ScottinSoCal 🇺🇦 🕊 🏳‍🌈 @ScottSoCal@computerfairi.es

@ScottSoCal @actuallyautistic
In the US, as an adult, possibly not. There are no supports for us, only stigma.

That said, I got a formal diagnosis because I was anxious about being a fraud. The validation was enormously helpful to me.

@WideAperture

@punkwasp @actuallyautistic I've been experimenting with visualising my anxiety as a little dragon. It's very grumpy and touchy and is under the impression that it's responsible for protecting me from *absolutely everything*.

I can acknowledge its alerts, and then tell it "you're being ridiculous, stop digging your claws into me and aaargh you've wrapped your tail around my throat, could you stop that, please?"

And I try to remember that it's still there when I'm cycling or swimming or listening to music, but then it turns into a beautiful, blissed out creature.

I find this more helpful than seeing my anxiety as an enemy. It's well meaning but not very bright, that's all. 😅

Anything to keep it off pizza is good in my book.

I saw some #ActuallyAutistic discourse about #TheGoodDoctor recently so I gave the show a try. My verdict: it’s good!

It’s a bit sentimental (especially the score in the pilot episode— thank goodness they turned down the treacly sentimental aggressive circle-of-fifths power chords in later eps) and contrived and of course, focused on a **young white male savant** which naturally makes one worry they’ll reinforce the Rain Man stereotype and (by implication) ignore all the other types of autistic people —

but they’re actually doing a really good job with that stereotype, breaking down the “inscrutable hostile arrogant flamboyant nerd” personality of Sheldon and Rain Man into its components and then building up a full character around it, not just using it for cheap laughs or dismissive superficial criticism. It’s a TV drama, not a master’s thesis or pop-psych article, so I’m quite pleased with the narrative and character-arc choices they’re making under the medium’s constraints.

For instance in ep 4 they show him having a meltdown about a leaky faucet, but make sure to show the buildup to the meltdown and explore how he desperately tries and fails to avoid the meltdown and why it’s important to him — it doesn’t just come out of nowhere, and it’s not just a throwaway overdramatized scene. They correctly use technical terms like “perseverate” and demonstrate that even though he is *painfully* aware of his flaws, just knowing isn’t enough to change them, and even mentioning them (like when he explains that he perseverates) can be offputting and come off as Sheldon-level arrogance when he’s really just trying to communicate clearly. Etc.

YMMV, might be worth a try

@actuallyautistic

This is officially the tallest Allium on Mastodon. According to my poll. And that’s good enough for me.
#gardening
#BloomScrolling

I refuse to pronounce "faux pas" as anything other than "fox paws"

🦊 🐾

FreeBSD? Why would I want a Blue Screen of Death even if it were free?

@ScottSoCal @miss_s_b

Shouldn't there be some tachyon particles in there somewhere?

@KimPerales
Next month the first climate lawsuit in the U.S. will give our kids their day in court.

Held v. State of Montana is a constitutional climate lawsuit brought by 16 Montana youth against their State to protect their equal rights to a healthy environment, life, dignity, and freedom. They are suing because their government keeps promoting and supporting fossil fuel extraction and burning, which is worsening the climate crisis and harming these youths’ lives. https://www.youthvgov.org/held-v-montana