#ActuallyAutistic #AskingAutistics – what is the ONE THING you wish you had known when you first discovered you were autistic?
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Published by
Lyric Holmans
Lyric Rivera, an Autistic self-advocate from Texas, runs the the internationally recognized neurodiversity lifestyle blog Neurodivergent Rebel. Neurodivergent Rebel was opened in 2016, as a way to introduce people unfamiliar with autism to neurodiversity. The blog, which is sometimes released in written format and also via YouTube video, explores the ideology of neurodiversity and the creative expressions of autistic people. Riveras’ blog pushes for acceptance of neurological differences and respect for the autonomy of neurodivergent people. Lyric is also known as the pioneer of the #AskingAutistics hashtag, which is often accompanied by a short question about everyday autistic experiences. This simple hashtag connects neurodiverse people who would not otherwise have a reason to engage with each other to foster understanding of the autistic experience. View all posts by Lyric Holmans
I’m not on Twitter, but I did want to respond to one of the Tweets on the thread about sensory issues around touch. Sometimes I do experience touch as pain, but more often it’s like what’s described in the Tweet, often after what feels like an explosion of fireworks in my brain.
You know the sensation when someone suddenly turns on really loud music, or when you’re standing right next to a bus when it blows its horn, or if you happen to be under a fire alarm right when it goes off? That’s what it feels like. Every time. And then the echoes start….
I’m self-diagnosed, and didn’t figure out that I was autistic until my late 40s. I wish I had known that this kind of thing is just … normal when you’re autistic. My sensory issues weren’t me trying to be “weird” or “difficult”: my brain just doesn’t process stuff the way an NT brain does.
I kinda wish I knew that not everyone is going to be happy about it. I was super happy when I finally got diagnosed. And I’m always super excited to tell people. But people aren’t happy about it, and sometimes they’re a little nasty about it, even if they’re usually nice people. Maybe I wouldn’t be so impulsive about telling people if I knew that they don’t think autism is a good thing.