Hi

Didn't know what category to add this to. I was helping my 11 year old with her homework, and read the use the word bank to fill in the blanks... me and her both thought they literally wanted us to write the word bank on everything till we saw the rest...

(I’m not the original poster but definitely wanted to share!)

Recently I’ve noticed something, mostly on TikTok, but other platforms too. This isn’t a new thing, and it’s certainly not going away anytime soon, but it’s extremely upsetting when it happens. There seems to be a lot of low support needs autistics (level 1, and what some people still refer to as Asperger’s) who think it’s okay to be blatantly ableist towards higher support needs autistics. They think they get a free pass because they’re autistic too.

It’s saddening, to feel alienated by the one community I’m supposed to feel accepted in. Again, it doesn’t just happen on TikTok, or even just online, I’ve experienced this kind of ableism in my day to day life, too. It’s just something I wanna bring awareness to, and to spark conversations about how we can help this issue. If I call out someone’s blatant ableism, I get called crazy and downvoted into oblivion, and it just feels like a battle I can’t win.

I know I can choose not to take this stuff personally, but it’s hard. I also feel incredibly disheartened knowing that fellow higher support needs autistics are being alienated by people in our community who could make real change and fight for EVERYONE. Not just themselves or when it suits them.

I'm really not offended easily but this one is kinda annoying me

I’m making this post to hopefully enlighten others or maybe for some people to also find comfort in knowing they aren’t the only one dealing with autistic rumination. As the photos I’ve added (credits too belle_rue on TikTok where I found this) explain it’s way more then overthinking and it feels (for me anyway) never ending between the emotional turmoil and the being self aware enough to know what is happening it’s absolutely hell.

My entire life I’ve been told I’m a very negative person very rarely would family or even friends say otherwise if I wasn’t clearly 100% happy I was just being “negative” and “sensitive” when actually I was just stuck in a never ending loop of my own thoughts or past actions.

I don’t want people to perceive me as only a negative person and I don’t want to have to mask every time someone asks me how I’m doing cus if I’m asked it’s all gonna spill out and I have no control over it. So I’m hoping by posting this we can all help each other out so please feel free to write your own autistic rumination experiences in the comments or ways you have found to make it all feel manageable or coping mechanisms:)

I'm 27 and autistic. Today at lunch my colleague was talking about how hos kid keeps coming out of bed. Then I remembered for the first time since we moved from my childhood home (14 years ago) that my mom and even before that my dad (before their divorce when I was 6) would lock me into my room at night. I was diagnosed at 23 so very late and I'm honestly wondering if I'm being overdramaric.

I told him my parents put a hook on my door that I couldn't reach and everyone was like wtf. Is it a big deal? I've had sleeping issues and afraid to go to bed since I was a kid. Even went to therapy for it and I never thought about this. What if it started because I was afraid of being locked in? I couldn't get out but I vividly remember crying at that door and when I got older writing notes with my worries and push it through the gap to calm me down. If there was something wrong or I had to pee (I had my own potty in that room too) my mom would always come immediately so it's not like she left me there and didn't care. I think at times she couldn't handle my obsessive routine of checking everything and crying before bed. My father was violent af and when they divorced I was afraid my mom would get hurt so much that there were times where I was way too clingy. My dad put a gun to my head when I was 5 and I knew there were weapons in the house. I was afraid of him coming back for mom so it was a crazy time. I kinda get it that she couldn't handle me getting out of bed constantly. I could call out for help but other times she just ignored me for a very long time. I was scared a lot and now I'm spiraling thinking about this for the first time. Maybe I've always had sleeping issues because that started when I was so small. I'll add a picture of the hook.

next to my bedroom there were the stairs. My mom was also afraid of me getting out of my room and falling down the stairs.

Do I think this is a big deal when it isn't or is it really not normal?

I have to keep a mental note when talking to people .

What is your favourite game? Which genre do you play? On what do you play games?

Update: I didn’t thought that many people would write here. Lowkey overwhelmed lol.

So context: I'm an autistic 17 year old in collage, I live in a dorm with thin walls, and my next door neighbor's are loud, with constant music and guests (which people in the under 18 dorms aren't even allowed) I don't usually confront people but I decided to yesterday. The first image is the nite I slipped under their door to try and be polite, the second picture is the note they put on the back and slid under my door. The question I have is, is this passive agressive? I struggle badly with talking to people and reading tones in text and such, and I've never spoken to anyone on this dorm floor before because of this, so I need help.

If this is in the wrong place please tell me.

See comment.

For context. I saw the mods of this sub were asking for additional help, so I wrote them to see if they would perhaps want my help. This is the message I got back. I always make sure to follow the sub’s rules to the best of my ability (most of us here are the people who actually read them anyway), and there was no further explanation in the message. This literally made me cry this morning, I hate that this type of communication gets me so upset. I’ve been shaking since I saw this message. I don’t know why people feel the need to be so rude. Does this happen to anyone else? Does anyone have any advice on how to deal with this better?

In the Reddit autism community, there is a growing problem with accountability and misplaced blame. A common example is when people claim they were fired because they are autistic, even though they never disclosed their diagnosis to their employer. While workplace discrimination absolutely exists and should be taken seriously, it is unrealistic to assume autism was the reason for termination if the employer was never informed. Criticism of systemic issues loses credibility when personal responsibility is ignored.

Another issue is the hostility toward neurotypical (NT) people simply for being NT. Generalizing NTs as ignorant, malicious, or inherently harmful mirrors the same unfair stereotyping autistic people experience. That kind of thinking doesn’t challenge prejudice—it reinforces it. No group is morally superior just because of neurological differences.

Autistic people and NTs both have habits that can be annoying or frustrating to the other. Social friction is not one-sided, and pretending it is only deepens division. If the goal is understanding and inclusion, then accountability, nuance, and mutual respect matter more than venting or us-versus-them thinking. Advocacy should focus on real discrimination and accessibility, not blanket resentment that ultimately undermines the community’s message.

Feel free to argue with me if I’m wrong, but this has been an issue I’ve been noticing.

Photos got squished so you need to click in to see the whole text

L

Sometimes I wanna hang out with people, but at the same time I don’t want them to perceive me and my facial reactions. Above are some fictional character designs (alongside Daft Punk) that I lowkey envy

My dad is an engineer with ADHD and likely Autism and has worked with some truly amazing scientists and engineers that have shared this amongst themselves and he just showed me!! I’ve known I’ve needed this but never actually had something to direct it! Anyway, wanted to share it, I’m stoked to put this to use.

Hello! I'm an autistic AFAB (Assigned Female At birth) i use this term because while i was Born, raised and socialized as a girl, later in my life (around age 11/12) I realized I was actually Nonbinary than in my Adulthood. I realized i was Genderfluid.

For my transgirlies out there yes im talking to you queens💅🏾.... PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE KNOW that my wording intent isn't to be exclusionary but rather just MY experience from MY perspective as someone who is AFAB. I don't know much about the transwomen experience on this (i can definitely imagine tho🫠🫠) but my lived experience is my own as someone who's AFAB with LOTS of trans-masc friends who all were raised with the same social expectations as me. So im using it from that perspective. This crash course applies really ANYONE perceived as a women to the general public that experience this!!! Now that that's out of the way. Lets start!

I was a Late Diagnosed Autistic person. Its really common for Autistic AFABs to go undiagnosed until adulthood because how early on we are expected to heavily mask. One of the main challenges Autistic AFABs tend to face is more often than not the social aspect! Why? Well. Girls and women are raised to have an indirect communication style to avoid conflict. And a lot of us autistic people who have social cues struggles tend to struggle to pick up on this Literal vs Actual meaning style of communication.

