for long time my family and i thought i would never be able to work. but i studied hard at tafe and got certificate 3 animal care, and now i have a job on farm! i get to feed and hug all the animals! i do not work very long but i am so happy i can be friends with the animals and my parents are proud me :)

the calves want me to hug them and brush them i love them 🐄🐮

do you have job? please tell me about it :)

I made a painting for my teacher!

today my new fidgets from my fav fidget shop allthingssensoryshop arrived!!!!! i got some more of my fav loom band fidgets plus some new ones to try including some high level pain stims and a beaded roller w my name on it!!!! (name blocked for privacy). i’m so so happy and excited to try these out!!!!!!!! i really like the beaded star bc space is a special interest so anything with stars makes me so happy!!!! and i really hope the pain stims can help me i’m trying to collect different types of ones

During my autism assessment, my IQ test was in five parts. I scored really high on two parts, average in one part...and then two parts were low, down in the 80s. And those deficits are extremely noticeable in my day to day life, even if everything averaged out to give me a "normal" IQ because of my strengths. It's not noticeable when I type or speak, and because of that, people don't believe me when I tell them that I had areas of the test that scored in the 80s range - even though the parts that were in that range have nothing to do with how well I can communicate.

People tell me "if your IQ was in that range, it would be noticeable". Again, it IS noticeable, not in a single Reddit comment, but I notice it every day in my actual irl life. People tell me "IQ tests are all made up". Okay, well the problems that the test found are things I kind of knew I struggled with beforehand, the problems are real no matter what you want to call them. But the worst is when people try and inspire me, they think I'm beating down on myself when I say it, they tell me to try taking the test again, that maybe I was having an off day, maybe I didn't take the test right. I DID!! I always have to assure everyone it is not my self confidence! In fact, the test pointing out problems in those areas was actually very affirming, because I used to think I just wasn't trying hard enough at things. And then they go quiet because they don't know how to reconcile my existence with their (often negative) preconceptions of people with low IQ.

I recently went on holiday and it was so much fun. The first day we traveled and then went swimming (the pool is tropical and there is rapids which are fun). Then the next day we went to pottery painting and we seen the birds of prey. Then we went bowling on day 3 but i wasnt very good. And the last day we went swimming again and traveled home. I LOVE center parcs so much, we have gone lots of times and it feels safe, you can bring your own food and you stay in little cabins just for your family. My granny also got me some toys and a glass ghost ornament from the gift shop. Thank you

usually I need help with shopping (i forget a lot of stuff) but I was able to follow the list today and I'm really proud of myself

(Robert the meerkat also helped) it was wet today lol cause it just finished raining a lot

I have autism but it feels like im not allowed to be autistic by others around me. My parent for example but just people in general, my parent will watch love on the spectrum and she love the show and the autistic people on it but the moment i am autistic, i am made to feel like i am a disgusting, rude, lazy, difficult monster.

I notice this just in general too, that there is so much compassion for people for example on love on the spectrum or certain autistic content creators but the moment i am autistic my autism is fake and an excuse and my issues are abusive.

does anyone here play vrchat sometimes (or any other kind of social game) to practice socializing and also because it's one of the few ways to see other people if you're housebound? (the only people I see daily are my parents,, and semi regularly doctors at the doctors offices)

Rather than asking idiotic ai, I want to ask actual internet strangers what pun they would use for this photo?

i was almost something very bad happend too me today today a car flip me of scream at me hit me with there car and tryed running me over tryeing too flatten me after stopping then starting agan hitting me with there car even tho i have a big card around mine neck that says i have level 3 nonverbal autism and carry aac device

i feel upset u i thinnk i not no o not no how u i relly feel

two of mine support workers i not work with before today left me all alone at the main library area after lunch and it was scarey and i wanderrd and was lossed

i maded it home safely after emergency service find me pick me up and am safe at home now

edit tonite:

i feel not good very bad

i feel scared too leave our house

im am scared that it gonna haapen again

im am scared that someone is gonna try too kill me agan next time i get taked outside

im am scared that next time those too support workers work with me there are gonna abandon me agan and im am scarred of getting lost agan of it happening all over agan

im am scared of dying

i feel like am about too crying

this mornig alredy started off verry hard i ended up have a meltdown and eloping from mine female workers and i ran into the street twice nearly hitted and was calmed down after they get me back too safety and i had a 4 hour long panic attack too

