Peter/Roll for Kindness (Autism advocacy TTRPG GM, M.Ed.)

Because I can do this, I have very good control over how I manage my thoughts and to some extent my anxieties and frustrations about things. However, because of my Alexithymia things can sneak up on me, and screw up my plans to act a certain way. So, it's not perfect, but it is neat.

Personally, I see my mind like an ocean, with thoughts popping up like whales, with each thought having a progress bar. Once that progress bar is complete, the thought is fully formed, and I can act on it. So, I need to take time to process individual thoughts, then maybe connect them with others.

It's easy to say 'Oh, autistic people are so creative and quirky' rather than go in deep and say 'Many autistics can visualize their thought processes with high complexity and map out the way their cognitive processes work.'

But having a good awareness of your own thinking is a hell of a skill.

Now I'm not saying this is a universal autistic experience, we're all different, but I do wonder if having a different experience of thinking might be a unique strength that some autistics may have that has generally been overlooked, because so many NT narratives focus on really superficial things.

Something I've noticed when talking to NTs is that they struggle to define how they think. A lot of autistics struggle to define how they feel, myself included, but have very clear visualization and articulation of my thought processes and how my mind works.

It's like the flip side of Alexithymia.

Common aspects of that:
-Being able to see things in a different light
-Being very logical
-Getting lost in thought
-Loving to think about special interests
-Daydreaming
-Having a really weird imagination

It was an interesting thread, as it highlighted how autistic thinking is a unique experience.

There was a thread in one of the #autistic online spaces I follow on autistic joy, and it was really interesting. There were the usuals- Things about sensory experiences, being unique, etc- But what struck me was how many were about loving autistic cognition. Autistics love to think about things.

I've been following the whole autism robot thing for several years, and whenever I tell them my thoughts on ABA, they suddenly stop talking to me, and it tells me all I need to know about what their framework and goals are.

What's giving you a sense of hope for getting through the next 2-4 years?

One of them actually made a "Peter campaign inspiration mood board" and there was Portal, STALKER, Discworld, and Twin Peaks, iirc.

In my teen D&D groups, I will tell the kids to read Pratchett, and when they do they're like "Oh. I see."

Know that many of your local county, city, and state elected leaders are fully aware of how destructive and cruel this EO is, so providing them with clear public support (especially if you can do so as a community coalition, etc.) empowers them to take action.

It is helpful to include homelessness data (there's often publicly available information and studies, based on where you are), as well as studies on successful interventions.

Also, advise a broad approach towards resistance- 'All the tools available' is better than one approach that may fail.

Today I authored a letter about Trump's homelessness EO to our local county council as part of my position as vice chair in our county Accessible communities advisory committee, and it was approved.

From what I'm hearing, many local jurisdictions are looking for ammo to fight this EO. Write them.

Most of the internet used to be like this. This is actually the default, it took companies enclosing the internet and adding weird, soul-killing incentives to make people behave the way they do now. In a way, there is truly nothing special about Wikipedia except that it survived longer.

Saw a post more saying that autistic infodumping was a trauma response to being ignored, etc.

That's BS.

Not every aspect of #autism needs to be a trauma response.

Not everything about autism needs to hurt.

And convincing people that their autistic traits are trauma responses is real bad.

This is incredibly bad, and will ramp up into reinstitutionalization, but likely worse. There's existing community based orgs that are chronically underfunded that can provide help, but of course they've been getting their funding cut since the 80s, so.

Oh beautiful! I'll read these next chance I get, thank you!

Holly! Hi!

Yeah, it's fun! It feels like his 90s stuff and I can't stop listening to it.

-Educate R leaning disability advocates on the horrific damage Trump is doing to the disability community. There's a huge number of disability advocates who are Trumpers, and still stand by him.
-Celebrate disabled joy. Nobody ever shows up for disability pride month, so make an effort.

-If you are part of a professional org that has big conferences, have free passes for self advocates. You need to be listening to them right now, and they can't speak if you won't give them a seat at the table.
-Befriend people with disabilities. Help them learn how to find community.

-Get involved in your local disability council. There's a good chance your county has a disability committee, get involved, even if it's just sitting in on meetings.
-Hire self advocates to do accessibility trainings, not medical providers or HR types.
-Donate to food pantries. It really helps.

-Donate to the nonprofits doing the work. A lot of them are grant funded, and federal grant dollars are going to vanish, so every bit helps.
-Preserve knowledge. For every disability org that dies, a website full of info goes offline. If the internet archive goes, it's gone. Preserve what you can.

-If you can, find a way to rent a room for cheap to someone with a disability.
-If you have medical knowledge, help out at a free clinic. If you don't, you can still volunteer in other ways. Transportation is a huge issue.
-Support non police crisis response. It's more cost effective AND kinder.

-Educate yourself on invisible disabilities, and do what you can to make your workplace more accessible on all levels. A lot of people will likely need to find work, so pushing for greater inclusion is critical.
-Stand up against ableism. If you see people using the R word, shut that shit down.

-Seriously, find ways to hire disabled folks. There's a ton of disabled artists who do commissions, etc.
-Sign up for ride sharing orgs, and volunteer for meal delivery at your local food bank.
-Fight like hell for accessibility, because I dont expect any federal enforcement of the ADA.

-Donate what you can. Doesn't need to be money, many need volunteers, spare items, or food.
-Build community support networks that focus on people with disabilities and their families. Practically, this looks like showing up to community meetings and giving people rides, etc.
-Hire disabled folks.

Washington is facing a massive budget shortfall, which has happened at the worst possible time. I hear the same story from disability service orgs- they have limited funding for this year, next year is bleak. Combine that with the federal cuts and it paints a very dire picture. Here's how to help.🧵

I've been hanging out in weird autistic spaces on the internet, where autistics find community in their collective weirdness, and thats where the real meaningful conversations about autistic needs, wellbeing, and communication lives.

But none of these lived experts can afford these conferences.

Something that has been really gnawing on me lately, is how conferences that claim to want to be inclusive cost exorbitant amounts. So much in the #autism world is prohibitively expensive, and thus self advocates dont get a voice, and this is how ABA continues to dominate the conversation. Just bad.