i’ve seen people talk about how some of their lore dragons have autism and i was really curious to know how you would write it. i have a permabab who, in my lore, is autistic, but seeing im not autistic myself and don’t know much about it, how do you write/portray it? i don’t want to write anything erroneous about autism, so i would appreciate any advice on this!
(please ping me)
i’ve seen people talk about how some of their lore dragons have autism and i was really curious to know how you would write it. i have a permabab who, in my lore, is autistic, but seeing im not autistic myself and don’t know much about it, how do you write/portray it? i don’t want to write anything erroneous about autism, so i would appreciate any advice on this!
(please ping me)
I myself am autistic, so to give you a lil bit of a summary...
-Not all of us speak robotically. Some do, and possibly many do, but not all.
-We’re bad at reading facial expressions.
-We are often co-morbid with other stuff, such as dyspraxia, add, and quite commonly, anxiety.
-Not all aspies are introverted.
-85% of us have something called alexithymia, which if I remember correctly, is the inability to recognize the emotions of yourself and others.
-We tend to have special interests, or hyperfixations! Where we fixate on one or a few topics! Some of us have rotating special interests (mine tend to last weekly or longer), and can be about anything, from trains to trees to dinosaurs and Alaska!
-Not all of us are savants! The whole ‘misunderstood genius’ rep we get actually kinda romanticizes us, and makes some people set quite high expectations of us, which leads to stress!
-Social awkwardness isn’t just being ‘weird’! It’s also coming off as rude or saying a rude comment when you actually meant no harm to be intended!
-We do not lack emotions! We can’t step into someone else’s shoes all that well, BUT if we see someone sad, we defs get sympathy and absorb the sadness!
-A thing many aspies have is SPD (sensory processing disorder). This makes it so some senses may seem more intense or painful for us, but it can also mean certain senses will be Dulled. (An example being high pain tolerance).
-When the SPD is gettin too many bad senses, we can have meltdowns or shutdowns! We don’t actually mean to hurt anyone or cause any trouble during these! It’s actually quite painful of experiences for us. Both are like the brain ‘shutting down’ in a way. The difference is, meltdowns are external and can seem like ‘tantrums’ or ‘outbursts’ when they’re actually not! Shutdowns, on the other hand, are internal, and also shut down the brain. These can seem like tiredness, staring off into space, curling up in a corner, and etc. Meltdowns and Shutdowns can also be caused by being emotionally overwhelmed’
-Meltdowns, shutdowns, and overall sensory overstimulation is avoided through stimming! Stimming is self stimulators behavior, and is used to relieve the stress of emotions or SPD! Stims can include leg bouncing, fidgeting, and making noises! However, SOME stimming behavior can be harmful to oneself (biting oneself, scratching, picking at scabs).
-Sometimes, if raised in a bad environment or if bullied, Aspies will develop a behavior called ‘masking’ in childhood to seem normal by hiding their behaviors. This takes a lot of work, and causes a lot of stress. It can lead to depression, and worse.
-DO NOT SUPPORT AUTISM SPEAKS.
-There is no cure, and there’s never will be. It’s not a ‘piece’ of the brain you can ‘fix’. It’s the entire brain, who we are.
-Aspies tend to have higher unemployment rates.
-Strangely, a lot of us have digestive issues!
That’s all the info I’ve got for now!
I myself am autistic, so to give you a lil bit of a summary...
-Not all of us speak robotically. Some do, and possibly many do, but not all.
-We’re bad at reading facial expressions.
-We are often co-morbid with other stuff, such as dyspraxia, add, and quite commonly, anxiety.
-Not all aspies are introverted.
-85% of us have something called alexithymia, which if I remember correctly, is the inability to recognize the emotions of yourself and others.
-We tend to have special interests, or hyperfixations! Where we fixate on one or a few topics! Some of us have rotating special interests (mine tend to last weekly or longer), and can be about anything, from trains to trees to dinosaurs and Alaska!
-Not all of us are savants! The whole ‘misunderstood genius’ rep we get actually kinda romanticizes us, and makes some people set quite high expectations of us, which leads to stress!
-Social awkwardness isn’t just being ‘weird’! It’s also coming off as rude or saying a rude comment when you actually meant no harm to be intended!
