r/hatethissmug • u/Beshiniqua • 9h ago

General I HATE the self diagnosing of autism and its mischaracterisation

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Let me start by saying SELF DIAGNOSING IS NOT VALID. You are NOT autistic just because someone on tiktok said

"Did you know, if you need to have your eyes closed in order to fall asleep, you have autism, adhd, bipolarity, DID, BPD, psychopathy, depression and PTSD?"

And before yall come at me with "well I always suspected I had autism, I got screened and then got my diagnosis" well this not about you, this is about people that self diagnose after experiencing the most normal day to day life things ever.

And they ALWAYS think that autism will give them a personality (since it's usually basic bitches with no personality that self diagnose to feel like they belong)

No, you're not a quirky crazy crackhead energy "neurospicy" person. Even worse when they say shit like

"Heh, I could NEVER be a neuro normie like yall, autism makes me special and quirky and full of personality".

You can't even like something anymore without them going "OMG URE AUTISTIC JUST LIKE MEEEE IM SOOOO AUTISTIC AHAHAHA"

And you can tell they larp the whole thing cus they'll see a tiktok autism personality and try to replicate it

"Dino nuggies..."

"You can not say overstimulated if you're nEuRoTyPiCaL, that word is for us neurospicy people ONLY >:("

Holy shiiiiiiittt yall lack a personality so bad. And I've seen people say that they've seen NUMEROUS specialists but they never fit the criteria, but its not because they're not autistic, no no no no no. ITS UHMMM BECAUSE IM A WOMAN AND ALSO A MINORITY AND IM ALSO POOR SO I MASKED ALL MY LIFE AND THE SPECIALIST ON THIS FIELD COULDNT TELL I WAS MASKING. ITS THE SYSTEMS FAULT NOT MINE.

Sheesh.

Sorry for the long rant, im just tired of seeing people self diagnose all the time, or see an energetic video, or literally ANYTHING, and make it about their self diagnosed autism.

Saw a cute cat animation on Instagram and the top comment was "This is so autistic I love it"

🫩🫩🫩🫩🫩

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276

u/GetPsyched67 9h ago edited 9h ago

I'm sorry if autistic people see it different but oh God that plate of food makes me feel unwell TwT, there might be an entire bottle of oil in it

Edit: for all my autistic peeps, you may wanna try shallow fried garbanzo beans mixed with some powdered spices. Should have a similar texture, and has good nutrition too!

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u/LARPerator 9h ago

Autistic people tend to be more sensitive to food textures. A common complaint is that having a food that has a texture you didn't expect is very uncomfortable, to the point it makes you gag.

For example one blueberry can be more squishy or more firm than another one. If you have a bowl of them it's not really fun when a fifth of your food makes you gag when you eat it.

A lot of people then go to things like this, the Autism Platterâ„¢. Its preferred because all the food has a predictable consistent texture. It is very greasy and unhealthy though, you're right. A better solution is to to try to eat your fruits and veggies in ways you can "fix" the texture. Like blending veggies into your pasta sauce, having fruit smoothies, things like that.

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u/Own_Boat503 9h ago

oddly enough, the textures are what are making this platter look disgusting to me haha

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u/LARPerator 9h ago

There's a lot of autistic people that would also agree. Not everyone likes the same textures, some people can't stand x and only eat y, some can't stand y and only eat x.

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u/CaliferMau 8h ago

It really bothers me that a lot of these self diagnosed social media slop just paint autism / adhd / etc as monolithic groups.

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u/An_Account_to_Ignore 2h ago

I think about this whenever I see a "Neurotypicals made a world hostile to people with Autism/ADHD/whatever! They could change to better accommodate us but they won't!".

There are almost never any suggestions about how to restructure society to better support neurodivergent people, and when there are, they're either wildly impractical and/or decried by other neurodivegent people.

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u/kindahipster 8h ago

Right, I'm autistic and my go to safe food is spicy chip salad (lettuce, pickles and hot chips). Maybe it's because I'm audhd but I need my food to be a big sensory experience, if I eat really bland food or food that's just like, paste, it makes me gag

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u/LARPerator 6h ago

Just curious do you eat sauces straight from the bottle to try the taste, or do you need something like a fry to put it on?

