Autistic Problems

qwyzm:

[Image description. A screenshot of an ask. “Anonymous asked you: I’m on the spectrum as well, and my father has said that he doesn’t want me to be labeled so he has ignored my diagnosis even though it is a clinical one. That plus that it’s been said that I’m “high functioning” (I know some people dislike that term, I just don’t have a better one) cements it for him so he has completely thrown it out the window in his mind. He gets angry when I fidget or don’t look at his face when he is talking. I just need advice as to how to change his mind to avoid stress.” End image description.]

Oy… This is tough.

I wish I had a list of steps you could take for a sure-fire fix, but I don’t. I hope the links below are helpful and/or interesting, but if they aren’t, at least you’ll have a few more bloggers to follow and/or ask.

Good autistic spaces on tumblr:

• AspieAlligator (They get asks like this often and anon is on. They offer good advice, better than I can give, and you’ll also have access to the advice of other autistic followers.)
• #actuallyautistic tag (also “actually autistic”)

Other autistic bloggers:

• Rose (goldenheartedrose)
• Howie (street-howitzer)
• Cam (bittergrapes)
• Harvey (teaandtheatre)
• draggle
• Brynn (brynncognito)
• Brett (brettfacing)
• metapianycist
• Larkin (iamthethunder)
• and many more

Additional Resources:

Autistic Self Advocacy Network

The Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism

Aspie Strategy

Self-soothing resource written by Cam

Anti-ableism blog (not on tumblr)

The Loud Hands Project

The Spoon Theory (This might be helpful for you to show/explain to your dad)

Other cool links/articles/blogs:

Meme-type-things (aspie alligator, autistic kitten, aspie bot, autistic axolotl, autistic problems, and probably others)

“Special Kids Need Adult Role Models” (not too fond of that “special kids” language, but it’s a good article otherwise)

Why is it bad to tell someone they’re high functioning for an autistic person? (This might be good for your dad to read.)

“Why I am against Autism Speaks” written by Rose

Autistic Empathy (This article is spot on. It may be useful for explaining your behaviour in these sorts of situations.)

Why Autistic Attitude Exists

Aspie Art

Allism Speaks (A blog satirising Autism Speaks. This might be good for giving your dad some perspective or at the very least, providing some comic relief for you.)

Best of luck!

^ A good list of autistic resources.