Notices by Kevin Davy (pathfinder@beige.party)

@hellomiakoda
Yes. Although, I don't toss them out of the way, because that would be rude. I place them gently and with apologies, somewhere else.

@hellomiakoda
Yes, you should have been brought up right, like my generation, and then you would have had programmes like The Magic Roundabout to watch. Which was basically a show about a bunch of characters totally stoned out of their minds. 😆

@actuallyautistic

I think we've probably all heard of Mr brain-worm's desire to look into the link between autism and vaccination, and thought nothing good of it. This, despite the fact that even the remotest possibilities of such a link have already been vigorously kicked to death and stomped deeply into the earth of, "not a fucking chance", by countless existing and extremely reputable studies. But, this latest announcement, that they will find the cause of autism itself, to my mind, seems to cast all of this into an even darker light.

By establishing such a ridiculously short time frame to be able to a come to a "guaranteed" conclusion, in partnership with nebulous "worldwide" sources, and within a framework that clearly indicates that they have already decided that it will be some sort of "artificial" cause, this smacks of a clear stitch up. In fact, the sort of stitch up that will make the Cass report* look like the most scholarly balanced study known to mankind. In fact, the only thing that really seems to be in question, is what cause for it they have already decided to put forward.

If whatever it is, is just to be the silver bullet they wish to use to kill off vaccinations in general, then that will be bad, and obviously ridiculous, enough. But, if it is going to be something else, that fits in even more neatly into Mr Brain-worm's hatred of not only vaccination, but it would seem anything even remotely dealing with modern medicine, and in fact modern life, then it could be truly devastating. Given the wrecking ball they are already taking to the entirety of the medical and academic authorities and institutions, I can't help feeling that the way this could go, could be extremely dark indeed. Indeed, it could be the stepping stone they intend to use to eliminate so many of the safety nets of health and mental care, that so many rely on and that are in many respects the cornerstones of citizen welfare.

I could be wrong, and I hope I am, but, this would be inline with so much of what this government seems to be aiming for. The reduction of people into worker units, who are trapped by the necessities of a lack of education and options, into doing so for minimal return, especially in terms of any real pay and continued health. Those simply being the carrots that are forever dangled before them, to keep them working on. A new class of indentured servitude, if you will, just like the good old days they seem to love.

As I said, I could be wrong. In fact, I really, really, hope I am.

#Autism
#ActuallyAutistic

* Cass report - For those who don't know, a British study presented to the former government and still supported by the current one, on Trans issues and used by them to further their transphobic policy decisions. It has been widely debunked by many other studies and a vast number of medical organisations, for its lack of representation and the way it ignored and cherry-picked the information within it, to create a highly one-sided and misleading conclusion.

https://gizmodo.com/secretary-brain-worm-rfk-jr-tells-trump-well-know-the-cause-of-autism-by-fall-2000587763

@undefined_variable @actuallyautistic
Being autistic, like being trans, is the great unknowable. We are literally alien to them and their ability to understand. It makes us an obvious wedge to crack open the door to all sorts of horrors.
The dawning truth thst they are a hell of a lot more of us than realised, really isn't helping that fear. It also reveals a reality of existence that lies outside their medical models and the greedy reach of the industries that have grown to feed off that model.
Hence all the crap about us being over diagnosed. There is a danger of them losing control of us and the conversation about us and that is something they can't tolerate.

@hellomiakoda @ireneista
That's the way things should still be made. 😀

@hellomiakoda @ireneista
I love the way they used to do things like that. Not only was it, throw the kitchen sink at it to make it different enough to sell, but, make so it lasted.

@hellomiakoda @ireneista
As old is so much better than new these days, always worth the effort. 😀

@ireneista @hellomiakoda
5 years later, finds thing in wallet. Now, what the fuck was that for, because it was obviously something important. 😆

@hellomiakoda
It's at times like these that I would be gargling beer like crazy. To kill the taste if nothing else. (Even though there's probably no taste, to me there still would be in my mind.)

@hellomiakoda
That sounds awful. :bear_hugs:

@hellomiakoda
It's always interesting. 😀

@hellomiakoda
Not a problem. 😀

@ideogram
And in my lifetime ago, 50+ years ago, it was proper milk too.

@hellomiakoda
See it 😊

@hellomiakoda
We're not a bad bunch, considering what a diverse group of misfits we are. Which is also why we love you here

This has been said before, by many people, and far better than I will. But it bears repeating, probably as often as it can be.

Autism is a neurological difference. We think and process differently. We just don't work in the same ways as others. Most of us, growing up, are more than aware of this. But not necessarily why, or to what degree. We just recognise that we are different. But, this isn't exactly something that can be discussed. Often the feeling is nebulous at best, other times it can feel embarrassing and far too personal. But in any case, trying to talk about things like this, especially as children, is never going to be a particularly safe or wise choice.

