Thread by @Reese__P

A lot of people reach out to me asking about autism because they suspect they might be on the spectrum too. No autistic person is the same, but below is a thread of different expressions and common co-occuring conditions

Autism can be described as differences in excutative functioning, motor skills, and sensory skills, as well as differences in communication and social skills (but the last two are emphasized too much, and the 1st 3 are not brought up enough)

What does this look like? I'm messy, clumsy, can't switch between tasks, have terrible hearing, and occasionally go mute or mix up my words

I can't count change (only 20s now cause of stripping lol). I make lots of typos and spelling mistakes because I am dyslexic - which is connected to autism

Autistics have tailored or 'special interests'. Topics that can consume your thoughts. Often women have special interests that don't raise eyebrows, like makeup or reading. But what makes it autism is the extent of the interest - it becomes all encompassing

I can't just casually learn something. I have to learn everything about a topic. It will consume my thoughts. Which is why I know a lot about a few things and nothing about other topics that most people have base knowledge of

Seizures are very commom among autistics or veritgo or fainting. I lose my perpherial vision right before a seizure and I suspect I have mini ones in my sleep

A lot of autistic people have ADHD & Ehlers Danos. I would suggest that those conditions/differences may even just be a part of autism, not seperate conditions. But that's up for debate

One article I read said autistics socailize intellectually, not naturally as a non autistic person does, thus making some of us skilled actresses. Before interviews or meeting someone new I obssesively rehearse my lines

Another article I read said autistics think perceptually instead of categorially which explains why so many of us are gender queer or bisexual. Gender and sexuality are not natually contained. Autistics see them for what they are

Lastly, I believe many of us are sex workers because traditional work is not possible or because we prefer to work in informal work. I hope to inspire more people to see the connection between sex work and autism

To add a few things I fogot: Insomnia is common amomg autistics. It's hard for to shut off our over active brains that process information differently. I've struggled with sleep my whole life

Face blindless also is very common: Not being able to remember someone by their face. I'll meet people and then forgot we met unless we made an intimate connection

Lack of eye contact often gets brought up as a sign of autism. For me, I enjoy eye contact if I feel safe and not judged. At work, I can make very intense eye contact if I trust the guy. Eye contact is a connection to my instincts

Autism interacts with gender socialization and the world around us. It doesn't exist in a vacum which is why no autistic person is the same. It's a shame the diagnosis process isn't tailored for these differences

Researchers still believe autism naturally occurs more in boys than girls. I believe this disparity is the result of gross sexism and neglect. The consquence: women not discovering autism until they're well into adulthood

Autistics? What expressions of autism do you feel define your day to day lives?

This article was very helpful in helping discover autism @awnnetwork_ autismwomensnetwork.org/understanding-…

This an extensive breakdown of how autism can occur in those socialized as girls. Very helpful! @dr_eprice medium.com/@dr_eprice/my-…

I wrote this last year about the invisible but overlooked struggle to plan, organize, and keep track of information in the moment among autistics. Follow the @ESTBLSHMNT for more articles written by #ActuallyAutistic theestablishment.co/i-thought-i-wa…

I spoke to @peep_cast about the pros and cons of stripping as an autistic woman. I was super nervous for this, but it was the first time I talked about the intersection of autism and sex work patreon.com/posts/extended…