neuralex

neuralex, 2 dni temu

@cvwillegen @actuallyautistic Another medical scenario where NT culture collapses under the weight of its recursive nest of expected deceptions is those ubiquitous 1-to-10 smiley-face pain scales. Most NTs will start frowning at “discomfort (2)” (not "intense (6)") and many autistics will smile and mask until “intense” (and then go flat-faced again at "excruciating (9)"), so the smiles don't match the numbers or the experiences. I guess we’re all supposed to realize it’s just a metaphor and everyone's just meant to guess the correct level... except in that case, what’s the point of the pictures at all? 😠

neuralex, 7 dni temu

@chin @actuallyautistic

Did you see this thread on the topic? (ADHD vs Autism, not “what if these symptom lists made NTs look like the weirdos”, which is arguably worthwhile too)

here’s my response but there are lots of good replies in the thread https://neurodifferent.me/@neuralex/110391005817499118

neuralex, 7 dni temu

@homelessjun @chin @actuallyautistic

Yeah! That’s the double empathy problem; everyone is required to accommodate the emotional needs of the typical even if it’s irrational or difficult

…but of course at times NDs can be hot-blooded defensive suspicious deceptive sarcastic interrupty faulty-mind-readers too; I feel like it’s not simply “NTs vs NDs” but a more complex mix of expectations and perceptions; more here: https://neurodifferent.me/@neuralex/110350053648445984

neuralex, 7 dni temu

@chin @actuallyautistic

Ahem. Supposed to by whom? the “No Theory Of Mind” theory of Autism is based on an ancient and false notion that autistic children are suffering from a delusional solipsistic form of schizophrenia; all the modern evidence points to the possibility that autistics have extreme empathy and perspective-taking and that our deficits come mostly from not intuiting others’ emotional states, not from not believing in them

neuralex, 7 dni temu

@chin @actuallyautistic

I don’t know of a paper or article off the top of my head but I bet someone else on this thread can find one… It’s a common enough talking point in the #ActuallyAutisic community and my personal experience and conversations back it

(ftr i really appreciate you taking the time to question the assumption that autistics have low empathy/perspective and I’m not at all bothered that you expressed it - good allying 👍 😌)

neuralex, 7 dni temu

@chin @Zumbador @actuallyautistic

Wow indeed. That Spectrum News article is especially clear with lots of links to primary sources.

It says the ToM theory was first proposed in 1985, which was ~15y after autism was officially distinguished from schizophrenia, so take my origin myth with a grain of salt— I’m still fairly certain the name “autism” was chosen as a nice way to say “in a world of his own” (aut=auto=self) so the gist is the same

neuralex, 11 dni temu

@whangdoodler @actuallyautistic

Yeah that happens a lot to me too. Even when I say yes, I’ve been following your advice already, but it only got me so far, they’ll just repeat the same advice with a blank expression like I didn’t hear them the first two times, or that I just must have misunderstood, or been doing it wrong. 😔

neuralex, 16 dni temu

@terminalimpala @actuallyautistic

Oh yeah, totally. It’s part of our egalitarian approach to status and hierarchy. Crows and dogs and cats and chickens are all people who just don’t speak our language, and afaict they usually appreciate our lame attempts to speak theirs.

Or as in your example, to speak ours at them unfiltered and vice versa, like Han Solo’s bilingual conversations with Chewbacca or Greedo or Jabba.

#hyperempathy