So instead, we bury the feelings deeply and try to get on with life as best we can. This is normally done through learning to mask and in avoiding as much as possible those situations where our difference is made most noticeable. In fact, many of us get so good at this that we can wander for years, or even decades, through life without ever reaching the understanding that we are autistic.

But when we do reach this stage, it involves a process of coming to terms with it and understanding what it means. It requires months, often years, of research to come to terms with and to overcome the false stereotypes and ableism that many of us carry. This is what is called self-diagnosis and sometimes it is as far as we go. For many of us it is enough, or we have reached a point in our lives where getting an official diagnosis is not worth it. Or even possible. Many systems, whether on purpose or not, make it all but impossible for people over a certain age, or people of colour, or female presenting, to be able to get officially diagnosed. Or it is simply too prohibitively expensive to even try.

It is for this reason that the vast majority of autistic spaces welcome all those who think they are actually autistic, even those that are only just beginning to explore the notion, the self-diagnosed and the officially diagnosed. Because this is all the actually means, that we think we are autistic, as opposed to those who aren't, but who still want to speak on behalf of or about autism. It is also why the actuallyautistic hashtag and @actuallyautistic group are open to us all too, not to divide autistics into those diagnosed and those not. Because that is simply a distinction over the route to the knowledge, not the knowledge itself.

#Autism
#ActuallyAutistic

@hellomiakoda @actuallyautistic
Good luck with the shopping. Hopefully it's not too much of a shock.

@actuallyautistic

One of the things that I love about the autistic community here and which I found very surprising when I first joined, is that so many of us here are older and very much late in realising or being diagnosed as autistic. It makes for a very diverse range of experiences and in many cases opinions. However, it does mean that we tend to share two things in common.

One. We've spent most of our lives knowing only that we didn't belong. More often than not, without knowing why, or even how sometimes. Because, we certainly tried to. My god, did we try to. Often in ways that we shouldn't have and with people that we certainly shouldn't have. Which often led to no small amount of failures and disasters, rejection and betrayal, pain and suffering, trauma and in many cases, PTSD.

Two. That we learnt early to hide, in one way or another. Either literally, in the isolated nooks and crannies that we soon learnt the uncanny art of finding everywhere we had to be. Or, behind the masks we grew to try and fit in, or, at the very least, not to stand out. Because standing out, being actually seen, was always dangerous. It was, perhaps, the earliest lesson that many of us would have learnt. That in the world outside, no matter who you were with, or where you were, you were only a mis-step away from being abused, or criticised. That we were frightfully, truly alone and being you, was to be attacked. So, is it any wonder that we tend to have more than our fair share of anxiety and stress issues, depression and barely, if not even close to being, healed scars.

Now, I'm not saying that we are alone in this, or that it doesn't equally apply to many groups, or other autistics who have been diagnosed earlier. Unfortunately, for so many, far from it. I'm just saying that we just tend to have a rather long and unique history with it. Does it always show up in what we post? No, in fact many of us try very hard to not dwell upon it. We have finally found a place where we belong and a community that we can be ourselves in and why dwell on the dark. It's not as if it is really going anywhere.

But, it does make us very vulnerable to what is going on at the moment. Either because we are directly involved, or because of all the news coming out of America and how we can see people are being affected, especially our friends. It's hard not to feel, not to be overwhelmed by it, especially when you consider how sensitive and emphatic we can be and the nature of our histories. There is just so much.

Unfortunately, there is no easy answer to it. We can work on filtering our timelines, as much as it can work anyway. We can step away, for a time or for as long is it takes, there's certainly no shame in that. Some of us will want to get involved and some will want to keep on posting as normal. Not because we don't care, or feel anything, but because it's the only way we know how to fight the darkness, of our own history and of the world outside. We will all have to find out what will work for us, because, this isn't ending any time soon, and allow others to do the same.

But to the rest of the Fediverse, if you come to read this. Please remember that there are those of us who are already hurt, who have always been hurting. Who have known nothing but being marginalised and isolated and a target for all the hate that is out there. So, don't be surprised if we ask you to CW your posts, or spell names and hashtags correctly, so that our filters can work. Don't begrudge us posting as normal, our pictures of cats and dogs, our silly humour and tales of normality. It doesn't mean that we don't care, in fact far from it.

#Autism
#ActuallyAutistic

@hellomiakoda
These are all good things. But, it also pays to remember that with your skill sets, you are not entirely powerless to help.

@hellomiakoda
We have, as autistics, a wonderful ability to see crystal clearly into the future. All the options, all the possibilities. Unfortunately, we tend to concentrate on the absolute worst case, because it's the only way we know how to prepare for it, should it happen. I fear, things will not get easier for you, until you can begin to see the true shape of the land that is to become. :bear_hugs: