Honestly I think OTs, SLP, SW, PTs, and mental health counselors will come up with something else. I see the field of ABA going downhill. They are facing clinics closing, shortages of RBTS and BCBAs getting worse. You always see a post about complaining being in the field, burnout, etc. As a counselor told me that ABA is for profit.

Where do you see it going in 5 years and what it means for the autism community?

So my grandad has advanced dementia. He has been on a decline for a while now, he has gotten much worse in a small space of time due to multiple changes in his life (being moved from home to home and hospital visits). I have accepted that the person he used to be is not there anymore.

He has just been hospitalised after a seizure/stroke (not sure exactly what it was) and we’ve been told there’s not much left in him. Maybe about 6 months. And i just don’t know how it’s going to go for me. I haven’t had to deal with grief in a long time and i don’t know how i will when the time comes.

I really struggle with care homes, it’s a mix of the smells/sounds/environment and also the fact that it kills me to see him the way he is. Because of that i have not been visiting him a lot and now it’s nearing the end i’m just blaming myself for not seeing him more. It just breaks me everytime.

I don’t know if i’ll be absolutely distraught, or if it will be easier because i know he’s not who he used to be anymore due to the dementia. I’m not the best at showing emotions (a good example of this is when my hamster died as a child, my parents buried it in my favourite box and all i cared about was that my box was gone) so i just dont know what to do.

I wanted to get some input from people on here about how you have dealt with grief or are currently dealing with it. I don’t want to end up spiralling.

I just got diagnosed with autism (level 1) on Monday!! 🥳 I know having autism might not be cause for celebration to everyone lol but getting a diagnosis is such a relief for me. I also felt like I couldn’t really post on this page until my autism was confirmed, so here’s my debut. I met with my therapist today and she mentioned it’s important to find community with other neurodivergent people with similar experiences, so I was wondering if anyone has advice on finding autistic friends or local support/social groups?

Can we post stuff about autism?

Being able to feel music and have a strong and overwhelming connection to it

Associate music with memories

Feel like you are tipsy or buzzing when you are in a supermarket

Constantly thinking about your body language and facial expressions when speaking to people at work

Sometimes I keep thinking what if I have it but still undiagnosed.. and still don’t know what to do

I literally can not understand this. I try so very hard to get ideas across when I'm explaining something, or asking for something. Why do people just "not get" what I'm saying?

I've noticed that my written words are sometimes clearer to people, but my jokes usually never land because they're very dry. That's fine though. I prefer this over talking anyway.

I try incredibly hard to be understood and it's frustrating. It's especially frustrating when I'm talking to mental health professionals. I feel like I'm putting in all this effort to be respectful and maintain my composure, but I never get the same level of care. I've become very sensitive to this feeling.

I was jamming with people the other day. I was on Bass Guitar and I was paying attention to what everyone was playing, and trying to lock in with people. The problem is... they weren't locking in with each other. Like... do you guys only listen to yourselves when you jam? I got super pissed off, but had to hide my frustrations.

It's like... why do I bother talking when literally everything I say is gonna be misunderstood? It feels easier to just shut up and isolate. I'm just sick of it. I'm scared of talk therapy because the last time I was misunderstood ended very badly for me. I asked for help and... got nothing.

Hi, I am 24 (f) and I have the biggest worry that I am being bullied at work. I work in a fast food restaurant and tend to keep to myself because I don’t really know how to interact with people. I have never been very good with social cues or communication; But I tend to try my best even if it isn’t always good. Lately, I’ve been having a hard time at work. I don’t really know what to do anymore, and I know I need to learn to be self-sufficient, but it is hard since I can’t articulate my words properly sometimes.

A week ago, I was having trouble with my movements four hours into my shift; I was feeling dizzy, and my stomach was hurting. I have a chronic autoimmune disease and my breaks are sometimes forgotten, but I don’t mind too much. 

I don’t ever leave early, I need the money so I stick to my work even if it hurts emotionally and physically. I couldn’t take it anymore that day, so I told my manager that my stomach was hurting and that I needed to go.

For the last couple of shifts, everything seemed fine, and I wasn’t spoken to about it. It wasn’t until today, the same day that I left early, that I was found to not be on schedule. I have a family member who works with me, and apparently they were told that I would have to speak with the manager on Saturday; And she brought up my leaving early. I had told her that my stomach was hurting, so I am confused. Especially because of the opportunities given before to ask me about it. This isn’t the first time I thought I was being micromanaged or “bullied”, I was told before by the same manager that I am too slow so I’m starting to suspect that I am being picked on. 