Lots of AFABs kinda get it to an extent since its used within our friend groups that consist of other girls or women raised the same way. This kinda communication style looks kinda like this

"I would love to go, but things have been so busy lately!"

The literal meaning is An update on how much work they have. Right? However,

The Actual meaning is

"I can not or do not want to go, but I am saying 'no' softly to avoid potentally hurting any feelings."

This kind of communication is taught to AFABs to avoid upsetting anyone and acting as a mediator in an argument so you're kinda expected to read between the lines and connect the dots. Which is hard rather your AFAB or AMAB. And adds a layer of difficulty to it so its important not to take CERTIN things TOO literal. For example "its getting a bit warm in here right?" isnt talking about the literal weather changing a bit its a kind request to maybe open a window or turn on the air conditioner.

🚨FELLAS i REALLY WANT YOU GUYS TO READ THIS PART🚨

If you approach women who are alone in some way as a guy (cold approach) or start a full conversation after say a check in or what is call a "Just being nice" moment. This communication style does one of 2 things.

1) It gets enhanced because you're a strange man and they don't know the temperment of you nor how you'll react if they tell you to leave them alone directly, since they don't KNOW your autistic or a chill guy. They just know you're a strange man talking to them and they're uncomfortable. So it comes off as overly friendly

Or

2) they will come up with a statment, insult or question to throw you off or tell you "i have a partner" to get you to leave them alone. on your own to end the interaction without directly saying it.

1 in 3 women experience SA, Harassment or Stalking. Meaning statistically for every 3 women in your life. At least 1 of them experienced this. No one wants to be a statistic so its best to be friendly or come up with a Nonsensical statment to get a strange man to leave than risk getting physically harmed.

I saw a post a couple of days ago. A young man had tripped in front of a young woman. She asked him if he was ok to be nice to the OP since he had tripped in front of her. He said "Yes" than took the kindness as an invitation for a full conversation with this young women she was alone. I assume she panicked Which ended in her telling him he looked dirty. He left. Than posted the interactions saying he felt rejected. This is an extremely valid response from the OP or anyone.

That OP wasn't at fault for feeling that way at all. I saw other AFABs who understood way she reacted the way she did and Explained it to OP he understood it from an AFABs perspectives once he was told the Why. YAY :D. HOWEVER, some of the Guys in OPs comments were calling her horrid names and insulting her in response. THIS REACTION is what AFABs and women want to avoid in public. Getting cursed out, physically hurt or followed by the guys who felt rejected or were mad at her for reacting the way she did. Should she have said what she said? No. Do i understand WHY that was what she did? Yes.

If you ever have a similar interaction to that OP as a Guy and you're trying to communicate with AFABs PLEASE don't take it to heart or as them rejecting you as a person. Its more like a social script than an actual attack on your person. For socializing with AFABs Its honestly a much a better alternitive to socialize in social hobby space as a guy than out in the wild (think your Local TTRPG spaces, Your Card shops, your school clubs if you're college or HS age) you actually have a much better success rate in these spaces because its a shared hobby space so everyone is off guard and more likely to feel more relaxed 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

I was looking for euphemisms just for linguistics reasons, and I found a bunch of ones saying "you have an interesting point of view" is NOT a good thing. There is NO way. This can't be true right? I have been told that countless times and I swear I didn't think I was being brushed off ...

Help me figure out if this thing I do is an autistic trait or I'm just being weird... does anyone struggle to use people names when greeting? For example, if someone I know met me along the street they just say "Hi Silvia, how are you?", but I could NEVER use their name, I'd just say "Hi how are you?" 🙈 or sometimes they say "thank you name". I use names just when I have to call someone who's not looking, cause I don't have a choice, but it still makes me uncomfortable 😬

In French, we have "une personne porteuse de TSA". Which translates to "a person being a carrier of ASD" eww. A great combo of separating autism from the individual, using an illness-related word, and ASD to avoid writting out in full autism like it's taboo.

Worst thing is I've heard it more often than "be autistic".