-We do not lack emotions! We can’t step into someone else’s shoes all that well, BUT if we see someone sad, we defs get sympathy and absorb the sadness!
-A thing many aspies have is SPD (sensory processing disorder). This makes it so some senses may seem more intense or painful for us, but it can also mean certain senses will be Dulled. (An example being high pain tolerance).
-When the SPD is gettin too many bad senses, we can have meltdowns or shutdowns! We don’t actually mean to hurt anyone or cause any trouble during these! It’s actually quite painful of experiences for us. Both are like the brain ‘shutting down’ in a way. The difference is, meltdowns are external and can seem like ‘tantrums’ or ‘outbursts’ when they’re actually not! Shutdowns, on the other hand, are internal, and also shut down the brain. These can seem like tiredness, staring off into space, curling up in a corner, and etc. Meltdowns and Shutdowns can also be caused by being emotionally overwhelmed’
-Meltdowns, shutdowns, and overall sensory overstimulation is avoided through stimming! Stimming is self stimulators behavior, and is used to relieve the stress of emotions or SPD! Stims can include leg bouncing, fidgeting, and making noises! However, SOME stimming behavior can be harmful to oneself (biting oneself, scratching, picking at scabs).
-Sometimes, if raised in a bad environment or if bullied, Aspies will develop a behavior called ‘masking’ in childhood to seem normal by hiding their behaviors. This takes a lot of work, and causes a lot of stress. It can lead to depression, and worse.
-DO NOT SUPPORT AUTISM SPEAKS.
-There is no cure, and there’s never will be. It’s not a ‘piece’ of the brain you can ‘fix’. It’s the entire brain, who we are.
-Aspies tend to have higher unemployment rates.
-Strangely, a lot of us have digestive issues!
That’s all the info I’ve got for now!
@
penguala
this was super helpful, thanks so much! i really appreciate the advice you've given me ^^
@
penguala
this was super helpful, thanks so much! i really appreciate the advice you've given me ^^
not that i can help the most, but i've got traits- so if you were to only want a dragon with a few traits, here's a couple ideas. of course, none of these are set in stone or anything, all purely from personal experience
* logical thinking. in a way, i think like a computer, in a specific order to do things- both a blessing in my maths grades and a curse in when i can't find an order.
* a severe hatred of not knowing something- linking to how i like to do stuff in a routine. i know for some it's worse, but for me i simply can't stand something not going as expected or things being a 'suprise'- similarly, i tend to do stuff in a routine. that way, i know everything's alright.
* inability to read facial expressions, general insensetiveness. i've got better at this over time, but i'm still a little shaky with the latter, so occasionally i accidentially insult someone and panic for the next 3 weeks
* hyperfixiations. common concept, and the clue's in the name. i chop and change at completely random times, and it's the reason i have such a vast amount of videogames and books. sometimes i ask myself 'what do you currently most want to do', and it's when i can't make an answer that i just spend the day completely confused
* inability to comprehend not-exact stuff. this is both not understanding jokes, sarcasm, metaphors and such, but also not being able to have a willing suspension of disbelief- that, when watching a movie, you can't see it as more than actors and cgi. not so much for me, i still enjoy jokes and movies and i'm horribly sarcastic sometimes, but occasionally things trip me out.
* some kinda... lack of great amount of emotions? sure, i can still feel emotions, but normally not in too great amounts. maybe i get desensesetised to stuff like the radio easily, or whatever. i don't know.
not that i can help the most, but i've got traits- so if you were to only want a dragon with a few traits, here's a couple ideas. of course, none of these are set in stone or anything, all purely from personal experience
* logical thinking. in a way, i think like a computer, in a specific order to do things- both a blessing in my maths grades and a curse in when i can't find an order.
* a severe hatred of not knowing something- linking to how i like to do stuff in a routine. i know for some it's worse, but for me i simply can't stand something not going as expected or things being a 'suprise'- similarly, i tend to do stuff in a routine. that way, i know everything's alright.