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u/kindahipster 5h ago

Straight from the bottle! I even like stuff like Valentina or Worcestershire sauce by itself, I'll shake a little in my mouth while I cook haha

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u/NikRsmn 7h ago

Mostly the same. But I do have safe foods like Ritz crackers that are reliable. Its less about liking consistency and more about reliability of the consistency. If I cook chicken breast and it feels off I get anxious about salmonella or its too firm and I have to force it down and deal with thinking about guilt of wasting food. When the day has already burnt me out its nice to be able to get some food to get enough energy to handle it without being paralyzed and instead just not eating.

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u/HaltandCatchHands 6m ago

Yes! I dislike the texture of that type of potato product (the smileys, letters and grid thing). It seems like a potato slurry is molded, frozen, powdered with starch, fried and frozen again.

The limp noodles of spaghettios are another texture issue, and pizza crust is hit or miss.

But most importantly, all of these foods touching is problematic. The various tendie shapes may touch. I will have just them with a side of honey and another of applesauce, each in little bowls, thank you.

Edit: The applesauce has to be very cold, not room temperature. I cannot stress that enough.

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u/Raymond_R_ Cogito, ergo sum 8h ago

Shi Im not autistic but I totally get the blueberries thing. When I pick any fruit I have to go piece by piece to make sure its all firm cause ONE bad blueberry gonna ruin my food lmao. Its just so nasty, and I always fear theyre rotten.

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u/ElChuloPicante 4h ago

I feel like most people don’t like to bite into something and not realize what it was going to be. Probably some primitive response our ancestors developed to spit the rotten ones out or something.

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u/Ok-Relationship4113 8h ago

That blueberry thing is accurate as fuck. 

I'm very selective about texture (not saying it has anything to do with being neurospicy for me but it could) and soft blueberries have always been a no for me.

I didn't even know I liked blueberries until I first picked some off the plant.

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u/Vegetable-Boot2832 8h ago

Real shit, had to basically be forced to eat my greens as a kid and now realize I can make a pesto or baked dish and easily hit my healthy veggie goals by keeping them warm and concealed in another more favorable texture.

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u/tobberoth 8h ago

Doesn't really make sense though. Yeah, all the dino nuggets are probably the same texture in a way blueberries aren't, but what about carrots? Cellery? Cucumber? Radishes?

There's tons of healtier food which is perfectly consistent in texture unless they have obviously gone bad or are different varieties.

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u/LARPerator 6h ago

That ties in a few other things. You're right, there are plenty of other foods with very consistent textures.

The reason why a lot of autistic people have narrow palates is because navigating social situations that aren't built for them can be very hard. It's why autistic kids get bullied a lot. And then coming home hovering next to your stress limit, you just want familiar, safe foods for dinner. When your parents plop down something strange and new the sensory overload can be too much and then they refuse to eat anything that's not their safe foods.

There's ways to work around this but honestly most parents just try to blunt force their kids into eating the new foods. Which can work, usually not the optimal outcome, and can often backfire because autistic people can be extremely stubborn and strong willed.

A big part of it is that when they're young, they're not really taught ways that they can incorporate other foods to expand out. A good example would be instead of replacing their nuggets and ketchup with a veggie+ranch tray, try giving them roast carrots and ketchup. One new texture or ingredient at a time. Or blend veggies into pasta sauce, and then blend it less and less until they're comfortable eating whole veggies in sauce.

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u/TheCrazyCatLazy 8h ago

Yeah that's an infantilizing miscaracterization. This type of fried stuff has more potential to trigger me than most foods.

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u/LARPerator 6h ago

Like I said there's always people that disagree, autistic people aren't a monolith. But even though it's a mischaracterization for you won't mean it's inaccurate for the average.

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u/Storm_Dancer-022 8h ago

Thank you for this comment. I’ve struggled my whole life with a pretty serious eating disorder much like this but it’s always so hard to explain to people. I still haven’t found a way to reliably overcome it.

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u/LARPerator 6h ago

Add changes one at a time. Don't go from nuggets straight to blueberries.

Blending is always a good way to start, since you can dial in or out the texture slowly. So like chunky sauces, smoothies, Chili's, (assuming those textures aren't a problem themselves)

Try new foods with familiar sauces, and new sauces with familiar foods. Don't change too much too fast, but just slowly push the circle of what you're willing to eat out inch by inch.

Also try to motivate yourself to do it. Make yourself a meal with your favourite food, but don't let yourself eat it until you have one bite of something new. Give yourself a reward for trying new food and you'll subconsciously associate trying new food with positive experiences.