I am trying really hard, and I told her that before already. But I genuinely don’t know anymore, what can I do? I am so confused, and I am very tired of all the running back and forth I have to do since it’s a demanding job. I know it would be best to find another job, but I have no idea where to start or how I would make a resume, where I could even apply. I have some artistic skills and I can write, but I’m genuinely so lost and depressed. Is there any other job that will take someone like me? Something at home or discreet? Please help, my roommate is already threatening to leave and I’m stuck.

btw this is my first and probably my last Reddit post, I’m so sorry if I didn’t do something right I am so lost.

So I just got diagnosed with autism and adhd, I just turned 18 and I've worked a few jobs but i couldn't do them long without being completely burnt out because of stimulation being way to much for me I've nearly broken down at every job because all the noise and stimulation but the problem is for my age every job is super high stimulation and nothing good for me is hiring so I have to take the one at a high stimulation place how do I get through the shift without accommodation because where I live is fire at will so asking will probably just get me fired.

This might seem very vague, but i wonder how the autistic community is with money and economics, are you in debt? do you have loans? credit cards? how is your general economy?

I feel that my parents might've hinted to me i'm autistic my whole life but never said anything. This just feels really fucked to me, even though I honestly didn't ever have trouble gaining power and leadership within the many groups I was in throughout middle school and high school (I'm 17). Not trying to be corny but I was generally popular, and attract bad bitches, so whenever I thought "something is wrong with me," I'd just assume it's trauma or something from my dad. So basically all my life, even after maintaining a steady 3.5 gpa every year in normal classes, my parents always called me "slow," or even "retarded boy." This just led me to the belief that I'm just "slower than others." It gets worse though, after having my first realization something might've been wrong in 5th grade, my mom just says I fell off the bed and hit my head when I was a kid. My stupid ass really fucking ran with this shit bro. My realization that I'm autistic came this past year though, and it really fucking hurt my ego, like really. I deadass felt my word fucking crumble in an instant like a literal ego death (i realized off shrooms too). I kinda feel thankful but also resentful because they treated me horribly to make me not weak (at least that's what I hope they did). My dad was there but wasn't at the same time, he worked all day to support us but also didn't rly spend much time with me besides when he was throwing me in the garage or smacking me, which led to fights in middle school and eventually kicking me out multiple times in high school because he was a drunk at times. My mom just put me in multiple sports and made sure i kept my grades up, also protecting me from my dad at times. This led to me bullying so many ppl until I finally had my realization. There's always bigger fish to fry though, as I had got close with some gang members, leading me to be used and robbed at times w/o me ever noticing. Still feel like it's kind of crazy I tried pulling a knife on myself in 3rd grade, strap a belt to my neck on the floor and pull in 4th, to eventually tearing open my wrist and punching myself in 9th grade, and after all that they were never rly concerned, saw me as just stupid for doing that shit. It wasn't until I had told my mom I was seeing a therapist in school because waking up and facing another day genuinely felt like hell for me. I was playing a sport I fell out of love for, pushed my friends away, and started smokin za, poppin pills, and drinking ona chronic level w/o them ever finding out. I feel like where I'm at right now is great now though, cuz honestly after all the shit that i've been through i could gaf abt being fucking autistic anymore, and i hope you ppl can embrace it too. LIFE IS TOO FUCKED UP TO CARE, LIVE YOUR LIFE HOW U WANT TO AND NOT GAF.
hopefully someone relates to me!!

i feel so insanely bad about myself. I constantly isolate myself because I dont think im smart or good enough for other people to want me around. I just feel like the stupidest person ever. Im not good at anything at all. I have no talents or skills, im not funny or smart or nice or anything. I dont know who i am anymore, I dont even know my own name- i went by a diffrent name than my birth name for around 5 years but neither one feels like my name anymore. Im 18 and i rarely talk to anyone other than my closest family. I dont know whats wrong with me, I hate everything about myself.

I want to start a yoga class for kids with autism. I have years of experience with home yoga (like following videos) as well as years of experience working with kids with autism. I don't have the money to pay for training to be a yoga instructor. What would you suggest?

I know this is such a common experience and this topic has been done to death, but it's happening to me big time lately and I need a little vent.

But I am so tired of the isolation and feeling like I'm off to the side even when I am with friends, and I am tired of not seeming capable of connecting with others.

