{ 2023-06-12 Unmasking autism discovering the new faces of neurodiversity

> [!meta]- Metadata > zotero_link:: [Price_2022_Unmasking autism.pdf](zotero://select/library/items/4FVV83G5) > abstract:: "A deep dive into the spectrum of Autistic experience and the phenomenon of masked Autism, giving individuals the tools to safely uncover their true selves while broadening society's narrow understanding of neurodiversity" > related:: lawson2015a > related:: livingstonCompensatoryStrategiesBehavioural2019 > related:: bora2017a > related:: wakabayashiAreAutisticTraits2006 > related:: woods2017a > related:: bhui2007a > related:: stewart2008a > related:: sasson2017a > related:: baeza-velasco2018a > related:: sedgewick2016a > related:: unknown-n > related:: thomasAssociationAutismDiagnosis2012 > related:: brosnan2020a > related:: taghizadeh2015a > related:: morgan2019a > related:: endendijkGenderDifferencesChild2017 > related:: halladay2015a > related:: luke2012a > related:: longmore1985a > related:: halperin1982a > related:: ohl2017a > related:: 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related:: gayol2004a > related:: bastiaansenAgerelatedIncreaseInferior2011 > related:: sasson2019a > related:: anvariSocialPsychologyWhistleblowing2019 > related:: aday2011a > related:: evans2019a > related:: laneBriefReportFurther2011 > related:: jones2003a > related:: corrigan2011a > related:: kuleszaFaceChameleonExperience2015 > related:: corriganLessonsLearnedUnintended2016 > related:: unknowo-j > related:: unknowp-u > related:: assouline2009a > related:: bolton2011a > related:: agrawalAttachmentStudiesBorderline2004 > related:: poquerusseAlexithymiaAutismSpectrum2018 > related:: grove2018a > related:: ysasiStigmatizingEffectsVisible2018 > related:: mandell2009a > related:: corrigan2013a > related:: baeza-velascoAutismSpectrumDisorders2016 > related:: waltz2009a > related:: see2017a > related:: demetriouAutismSpectrumDisorders2018 > related:: coombs2011a > related:: uono2015a > related:: pramaggiore2015a > related:: takahashi2014a > related:: mazurekVideoGamesPerspective2015 > related:: blackRelationChildhoodGastrointestinal2002 > related:: sze2008a > related:: schauder2015a > related:: mandell2002a > related:: wijngaarden-cremers2014a > related:: white2019a > related:: mazumderStigmatizationChildrenAdolescents2019 > related:: crompton2019a > related:: moree2010a > related:: mcandrew2016a > related:: walton2015a > related:: becerra2014a > related:: mcelhanon2014a > related:: petrouGenderDifferencesParentreported2018 > related:: aznar2015a > related:: robinsonBigFiveModel2020 > related:: hubl2003a > related:: hullFemaleAutismPhenotype2020 > related:: kapp2019a > related:: deepExploringRoleCulture2017 > related:: greenAnxietyDisordersSensory2010 > related:: baker2017a > related:: mcadamsIdentityStoryCreating2006 > related:: richards2001a ```dataview TABLE created, updated as modified, tags, type FROM "" WHERE related != null AND contains(related, "priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022") ``` ## Notes | Highlight Color | Meaning | | ---------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | | Red | Disagree with Author | | Orange | Important Point By Author | | Yellow | Interesting Point | | Green | Important To Me | | Blue | Notes After Initial Iteration | | Purple | Literary Note To Lookup Later | - "For far too long, we have been defined only by the “hassle” that white Autistic boys caused their well-off parents. Our complex inner lives, our own needs and sense of alienation, the ways that neurotypical people confused, confounded, and even abused us—all were ignored for decades because of this lens. We were defined only by what we seemed to lack, and only insofar that our disabilities presented a challenge to our caregivers, teachers, doctors, and other people who held power over our lives.” [Page 15](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=15&annotation=R2BTJY7H) - "Severity" of our disorders really stems from the perspective of how much of a "hassle" we are to caregivers or the NT's around us - Autistics have been defined by deficits compared to the statistical majority norm - with the focus being on what is lacking rather than how society can better accommodate those who are adversely affected - "Conforming to neurotypical standards can earn us tentative acceptance, but it comes at a heavy existential cost. Masking is an exhausting performance that contributes to physical exhaustion, psychological burnout, depression, anxiety,[8] and even suicide ideation.