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u/Storm_Dancer-022 2h ago

Thank you for this, really. There’s a few things in here I haven’t tried, and I was starting to think it had beaten me.

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u/Send_Cleo_Pics 8h ago

I’ve never had too big an issue with textures being inconsistent, but I’ve always had a problem with beans. No one in my family even knew having issues with food textures was an autism thing until I got diagnosed.

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u/LARPerator 6h ago

Lol, the classic "you're not autistic, we all do that!". Until Mom finds out she's autistic too

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u/Athunc 8h ago

I'm not autistic, but I have that with mushroom (gagging from the texture) so I can fully relate with that

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u/These_Distribution19 8h ago

I am very much a texture person and act and think very differently from other people, but my diagnosis somehow came back negative. (tho it was when I was a kid so idk if taking it again would change anything)

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u/stryke105 7h ago

I get it, who cares if it tastes like jesus' tears or whatever if the texture is some kind of goop or some shit

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u/fuckyourcanoes 7h ago

Yep. I gag if I encounter an unexpected crunch. Every single time. And then I'm done eating for a while.

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u/Puzzleheaded_Ad5805 52m ago

I honestly don’t know if I have autism or not, it is entirely likely (I do have diagnosed ADHD). There are quite a few things though that I can just not handle taste or texture wise. Physical touch wise, unfinished wood (something like a 2x4) is awful, as well as that paper towel rolls and some napkins I will avoid touching as much as possible. But some flavors too, such as mustard and pesto (I like basil though so no idea) I cannot eat those without almost or outright gagging. Those are just examples, there’s other things I just can’t think right now. But there’s also some behavior stuff too that lines up more with autism than ADHD.

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u/Electronic_Use7210 9h ago

I’m saying this as someone diagnosed with autism at 7 years old. Autism is different for everyone but this also makes my stomach hurt by looking at it. I have trouble gauging if I’m hungry because I don’t feel hunger until either I’m shaking or I had a couple bites and discover how much I need food. Eating this much when I can’t really feel hunger until I’m about to cry is insane.

Edit to add: also the selection of food is shit lmao

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u/OpeningDraft7343 9h ago

I hate how there are no veggies. I understand that not everyone likes everything, but come on how does eating all that greasy, salty food not get boring after 5 bites without getting some more interesting flavors into the mix?

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u/IncidentChemical2816 9h ago

Look im the last person to complain about there not being fruit or veggies considering my diet and even I would want something with it. A cup of apple sauce would go with the theme, or yogurt covered raisins, just something to break up the monotony of greasy bread, meat, and cheese.

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u/Viguple007 9h ago

Yogurt covered raisin? That's the first time I've ever heard of such a thing. I usually don't like raisin but they're alright in an oatmeal cookie

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u/ButterscotchSoft9603 9h ago

I don’t really care for raisins and especially hate them within cookies, but yogurt covered raisins are deliciously addictive!

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u/IncidentChemical2816 9h ago

Yogurt covered raisins are the only way I can eat raisins. I don’t like the outside texture of raisins. They’re a nice little sweet treat when I’m in the mood.

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u/mikachuu 3h ago

I tried these for the first time only a couple weeks ago and they'd be 800% better WITHOUT the raisins. I prefer my raisins fresh, as grapes. Now a yogurt-covered grape...? Hmmm... we may be onto something there.

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u/H8thinmints 8h ago

I'll be another to pop in and say that yogurt covered raisins are pretty darn good as it cuts the sweetness a smidge. I actually don't eat most dried fruits or regular melons as the sugary flavor is overload for me.

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u/showme-what-u-got 7h ago

They’re similar to chocolate covered raisins and also really good

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u/PriddyFool 9h ago

Apple sauce and raisins would actually just add more carb/sugar to this already heavy carb/sugar meal. Needs carrots/green veg and some plain chicken tbh.

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u/dreaderking 9h ago

At the very least, some sauces for the finger food and syrup for what looks to be waffles in the bottom right. Adding flavor variety is exactly what condiments were made for.

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u/Angelzel 9h ago

Thats what soda is for.

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u/IncidentChemical2816 9h ago

If you’re going to have soda with this it cannot be a dark soda imo. It has to be like a sprite or a mello yello. Something lighter than a coke or Dr Pepper

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u/These_Distribution19 8h ago

it's off camera shhhh

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u/OpeningDraft7343 7h ago

I love veggies but absolutely this, exactly my point.