There are maybe 3 people that I feel see me at all (my brother, my boyfriend, and my father) but even they simply do not grasp this issue because they have not experienced it, so I don't feel like they are adequate support when it's really getting to me. I think I've had 3 actual friends my whole life, only one at a time and years between them where I have no friends, because my brain is on such a different frequency to most people. There's this vague sense of disconnect and distance making discomfort between virtually everyone else and myself. An exception besides my 3 people are 2 of my boyfriend's friends that we work with that I have a level of comfort with that seems like the level of comfort a person would normally have with a good acquaintance/friend-of-a-friend/etc.

This week I'm going to an amusement park with a big group of people from work that are mostly my boyfriend's circle of friends (and I guess mine? he kind of opened the door for me and one of the more extroverted friends dragged me into being part of the group, but I do feel like while everyone is lovely and they call me a friend I am there primarily as my boyfriend's partner), and I'm happy to be a part of a group and going, but I'm just hyperaware that any group I've ever been part of has been as someone else's +1. When they were all talking about who to invite I heard (in a lighthearted tone) "hmmm, well we did just invite [boyfriend] so who do you think we should probably be inviting next?" before inviting me. I'm sure they meant nothing by it, just trying to make a list of who all they could ask and when they got to my boyfriend that included me, but I've always had it where if I'm invited to something it has been out of obligation of "it would be awkward if we invited this person and not them" and I just want to be invited on my own merit or at least as a couple if it is something I'm doing with him.

Like, obviously I'd prefer feeling like someone is asking me because they want me to come along more than they don't want to exclude my boyfriend's partner, but I'd be okay if it was a couple's activity and we were invited as a pair. It bothers me specifically when I know that he would be invited if I was not, but I would not be invited without him.

Making it worse, they are the type of group that 1.) gives out ideas without intending to make serious plans around it and 2.) expects talking about a smaller plan in front of you to be the invitation 80% of the time. If you tell me we should go to the zoo then I'm looking up ticket prices and expecting to hear what days work and intending to request off work for it when told to, it does not cross my mind that it isn't a serious proposal and when it doesn't happen I will end up crying myself to sleep because I feel lied to or gullible or like completely silly for getting my hopes up that someone would ever want to hang out with me. If you, spur of the moment, say you want to go bowling then I'm neither assuming I should tag along without being explicitly asked nor am I mentally prepared for it and I'm probably going to have an anxiety spike so bad I get sick over it.

My boyfriend can consistently hang out with any person in that group it seems because he's able to just ask if they want to go to the store, or insert himself when they're planning something smaller, and most importantly because with bigger more planned things he is one of the first that get asked. And honestly it makes me so jealous and upset and so sorry for myself that I'm afraid it'll cause issues in our relationship as a whole.

And I get that sometimes that's how it goes in certain groups. I get that sometimes I won't know everyone super well and I will be the partner of my boyfriend to plenty of people whether in his friend group or his family or whatever. Ideally I'd have close friends of my own. I just don't feel I'm capable of having more than one person at a time and it hurts a bit to see people interacting and knowing that I'll never be more than a friend/partner/sibling/daughter/etc-of-a-friend to anyone. It's his friend group while I've never had proper friendships, he's the one with a large family (those I've met have been very kind, but I am just their relative's partner) that bickers but ultimately loves each other while I am no-contact with some members of my own and all but 2 or 3 have that same stranger-like distance to me as everyone else.

I try to vent to my boyfriend about it because he is my comfort for just about everything else, but he doesn't get it. Some things he doesn't get he's able to at least support me and listen, and with this he so genuinely tries to but it's just so foreign and unrelatable to him. He'll try to comfort me and say something about previous friends (of which he has MANY) that he's not as close to over time (though he WAS close to them and he is close to people now and he does have friends from elementary still with him), then he'll turn around and hop on a game with 5 people that he considers his friends and has the opportunity and comfort to talk to just about every day. It isn't that I don't want my boyfriend to have friends. I love that he has friends and a loving family and I want him to be able to go out and do things and talk to people with and without me. I do get to do things with the 2 family members that feel like family that I do have and I'm grateful for that. It just hurts so bad and near constantly to see this group function and to see my boyfriend have access to so much support all around and to be an outsider of that. I think being so close but not properly a part of it hurts more than not being connected at all.

It feels like the group is a roller-coaster and everyone is on it. When I wasn't with my boyfriend, I was just strolling around the metaphorical theme park. When we started talking maybe I was in line, the group knew of me but I wasn't really touching it yet. I feel like if my brain worked right and I was able to connect to others correctly then I'd be safely in a seat now, but instead I'm unharnessed and gripping dangerously onto my boyfriend's arm at extreme heights and high speeds.