* inability to read facial expressions, general insensetiveness. i've got better at this over time, but i'm still a little shaky with the latter, so occasionally i accidentially insult someone and panic for the next 3 weeks
* hyperfixiations. common concept, and the clue's in the name. i chop and change at completely random times, and it's the reason i have such a vast amount of videogames and books. sometimes i ask myself 'what do you currently most want to do', and it's when i can't make an answer that i just spend the day completely confused
* inability to comprehend not-exact stuff. this is both not understanding jokes, sarcasm, metaphors and such, but also not being able to have a willing suspension of disbelief- that, when watching a movie, you can't see it as more than actors and cgi. not so much for me, i still enjoy jokes and movies and i'm horribly sarcastic sometimes, but occasionally things trip me out.
* some kinda... lack of great amount of emotions? sure, i can still feel emotions, but normally not in too great amounts. maybe i get desensesetised to stuff like the radio easily, or whatever. i don't know.
@
penguala has it all spot on! I myself don't really have digestive issues, but my sister has IBS. If I recall correctly, the current theory is that the things that affect the nerves of the brain also affect the nerves of the digestive system, which has the second most nerves in the body. It's why, for example, people have stomach troubles when they get stressed.
Something @
penguala forgot (or didn't know) is that autism is a sex-differentiated disorder - the symptoms tend to be different between the sexes. Much more men are diagnosed with autism than women, but it's unclear if the much larger number is accurate or how inaccurate it might be, since the symptoms are better understood and more commonly recognized in men.
The most important thing to remember: there's a reason it's called autism
spectrum disorder (ASD). Everyone is different! It's a good idea to read professional research or personal experiences to get a sense of all the different ways ASD can display itself. Get an idea of the spectrum so you can find out where your character lies on it!
@
penguala has it all spot on! I myself don't really have digestive issues, but my sister has IBS. If I recall correctly, the current theory is that the things that affect the nerves of the brain also affect the nerves of the digestive system, which has the second most nerves in the body. It's why, for example, people have stomach troubles when they get stressed.
Something @
penguala forgot (or didn't know) is that autism is a sex-differentiated disorder - the symptoms tend to be different between the sexes. Much more men are diagnosed with autism than women, but it's unclear if the much larger number is accurate or how inaccurate it might be, since the symptoms are better understood and more commonly recognized in men.
The most important thing to remember: there's a reason it's called autism
spectrum disorder (ASD). Everyone is different! It's a good idea to read professional research or personal experiences to get a sense of all the different ways ASD can display itself. Get an idea of the spectrum so you can find out where your character lies on it!
Make sure they are more than their diagnosis.. each of us is different. We have similarities, yes.
Decide how they grew up. Outcast, or accepted? This will make a big difference in the final outcome. Outcast will definitely suffer from depression, anxiety, exhaustion etc. Accepted may come across very differently.
The standard "socially awkward nerd" is only one flavor. Lack of social boundaries is very common, not being aware of personal space and just getting waaaay too close and friendly lol Often not recognizing social rank/order. The janitor is equal to the president and get similar treatment.
I don't believe in the "can't recognize expressions" the real issue is we're unable to filter what is important.. we see everything in equal measure, so we pick up on the weird little thing your eyes are doing, while you smile. So micro expressions are the real issue, we see those just as strongly as the main expression you're trying to convey. Same with sounds, we hear ALL the things. I can't understand what you're saying because someone is cutting down a tree three blocks from here and the a/c is humming and the floor squeaks. Eye contact is hard because I get way too much information from it..
Yes, we're likely to take you literal.. HOWEVER, sarcasm can be learned, and we become masters lol That said, anything can be learned.. but then choosing the right time to use our skill is a bit of a hard one. We can be very inappropriate in our timing.
Communication comes in many different forms. Some of us use alternative communication, like pictures, sign language, text to speech, scripting (repeating of sentences from books or movies) or even singing.
We're likely to overthink.. a lot. And yeah, we like knowing the details of what's coming. Uncertainty sucks.
Make sure they are more than their diagnosis.. each of us is different. We have similarities, yes.
Decide how they grew up. Outcast, or accepted? This will make a big difference in the final outcome. Outcast will definitely suffer from depression, anxiety, exhaustion etc. Accepted may come across very differently.
The standard "socially awkward nerd" is only one flavor. Lack of social boundaries is very common, not being aware of personal space and just getting waaaay too close and friendly lol Often not recognizing social rank/order. The janitor is equal to the president and get similar treatment.
