I'm very excited... after a LONG absence... to be relaunching our weekly newsletter!

In this issue... Schools, Police, Institutions, Action Items...

1/

#ActuallyAutistic #ADHD #AuDHD #Disabilityperplexity.ai/page/new?newFr… NEWS REPORTS OF NEURODIVERGENT ABUSE 11/1 to 11/8

• Colorado school bus aide arrested for physically abusing three non-verbal autistic children
• Federal investigation launched into Littleton Public Schools and The Joshua School

2/
Nov 6, 2024 9 tweets 2 min read
@I_FredericLewis @ashleyann_atx Oh my friend I so freaking get it.

I don't have answers... except my own. I hope that makes sense.

I was diagnosed 8 years ago. There was immediate relief. But the learning curve was steep for some years.

I need to write on this i don't think I hit the nail on the head yet.
1/
@I_FredericLewis @ashleyann_atx Short version, which I need desperately to expand...

I found my wife. First Neurodivergent -tolerant in my life. As was her family.

After 6 decades of chaos and trauma I had lived... I had enough comfort & control to look at my life.

I discovered my sensory needs...

2/