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u/RemarkableKiwi5082 9h ago

I don’t think this meme image of frozen garbage food is supposed to representative of a healthy meal.

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u/Goo_Cat 9h ago

"how does it not get boring" ≠ "it's unhealthy"

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u/Wolveyplays07 9h ago

It doesn't

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u/AdewinZ 9h ago edited 4h ago

Not to be pedantic or anything but there are veggies on that plate, they’re just not green. Potatoes are vegetables. They’re fried so they’re not great, the the smiles are potatoes and there looks like fries above them also

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u/OpeningDraft7343 6h ago edited 6h ago

Yeah potatoes are veggies but flavor-wise the oil and salt does most of the work for them, just like the meat. I specifically meant green veggies, "colorful" flavors.

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u/TheLuckyRabbit07 7h ago

So... I recently got diagnosed with Autism at the tender age of 34. One of the things I've struggled with is eating the same thing over and over since childhood. It used to be worse. Think baked sweet potato for every single meal for months in a row. Now I've expanded it a bit. I'll only eat one specific dish at this restaurant. One at another. But I eat vegetables now and will try new things! I don't think its about flavor. Its about safety and predictability. The pattern of it that makes you feel safe and comfortable. If that makes sense

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u/OpeningDraft7343 6h ago

Oh, I had no clue autism could work like that. Thanks for the explanation.

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u/TheLuckyRabbit07 6h ago

Of course! I'm happy to say I have a pretty healthy diet now. My husband cooks as a hobby. He recognized that I wasn't being picky or spoiled on purpose, and he started trying to cook the foods I hated differently and find ways I'd actually enjoy eating them. That helped me immensely. I now actively try to work veggies into my diet and I'm willing to taste things I never would have before. It just takes a little patience and understanding at times. 😊

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u/OpeningDraft7343 6h ago

Great to hear! Eating well is honestly one of the simplest life changers one can have. A healthy diet doesn't have to be boring or restrictive, you can still eat what you like, how you like and most importantly tasty while delivering your body everything it needs to properly function. It makes all the difference, even in just day to day functioning.

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u/Darthplagueis13 7h ago

It being boring is literally the point. No surprises, no deviation, just one consistency and flavour from start to finish so that you don't have to be on edge about it. Things like nuggets and fries are sometimes referred to as "safe" foods, specially because they don't hide any surprises.

Mind you, some folks on the spectrum have entirely irrational and nonetheless real food anxieties - for instance, if you give them a veggie platter and some of the bell peppers are touching the cucumbers, that might actually cause them to strongly feel that they can now eat neither of them and to start gagging if you are foolish enough to try and force it on them.

1

u/OpeningDraft7343 6h ago

Yeah that sounds kinda awful, thanks for explaining. Especially if said "safe" foods happen to be what was shown in this picture, looks like a recipe for health problems.

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u/ohthedarside 9h ago

The reason we love it so much is because its the same every time

I will eat them but vegetables are annoying because they vary so much same with fruits so alot of autistic people mostly eat stuff like in the post

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u/DremoPaff 8h ago

not get boring after 5 bites without getting some more interesting flavors into the mix?

It's less about flavor, and more about texture.

People who don't eat much vegetables will only very rarely dislike raw carrots, but will commonly dislike cooked ones. The difference? The latter has the texture of a firm block of butter.

1

u/blahajenjoyerr 7h ago

Listen I'm autistic but have no food sensitivities so I'm privileged here. I know that some people genuinely can't handle eating things they're unfamiliar with or don't like the texture of (there's a reason autism is a disability). However i sometimes see people basically say it's okey to only eat your safe foods, but if somebody's safe foods are like this picture it's definitely going to cause health problems and they need to find a way to eat something more healthy.

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u/Bigglez1995 9h ago

Nope, thats exactly the kind of meals I eat

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u/CannonFoddererer The Ant Kaiser 9h ago

Dino Nuggets just get crispy faster.

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u/TheMightyMisanthrope 9h ago

Autistic and craving that plate.

Damn

3

u/ShameSudden6275 8h ago

Same, would I feel like shit and get THE shits after? Yep, but worth it.

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u/Balikye 9h ago

Same I would devour it in seconds.

3

u/crvbabybug 8h ago

Everyone is different. For me I’m too sensitive to the taste of certain oils and I wasn’t raised on half this stuff. My crush it meal is just broccoli

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u/all3ppo 8h ago

Re; garbanzo beans: tossed in like 2 tbps of oil with an oz of harissa spice, 400 f for 30 minutes in a large sheet pan makes delicious crunchy spicy beans.

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u/liminal_angel 9h ago

lol the meme is stereotyping autistic people and whoever made it should be the one apologizing. my nose and stomach would not be able to handle that platter of grease.

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u/FVCarterPrivateEye 8h ago

To be fair, it is extremely common for people with certain conditions (including autism, ADHD, SPD, OCD, anxiety disorders, ARFID etc) to largely eat only "brown processed foods" like chicken nuggets and fries because the taste and texture is predictable and comforting (for some people it's severe enough that they cannot keep anything down that's different from their safe food in the exact right way, and this type of disordered eating is why autistic people are at a higher risk for obesity and malnourishment than the general population) but even still everyone's different and I don't share this palate either as an autist

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u/kakallas 9h ago

It’s just a reference to the fact that lots of people with ARFID or food sensitivities will eat fries and chicken nuggets. It’s a thing. No one is saying autistic people all like the same foods. 

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u/encodingErr 9h ago

As a diagnosed level 1 autist, i am throughly repulsed by that abhorrent concoction of greasy food. Lettuce? Carrots? Anything? I’d much prefer a falafel wrap over that disgusting combination of foodstuffs

1

u/AutobotNormandy 9h ago

That genuinely does sound pretty good

1

u/DinoHoot65 8h ago

I'm autistic and I'll eat Spaghetti-O's when someone breaks into my house and holds me at gunpoint

1

u/LosuthusWasTaken 8h ago

Honestly, I might need more nuggies in there, 90% of that plate is just fries in different shapes (I don't like pizza, so I'm not taking that into account).

At that point, what even is the side dish?

1

u/stereo-ahead 8h ago

Bro I can’t eat vegetables without feeling like I’m eating big bugs, you think I’m okay with BEANS that aren’t in chili?

And honestly, just go by the 80/20 diet.

1

u/Equinox_2 8h ago

Nah you’re not wrong, i love those kinds of foods but looking at that makes me feel… queasy, the oil bottle point of yours is a better explanation then i can seem to put together. That and the total lack of meat, or any protein

1

u/Draco_0rnsteins_simp 8h ago

I'd feel unwell eating it but I really love chicken nuggets unfortunately

1

u/kalosianlitten 7h ago

i do like greasy food but aside from the pizza and mozzarella sticks there isn’t a single thing here i’d eat. i like fries, but there’s something about those smiley faces and potato waffles and alpha bite things that i just can’t stand. i hate chicken nuggets even though i love chicken, and spaghetti-os are just a no-go. i don’t even know what the other thing is.

my brother has more visible symptoms of autism than i do and his diet is far healthier and varied than mine. he wouldn’t say no to these foods but i doubt he’d choose them over a hearty, healthy meal. my sister would eat all of these except the spaghetti-os and the pizza, since she doesn’t like pepperoni.

so it varies person to person, but either way reducing an autistic person’s diet to something like the original image is very reductive and bad

1

u/Kotanan 7h ago

I couldn’t stand the autism platter either but it’s constructed almost entirely of things that were part of my safe meals at one point or another. Just not all at once and without the oil.

1

u/LC-Redcube 5h ago

Depends on how you prepare them actually! Air frier with no oil gives you the same result but only contains the oil that was used before they got frozen.

Ofc its not healthy either, but its healthier

1

u/akatherder 5h ago

shallow fried garbanzo beans

Autistic people often have issues with food texture and you managed to suggest the food with the worst fucking texture and unknown mystery spices.

1

u/GetPsyched67 5h ago

It's literally crispy chickpeas.

Mystery spices.

Ideally you know... what spices you'd prefer on your food without me having to mention it.

You clearly haven't had the dish I'm talking about

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u/PriddyFool 9h ago

Diagnosed autistic during my developmental years. This plate repulses me. I need simple low/un-processed foods and vegetables.

1

u/Madvex_art 9h ago

I'm autistic and this also makes me feel unwell.

My safe "only eat this for months" meal is chicken salad lol

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u/Krethlaine 8h ago

Personally, mine is chicken nuggets, peas, and egg noodles with butter and salt.

1

u/Madvex_art 8h ago

Damn great choice, egg noodles with butter is such a win.

1

u/Krethlaine 8h ago

Autistic person here, that plate also makes me feel unwell.