I don't believe in the "can't recognize expressions" the real issue is we're unable to filter what is important.. we see everything in equal measure, so we pick up on the weird little thing your eyes are doing, while you smile. So micro expressions are the real issue, we see those just as strongly as the main expression you're trying to convey. Same with sounds, we hear ALL the things. I can't understand what you're saying because someone is cutting down a tree three blocks from here and the a/c is humming and the floor squeaks. Eye contact is hard because I get way too much information from it..
Yes, we're likely to take you literal.. HOWEVER, sarcasm can be learned, and we become masters lol That said, anything can be learned.. but then choosing the right time to use our skill is a bit of a hard one. We can be very inappropriate in our timing.
Communication comes in many different forms. Some of us use alternative communication, like pictures, sign language, text to speech, scripting (repeating of sentences from books or movies) or even singing.
We're likely to overthink.. a lot. And yeah, we like knowing the details of what's coming. Uncertainty sucks.
[quote name="RedHerrings" date="2019-10-25 14:51:33" ]
Something @/penguala forgot (or didn't know) is that autism is a sex-differentiated disorder - the symptoms tend to be different between the sexes. Much more men are diagnosed with autism than women, but it's unclear if the much larger number is accurate or how inaccurate it might be, since the symptoms are better understood and more commonly recognized in men.
[/quote]
Women are just often misdiagnosed. The tides are turning on this some. Women present differently and girls often mimic their peers, so it's missed. The stereotype of the nerdy awkward math lover a.k.a. Sheldon Cooper is not how the average female presents. It's often accepted for girls to be obsessive about things, like horses.
My little girl 'luckily' was very stereotypical presenting, so she was diagnosed early. Lining up toys, no eye contact, complete disregard to her peers, loved spinning stuff, lots of repetitive movement, no speech etc.
For years they thought that autistic kids don't smile.. which is BS. My little boy did nothing but smile. He got hurt, he smiled... yeah, that's not typical behavior :-p Autism is a very much evolving field of research. The lot of us often go "no duh" when they figure out something new we knew for years lol
Likely, it's 50/50 between boys and girls.. girls just go undiagnosed. There are A LOT of women figuring out they're autistic, as adults, as their kids get diagnosed.
There are groups out there specifically for women and nonbinary.. basically anyone who is not cis male. We're coming out of the woodwork ;-)
RedHerrings wrote on 2019-10-25 14:51:33:
Something @/penguala forgot (or didn't know) is that autism is a sex-differentiated disorder - the symptoms tend to be different between the sexes. Much more men are diagnosed with autism than women, but it's unclear if the much larger number is accurate or how inaccurate it might be, since the symptoms are better understood and more commonly recognized in men.
Women are just often misdiagnosed. The tides are turning on this some. Women present differently and girls often mimic their peers, so it's missed. The stereotype of the nerdy awkward math lover a.k.a. Sheldon Cooper is not how the average female presents. It's often accepted for girls to be obsessive about things, like horses.
My little girl 'luckily' was very stereotypical presenting, so she was diagnosed early. Lining up toys, no eye contact, complete disregard to her peers, loved spinning stuff, lots of repetitive movement, no speech etc.
For years they thought that autistic kids don't smile.. which is BS. My little boy did nothing but smile. He got hurt, he smiled... yeah, that's not typical behavior :-p Autism is a very much evolving field of research. The lot of us often go "no duh" when they figure out something new we knew for years lol
Likely, it's 50/50 between boys and girls.. girls just go undiagnosed. There are A LOT of women figuring out they're autistic, as adults, as their kids get diagnosed.
There are groups out there specifically for women and nonbinary.. basically anyone who is not cis male. We're coming out of the woodwork ;-)
if you need a non harmful stim I just put my finger between my teeth and just hold it I don't bite down I just hold it... Maybe do that with a tail or something used to bite down or pick at a scab but I got that under wraps... Also do not like eye contact and I can't use faces to tell people apart everyone looks the same to me skin tone is irrelivant I can't tell an albino apart from a very dark complexion...
if you need a non harmful stim I just put my finger between my teeth and just hold it I don't bite down I just hold it... Maybe do that with a tail or something used to bite down or pick at a scab but I got that under wraps... Also do not like eye contact and I can't use faces to tell people apart everyone looks the same to me skin tone is irrelivant I can't tell an albino apart from a very dark complexion...