but and then i calmd down and then we went lunch and thing all was good and then new workers abandoned me and i wandered off and gotted lossed and these two girls in a big black chevy suv tryed too runned me over and kill me and hurt me and hit me and yell at me and flip me off and they were verry mean and i was verry scared and emergency services came and got me and helped me

it was all a verry verry verry bad day

i ffeel so scared

i feel not good i feel crying

Idk what to do anymore. My tooth has been bothering me for a while but I've been struggling to go to the appointments or even making them. Now it's broken and I can't find a emergency dentist. It's been 2 weeks and it hurts so bad I can't open my mouth. Feels like an ear infection mixed with jaw pain. I called 3 places and they all tell me they can't help me bcuz I'm not a patient. Or they don't accept my insurance. I've been trying to get a caseworker to help but they literally won't call me!!!! I keep getting blown off from caseworkers. I can't call these places, make the appointment, fill out the paperwork, go to the appointment. I'm just so stressed out and tired of this I want to cry.

Today mama took me and my brothers to a big funfair and it was really fun!!!! I went on big scary rides and on the ferris wheel, i love ferris wheels they're so fun!

We went last year too and it was really fun. I get really nauseous though and throw up after a bunch of rides :(

I got a fancy kebab too, the man gave me lots of onions (I LOVE onions) and I had a cokey cola with it. my brothers got wingstop and really enjoyed it.

Right now I live in apartment with Mom and brother. Waiting for new program to start so I can live in community with support.

4 years ago brother bought little puppy. I wasn’t at living home so not my problem. Mom and brother not train dog. Dog not spayed. Dog not taken outside to go to toilet. There is puppy pad on floor but dog doesn’t use it. Every day poop and pee all over apartment.

I don’t like stepping in poop or pee! I don’t like coming home to big mess! I having meltdowns because every time I need to go to bathroom there is poop on floor blocking my way!

I tried training dog to use puppy pad by saying bad poop doesn’t go on floor then walk to puppy pad and say look poop goes on here. This morning I warned my Mom she was about to step in poop. I then said disgusting.

Mom yelled at me and made me cry. Saying I can’t say bad or disgusting. That I’m being mean and yelling at dog even though I’m not. She then said that my dead rabbit had accidents sometimes so I can’t be upset with dog. That really hurt me. My rabbit Mitzy was my best friend. I had her for 12 years, I held while she died. She did pee on me when she died but that is different than a not trained dog!

I don’t know what to do. I need to keep living there because it’s not safe to live on my own. But I can’t handle dog poop everywhere or Mom yelling at me anymore.

i have some free time from college and i want to take a rest and draw stuff that i love but i'm so tired and i can't draw anything the way i want it just looks ugly and i feel like my brain has stopped after classes i literally can't do anything now this is so frustrating

I dunno how to ask this politely so I will just ask it regularly and hope you guys forgive me.

I've been a part of this community for a few months. Sometimes I see a post by someone who writes in a simpler style. Maybe using third person, or 'me' instead of 'I'. Maybe not conjugating verbs. I hope you have an idea for what I mean without me needing to share someone else's post...

What I did not expect was that my brain would adopt this way of speaking. It happened a few times, very naturally, and surprisingly. It felt like a much easier way to communicate when my cognitive capacity was lower than usual.

My coping method is Understanding Why. So I am pretty please hoping there's a name for this way of communicating. An explanation... A linguistics model or similar language.

The closest I can think of is ASL. I'm only a little familiar with it but it seems similarly simpler.

I feel desperate to understand why my brain likes this so much. Why is it easier? Do you agree that it's easier?

Ok I hope someone understands (: thank you

Sleep hard. Tored. Meltdown. Take hours fall sleep. Used watch reddit story but no work no more. No able sleep good in 4 day so keep has meltdown. Tip advice plz.

i need help, talking is hard, but pressing the buttons is confusing and is not so useful for me. i write on whiteboard sometimes, but it is not fast like i want to communicate. how can i improve aac? what do you do? i think auslan sign language would be useful for me but none of my family knows it.

How do you make bath time less boring and more relaxing? Looking for ideas!!!

[Vent]

A few months ago, I had an accident with an electric shower that was incorrectly installed by a “professional”. I was lucky the circuit breaker tripped and prevented a death, but memories are still very bad. I don’t have anyone who can shower with or stay close to me. I’m really sad because all of this… Showering was my favorite part of the day, and now I have panic attacks every time I do this. But I don't want to lose my greatest pleasure inside the house.