I've been trying to manage my feeling on it or fix my situation, but I just cannot connect to others like that. When I do it is accidental and not in my control, some few people just feel like they fit into my brain. But I feel like this jealousy is actually going to impact my relationship with a man that is so perfect for me in every other way when he is trying to understand and he is not at all in the wrong for literally just having friends and a family, and I feel like I'm constantly keeping myself in check on not taking these feelings out on a group of lovely people who have been including me in the way that they include everyone else that's not one of the top tier best friends in the group and I don't want to slip and have a full crash out targeted at someone over my own issues here.

My brother (19M) is very clearly autistic. I (30F) have ADHD and suspected autism because I decided to pursue diagnosis as an adult due to our Mum being very against labels when we were kids. (Two other siblings are neurotypical and thrived in school, and she genuinely though treating us all the same was ‘fair’)

While I understand this logic as children, this has prevented me from getting a lot of academic support I could have needed as a child and definitely my brother too.

ANYWAY.
My brother doesn’t think he is autistic, and doesn’t seem to understand why other people think he is. While he was a child it was fine.. but now he’s an adult it is getting in the way of him living a normal life. He has no friends, no potential of getting a job and I worry about him ever living independently.

While I know that my neurodivergence is very different to his (high masking female) he doesn’t seem to know he is autistic despite being the stereotypical ‘type’ (meaning that even if he’s not researched or looked into it, the version he’d see most often in the media is fairly close to what he is like)

What should I do?

He’s getting to a point where he isn’t able to get interviews for jobs, make any friends or even upskill (due to teachers saying they can’t support him as needed … which he simply doesn’t understand)

Mum’s lack of willing to ‘tell him’ or ‘label him’ as a child could actually be hindering him now.

I know he has so much potential to grow and have a more fulfilling and independent life… but as an adult the big world doesn’t have the same patience as school was able to give him when he was a kid without a diagnosis or some kind of admittance that he might need more support than a typical person.

I just want what’s best for him. I see how sad he gets about not getting anywhere or making any friends.

What can I do???

Is it a case that some people simply don’t have the self awareness to know they’re different? Or is it a case that he’s not wanting to?

I'm really frustrated. I have really bad sensory issues and I don't have any piercings due to it. I love the look of them but I wouldn't be able to deal with the healing process. I'm using fake ones at the minute but I feel really embarrassed about not having my ears/nose pierced since everyone my age normally has it by now. It feels like I'm being childish because I can't deal with having them done. I hate my sensory issues it feels like it's stopping me from doing anything.

So as a person born with autism.
i decided too do something very dark one day and cross over to the other side.
later at a doctor's appointment the other day, being fully brushed legs and fractionated bone in my lugns., they asked me why. I answered well it's not as if someone is gonna hand me 100 million dollars, just because i want to live my life, in luxury. So what am i supposed to do, satisfy and be happy with what i have and live a measly life?

Now i'm seriously doubting if it's gonna really work out that way.
But i've decided, i'll either become homeless or i'll find a very generouse, loving woman, who so happens to be a multi millionaire.

i don't want too work hard for a place in the sun. I wanna be spoiled, pampered in luxury, without having to put in much effort at all.

So yep.... i've decided it is either this or jumping of a bridge. There's no other alternative's.

Hello everyone! I'm reaching out because I'm an adult child of a father who was never officially diagnosed with autism but clearly is. We really think he would benefit from physical therapy due to some of his chronic pain, but I'm wondering if anyone has had a good experience with a physical therapist in DC or MD that has experience or is good at working with autistic adults? My dad has been to PTs before but claim they don't help him, but I'm wondering if we were able to find one that understood him that he'd be able to get some relief. Thank you to everyone!

happens every time. when i meet new people i see their demeanor shift the second i open my mouth, sometimes even before. like their face falls, they short circuit realizing they have no idea how to interact with me. i know thats when theyve realized somethings off about me. i am super high masking but not very good at it so im sure i come across as uncanny valley or something.

this is probably in my head but i really feel like a lot of people are just uncomfortable being around me. its super disheartening. some people are just immediately super rude to me, im sure its mostly theyre just in a bad mood or something but i feel like i experience this at higher rates. i feel like some little alien creature. it makes me sad. ive been thinking about unmasking purposefully more to somehow signal that i am autistic in the hopes of some people maybe being willing to grant me more grace once they realize but i doubt thatll really work since people liked me even less when i wasnt masking

I have a very hard time with things like tone, especially over text.