@
Kinged
I've seen a lot of depictions of autistic individuals where the writer was clearly only familiar with the behavior patterns of autistic children. This is the sort of thing that's hard to talk about without vastly over-generalizing, but I mean stuff like:
- total robotic bafflement at the concept of other people's feelings
- throwing screaming tantrums in response to sudden change
- stimming or other repetitive behaviors in professional or formal contexts
There's a spectrum for these sorts of things, and an older autistic person may be perfectly aware of what the 'normal' thing to say or do is, and simply struggle to do it right every time. Basically, an autistic adult is still an adult. Ideally.
One of the characteristic symptoms of autism is executive functioning issues. Executive functioning is a blanket term for things like controlling impulses, thinking about multiple things at once, tuning out unnecessary stimulus, choosing what to focus on and what to ignore, and short-term memory. This accounts for some of the trademark autistic traits. Impulse control helps you keep you body language appropriate, not blurt out whatever you're thinking, and ignore immediately rewarding distractions in favor of more responsible actions and routines. The ability to tune out stimulus keeps you functioning in dense crowds. The ability to juggle multiple trains of thought lets you improvise in social situations and not fixate on details. And so on and so forth.
Every autistic person is different; that's why it's called the autism spectrum. I hate changing my plans, I have a lot of trouble with crowds and loud noises, I'm extremely passionate about my interests, and I consciously have to remember to behave in socially appropriate ways (sitting properly, not being too casual or not casual enough). But I've never had any language difficulties, I never spun in place, and I mastered sarcasm quickly.
I guess it's mostly that I'm not really aware of what's rude and what's polite in other people, so I don't always remember that other people are aware of it with me. And I have a hard time doing things that don't seem logical or fair - particularly nuanced social interactions, which are exhausting. I have to check and double-check every word and action because unless I'm pretty close with the person, my natural first guess is almost always the wrong one. This actually makes me kind of socially over-aware, because I never know when I might offend someone.
The most important thing is that everyone is different. A person being autistic shouldn't be what defines them, and that's true of characters as well; they're people first. Don't feel chained to a list of symptoms.
Sorry for the massive text dump!
@
Kinged
I've seen a lot of depictions of autistic individuals where the writer was clearly only familiar with the behavior patterns of autistic children. This is the sort of thing that's hard to talk about without vastly over-generalizing, but I mean stuff like:
- total robotic bafflement at the concept of other people's feelings
- throwing screaming tantrums in response to sudden change
- stimming or other repetitive behaviors in professional or formal contexts
There's a spectrum for these sorts of things, and an older autistic person may be perfectly aware of what the 'normal' thing to say or do is, and simply struggle to do it right every time. Basically, an autistic adult is still an adult. Ideally.
One of the characteristic symptoms of autism is executive functioning issues. Executive functioning is a blanket term for things like controlling impulses, thinking about multiple things at once, tuning out unnecessary stimulus, choosing what to focus on and what to ignore, and short-term memory. This accounts for some of the trademark autistic traits. Impulse control helps you keep you body language appropriate, not blurt out whatever you're thinking, and ignore immediately rewarding distractions in favor of more responsible actions and routines. The ability to tune out stimulus keeps you functioning in dense crowds. The ability to juggle multiple trains of thought lets you improvise in social situations and not fixate on details. And so on and so forth.
Every autistic person is different; that's why it's called the autism spectrum. I hate changing my plans, I have a lot of trouble with crowds and loud noises, I'm extremely passionate about my interests, and I consciously have to remember to behave in socially appropriate ways (sitting properly, not being too casual or not casual enough). But I've never had any language difficulties, I never spun in place, and I mastered sarcasm quickly.
I guess it's mostly that I'm not really aware of what's rude and what's polite in other people, so I don't always remember that other people are aware of it with me. And I have a hard time doing things that don't seem logical or fair - particularly nuanced social interactions, which are exhausting. I have to check and double-check every word and action because unless I'm pretty close with the person, my natural first guess is almost always the wrong one. This actually makes me kind of socially over-aware, because I never know when I might offend someone.
The most important thing is that everyone is different. A person being autistic shouldn't be what defines them, and that's true of characters as well; they're people first. Don't feel chained to a list of symptoms.
Sorry for the massive text dump!
I have no idea what I'm doing.
One fish, two fish, 