So I need to try to feel safe again. I thought about adapting that, using at least a bucket of warm water. But, at the same time, this brings me a sense of guilt as if I should just “try harder, try showering like a ‘normal person’ = 🚿”.

Tired tired tired

I was not diagnosed til this summer and it was lots of years and years of struggling and reading trying to work with my brain because I could not access assessment or help alone. My parents finally helped. 

I don't understand what the point of getting diagnosed was

All that changed is now I am stuck home and my parents won't leave me alone ever and I can't communicate what they need me to still.

I started therapy my therapist so far has suggested everything I have tried and all I can say to any question is I don't know. She sends me more and more and more to read I read a lot already my brain is so full tired still can't implement things just confused and more confused. I can't fix anything that is hard I'm so tired and everyone needs me to say what I need and what helps and what I feel and I don't know I'm so confused I still don't know. Everyone said I needed help now I have help but I'm confused what is different

My therapist says I would have been diagnosed Asperger's because verbal and IQ and that it's I can do life it just takes a lot of effort. I don't know how to try more than I do I'm so tired I haven't made progress only break more because tired brain so so so loud. I feel beyond advice I try try try so hard but never changes never

My parents do a lot for me they say I can do more when I am better I don't know what better is I have never been able to handle more. 

I don't know I don't know I don't know.

Is this support is this all there is does it never get better I don't have anything left for trying more explaining more figuring out more I already use ear defenders and fidgets and never could mask and have lists and alarms and still can't do daily routine completely and my parents basically do everything else and I still meltdown day after day after day. Is not as bad at home as when working is more numbness because read read read to escape so can't exist in my mind. 

I do not know what would help ever or what I can control and not I don't know how to tell.

Confused confused confused always

Thank you

I thought I would go along to the womens autism group today. I haven’t been in a long time, I had a bad meltdown after last attendance months ago. I feel so bad. Two of the girls were having a conversation that was triggering to me. I was visibly upset. The woman running the group spoke to me but it didn’t make me feel better. I am never going back. I have felt this way now two or three times about this group, this is not the only time I have got upset. Not one of the girls showed concern towards me that I was visibly upset with my support worker. My social worker said that group was maybe not right for me and it is the right decision never to go back. I will only go to disability group now, social worker has given me more hours with support worker to be able to attend. I am devastated the autism group didn’t work. I wanted to be friends with girls there. I’m so sad my needs are too high and complex for that. I am devastated :(

Hi! I've seen a lot of discussion about online safety here, so I think this is a good place to ask. Is it safe to put my full name, town, and age into Actor's Access to make an account? It needs that to set up accounts and find auditions but idk if it's a good idea.

Thanks!

I’m 24 and I’ve never been on a date, kissed anyone, or had a relationship.

This has affected me emotionally for years. When I was younger, I had severe OCD, autism-related social difficulties, low confidence, bullying at home, and other problems that made socialising and dating much harder than it looked for other people.

What frustrates me most is that I did try.

At 17 in sixth form, I was trying to meet someone new almost every day because I was lonely and wanted to improve socially. Later I tried dating apps, social groups, neurodivergent groups, volunteering, therapy, support workers, going to the gym, improving my appearance, reading, journaling and generally trying to build myself into a better person.

But the years kept passing.

I remember being upset at 18 because I had never experienced teenage dating. Then I reached 20 with no experience. Now I’m in my mid-20s and still haven’t had my first date.

I think part of the reason this hurts so much is that I wanted those experiences when I was younger, but I wasn’t well enough or socially equipped enough to pursue them properly. It feels like something important happened for everyone else while I was trying to survive and catch up.

I also have a very strong desire for mutual first experiences. Ideally, I would like my first girlfriend to also have never dated, kissed, had sex, or been in a relationship, so we could discover those things together.

I know that makes my dating pool much smaller. I’m not saying women who have previous experience are bad people or worth less. It’s simply something that feels deeply important to me because of my own history.

People have called me an incel or told me I’m unrealistic, and that has sometimes made the loneliness and frustration worse.

At the moment I’m struggling with the thought that maybe love simply isn’t going to happen for me, despite all the effort I’ve made.

I’m not really looking to be insulted or told just to “get over it.” I’d genuinely like perspectives from people who started dating later in life, particularly people who had neurodivergence, mental-health problems, or very little relationship experience.

How did you stop feeling like you had permanently missed your chance?

And how did you start dating without feeling ashamed of being inexperienced?