2nd Exclusive Video for October!!
Added 2023-10-16 18:00:06 +0000 UTCI need your questions/dilemmas/problems for my first Patreon-exclusive agony-aunt style video. You can send them in via messages on here or email them to:
advice@imautisticnowwhat.com (be sure to put 'Patreon' in the subject line so I don't mix them up with the main channel submissions).
I'll keep you anonymous 🐌
You're also welcome to send in general Q&A questions if you'd prefer. Feel free to comment them here too.
Childhood photo for attention 😅
Comments
I edited the comment.
Isabelle
2023-11-01 07:27:27 +0000 UTCMy current dilemma is probably what kind of job I want. My current one is a very mundane one in an office. I value the routines in it and that I can organize myself how I want. On the other hand something (ADHD?) In me is craving something more exciting where I can learn more (feel like I have learnt all there is in my current job) and the days vary. Something like a cop. I know the application process is hard, but I would love to at least try it. ETA: Another choice in my head is bus or train driver. It is also a rather repetitive task, but with different shifts. I always enjoyed driving cars, and i like the thought of transporting people to where they want to be. It is not in front of a computer, but i still would be sitting all day.
Isabelle
2023-10-29 13:01:13 +0000 UTCI have been able to rationalize myself out of it at times, but the joy isn't always the same afterwards. I need something to help me make sense of it and give me confidence that it's something I can overcome. It's so nice to be able to find people who relate. 🥹
Moonpie
2023-10-24 23:53:01 +0000 UTCI wanted to cry reading this because I relate so hard.
I'm Autistic, Now What
2023-10-24 22:10:30 +0000 UTCCongrats on finishing uni despite everything 💛
I'm Autistic, Now What
2023-10-24 22:09:37 +0000 UTCI have the PDA profile pretty strongly and I have past experience of it ruining things that I once loved and I just want to cry because it's trying to do it again. It's like...it feels like there's an expectation I need to love every single aspect of something in order to validate my emotions and if those feelings falter at all, it's like a crack that opens for the PDA to come in. And it also plays into my fear of loss in general. Like I am forcing this expectation MYSELF and then going into a spiral the second anything feels less than perfect. So then I start avoiding this thing that I love because I'm afraid of feeling apathetic towards it...which just makes it worse. I'm not sure how well I'm explaining this, but I am just so close to tears because I don't want to keep losing things. T_T
Moonpie
2023-10-24 15:40:05 +0000 UTCI guess my constant dilemma is work. Burnout over and over. Having to work now basically for the rest of my life (nearly 30, finished Uni a little over a year ago after having done other stuff and bla bla). Mit having an autism diagnosis (yet), but an adhd chidhood diagnosis and not having said anything at work…. There’s a lot that goes into it 🙈
Katherine
2023-10-23 13:19:24 +0000 UTCMy eyeliner is not perfect!!! But thank you 😅 I'd love to speak more on this - doing my hair and makeup has caused a lot of tears over the years 😂
I'm Autistic, Now What
2023-10-20 13:04:52 +0000 UTCOh, I thought of another question. Your makeup. As someone with dyspraxia, how is it you manage to always have perfect eyeliner? I don't have a dyspraxia diagnosis, but it makes a lot of sense for me. My fine motor skills are naught, my handwriting is atrocious, and I am not good at getting my body to accept directions. >_< Makeup is a special interest, however. And I've gotten pretty good at a lot of it, from watching YouTube tutorials and whatnot... except for eyeliner. It also doesn't help that I have hooded eyelids. What's your secret?
The Digital Autist
2023-10-19 23:03:13 +0000 UTCIf it helps, I didn't get my diagnosis until last month at age 52, well after I've gone no contact with my mother and my father passed away earlier this year. So my doctors had absolutely no access to either of my parents to ask them questions about behavior they noticed in childhood. All they had to go by was what little I could remember objectively about myself as a kid and teenager, previous diagnoses I've received of bipolar, borderline, OCD, schizoaffected personality disorder, etc., and also I had taken the CAT-Q test online which checks for your levels of masking in social situations. All those things were more than enough to take into account with the assessment tests they did, and they were able to better say "ah, I can see here is why you were diagnosed with borderline" and "this result alone proves you have never been bipolar, how did those medications affect you at the time?" Things like that. So the tldr is they have a massive amount of workarounds for the absence of someone who is familiar with you earlier in life, and while the input of parents or teachers can be very helpful (don't get me wrong, it's very helpful), they are still able to look at your test results by themselves and make a solid diagnosis. 😊
Boxcar Willie Nelson Mandela Effect
2023-10-19 16:27:46 +0000 UTCDo you have any advice on dealing with family members not believing you or supporting you through your diagnosis? I've recently started to think I might be autistic and my mom is treating it like a horrible disease and then other times denying that it is plausible because I can sometimes understand sarcasm ect. I'm worried this will impact my diagnosis process if a doctor would like to talk to family members about my traits.
Abi Gough
2023-10-19 10:25:01 +0000 UTCIn my unmasking journey, I feel more comfortable and am less exhausted if I am quiet in social situations. Social norms say I should be engaging in conversation; how important is it that I learn to be actively social without my mask versus being comfortably quiet?
Kayla
2023-10-18 13:37:48 +0000 UTCI would find it helpful if you could talk about the experience of being infantilized. What does it look/sound like? Examples and contexts, perhaps triggers you've noticed for people to start treating people with autism in a patronizing way.
Melody Hession-Sigmon
2023-10-18 13:08:33 +0000 UTCI know (at least, I believe I remember you saying) that your child is neurotypical. What do you do when the kiddo is being A LOT and you are overwhelmed and overstimulated? Lol please halp. For context: I am AuDHD and so is my daughter (she has spicy autism and is non-speaking, with fairly high support needs), and we have opposing sensory needs. I prefer less noise (except if that noise is music) and I'm not particularly touchy-feely. She, on the other hand, is LOUD and loves to touch me, especially on my face--specifically my EYES. I try to be accommodating and kind, because touching my face is how she expresses that she loves me, but holy heck, sometimes (especially when I'm already overstimulated) I feel like my soul is going to vibrate right out of my body. She touches my EYES. lol I can't.
The Digital Autist
2023-10-17 15:17:17 +0000 UTCI think the fact that my grandpa had a bit of a special interest in home video and cameras probably inspired my mum to get one, so I can thank him!
I'm Autistic, Now What
2023-10-17 14:19:21 +0000 UTCHow has being Autistic affected you as a parent?
Kayla
2023-10-17 05:06:56 +0000 UTCBeing in a marriage where one of you is neurotypical and one is neurodivergent, how do you lift each other up when you are really down in the dumps?
Meaghan
2023-10-16 21:44:06 +0000 UTCI just love that you have so many photos and videos documenting your childhood and aiding and in your autism diagnosis.
shapeofsoup
2023-10-16 18:04:23 +0000 UTC