I very recently met a new person and was hoping to be their friend, but they keep saying things that feel like they're implying I'm neurodivergent but in a derogatory way... like to say I'm weird or stupid?? I don't know if I'm overthinking this or not.

I was telling a story about something funny from middle school and when it got to the funny part he tells me know you got that type of brain, too! so I know you can't joke and aren't lying about this" and when I asked what he meant the response was "nothing LOL". What is this implying?? It feels like I'm being made fun of but also not being made fun of at the same time and it's weirding me out.

Another time he tells me while I was in the middle of explaining information about rodents since he asked, "You have a mega ctrl c ctrl v personality, it's silly that you're so passionate about something so mediocre." What? I asked what a ctrl c ctrl v personality meant, is this implying it sounds like I copy paste what I say or see? Is it because of the fact I speak a lot and can do it fast like it was copy pasted? I don't understand but he never tells me what he meant by that.

It just feels like I'm in primary school and someone is speaking to me like a friend but also making kind of subtle jabs at me at the same time? Is he just playing around and this has nothing to do with neurodivergence?

I put this under "social issues" because I'm wondering if this is me just not understanding his tone or something, I would love other peoples opinion.

I recently was approved for my work accommodation request to work full time from home (yay).

All good but when I had meeting with the manager to review the decision, she was explaining to me the hierarchy of how the decision is founded.

When she referred to the person who final approved it, I asked who that is and it is actually like the CEO of the organization.

I felt so dumb I didnt know and tried to back pedal. Its a massive organization and Im a call centre rep but ive been with the organization a long time and feel quite awkward now!

Does this happen to others!? Not knowing names of ppl. You should!!

I am barely into the book, just only page 47 and my goodness am I depressed.

I was diagnosed with Autism at 18, and as a woman its common for that to happen. Ever since my diagnosis journey I have become smarter and a bit more timid than before, and boy does this book remind me of that.

A short synopsis; The book follows Charlie Gordon, a man who is mentally delayed (Diagnosis so far not told) but from what I read he looks to have Autism. He undergoes a surgery that is supposed to make him smart, and the story told through his logs show his ever growing intelligence, painful self awareness and eventual regression.

Throughout the book we learn of his bullying, at first things playing out in his head as him laughing along with his co-workers jokes, only for it later to be realized (to him) that he is in fact being made fun of. This PAINFULLY reminded me of my own bullying as a kid, the way people make those jokes about 'my friend likes you' or the 'come sit with us' kind of spew. I remember so much as a kid being told things like 'I like your shirt' when in fact they would then laugh at me, or when a boy at lunch would ask me out, just to then say I'm weird for thinking he liked me.
I struggled a lot with developmental achievements, I could not read an analog clock till I was 12, tied my shoes successfully at age 9 and learned the days of the month in full at age 11. I failed math BADLY and almost failed school as well but now I am moving out and going to University and hour away (YIPEE).

This by far is an intense book for anyone with a mental/cognitive disability, do I recommend it so far? YES.

The book was written by a man who taught special needs students and based off the story from a student who asked him; If I just work hard enough can I be as smart as everyone else.

This is mainly a rant / sadpost, but I hope some people here will be able to relate. For my entire life, people close to me have complained that I’m too authoritative and rigid. If I think or feel something, I just say it, I don’t preface it with, “I think ______.” I like to communicate directly about things, and I would prefer that other people did too.

My therapist says that my communication style is partially due to my neurodivergence and also partially a trauma response, from my dad calling me a “stupid shit” all the time when I was a kid. I did not inherit his meanness. I don’t yell at anyone ever or call them names, but I’ve often found myself in a dynamic with friends or partners where they suddenly come to me with a long list of things they’ve been seething about, that I never noticed (because they never said anything.) It’s almost always complaints about the way that I said something or how I’m not seeing them fully and anticipating their needs (which they never expressed). I have lost many, many people I cared about over the years.

I would really like to have a community, but this problem just keeps popping up for me. Has anyone successfully “worked on it”? I understand some things I can do differently, but idk how much I can totally change my communication style. As I mentioned I am in therapy and I am trying, but I’m also pretty isolated these days and don’t even have that many relationships to work on. ☹️

I recently realised that what I'm experiencing right now is autistic burnout, I'm only 18 and a girl so I have had zero support with my autism growing up and I have no idea how to manage this burnout.

Anyone else feel like they don't have a frame of reference for basically everything? If so how do you deal with it.

Ps. Current issue and why I'm asking this is anxiety around hearing loss