[9] Masking also obscures the fact that the world is massively inaccessible to us.” [Page 19](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=19&annotation=8UQAZV3Q) - [[Masking]] - "A child exhibits early signs of difficulty, but their families and teachers balk when disability is raised. Parents or grandparents who themselves have Autism spectrum traits dismiss the child’s complaints, claiming that everybody suffers from the social stress, sensory sensitivities, stomach issues, or cognitive fuzziness they themselves experience. Everyone in the child’s life views disability not as an explanation of how a person functions (and what help they need in order to function), but a sign of damage. So they push the label away, and tell their child to stop making such a fuss. Believing they are helping their child “rise above” a limitation and be tough, they encourage the child not to be visibly odd, or to ever ask for assistance.” [Page 25](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=25&annotation=YQND5I38) - [[Stigma Against Labels can adversely affect the quality of life available to disabled children with autism whose parents may also see through a lens of undiagnosed autism]] - "Asperger’s was stereotyped as a “higher functioning” flavor of Autism found in really smart, nerdy, usually rude men who worked in fields like tech. I” [Page 27](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=27&annotation=ABH4V36L) - Savants, Rainmain, Sheldon Cooper from Big Bang Theory - [[Aspergers]] - "Autism is neurological. Autism is a developmental disability that runs in families[9] and appears to be largely genetically heritable.[10] However, it is also multiply determined, meaning it has no single cause: a whole host of different genes appear to be associated with Autism,[11] and every Autistic person’s brain is unique and exhibits its own distinct patterns of connectivity.[12] Autism is a developmental disability because compared to neurotypical milestones, it comes with delays: many Autistic people continue to grow in their social and emotional skills for much later in life than allistics tend to. [13] (However, this may be due to the fact that Autistic people are forced to develop our own social and emotional coping skills from scratch, because the neurotypical methods taught to us don’t suit how we process information—more on this later.)” [Page 28](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=28&annotation=A4NHUJM9) - [[Developmental delays associated with autism may stem from the necessity of the autistic individual to develop their own social and emotional coping skills from scratch]] - Another reason why community support, understanding, and entertaining differing approaches to understanding and information processing can be essential - "Similarly, Autistic brains differ from allistic brains in how excitable our neurons are.[16] To put it in very simple terms, our neurons activate easily, and don’t discriminate as readily between a “nuisance variable” that our brains might wish to ignore (for example, a dripping faucet in another room) and a crucial piece of data that deserves a ton of our attention (for example, a loved one beginning to quietly cry in the other room).” [Page 29](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=29&annotation=GJ2TWHR3) ^a28311 - More excitable neurons makes it difficult to tune out background noise and stimuli, something difficult to convey to NT people - "Autistic brains have unique connection patterns that deviate from what is normally observed in neurotypical people. When infants are born, their brains are typically hyperconnected; much of human development is a process of slowly pruning unhelpful connections and becoming more efficient at responding to one’s environment, based on life experience and learning.” [Page 29](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=29&annotation=WM4SWCV5) ^b14828 - "In Autistic brains, however, researchers have found that some regions remain hyperconnected throughout the life span, whereas other regions may be underconnected (relatively speaking).” [Page 29](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=29&annotation=N2YIKYJ8) ^684a3a - "Our brain wiring appears to actually be more diverse than the wiring of neurotypical brains, which researchers believe have a consistent pruning pattern.[17] The researchers at the Weizmann Institute have theorized that this means Autistic brains respond to our environments differently; whereas neurotypical brains are believed to readily adapt to the sensory and social input they receive from the outside world, Autistic brain development and pruning appears to be “disrupted.”[18]” [Page 29](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=29&annotation=UUGCPFQQ) ^fb7dc4 - "Autistic people also exhibit less of what neuroscientists call global-tolocal interference:[19] we are inclined to zero in on small details, even when those details don’t jibe with the overall “big picture” that a non-Autistic person might see.” [Page 29](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=29&annotation=TAILFGH5) ^0b3327 - "I don't miss the forest for the trees, i need to see the trees before i see the forest" - "This helps explain why many Autistic people have prosopagnosia (the inability to recognize faces), [22] and experience difficulty reading emotions on neurotypicals’ faces.” [Page 30](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=30&annotation=Y48TRYG4) ![[Media/zotero/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022-30-x74-y278.png]] - "In the United States at least, being gay has started becoming accepted enough that queer people don’t have to justify our existence by saying we can’t help but be this way. If someone were to choose to be gay, that wouldn’t be a problem, because being gay is good. Similarly, Autistic people deserve acceptance, not because we can’t help but have the brains we have, but because being Autistic is good.” [Page 31](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=31&annotation=IP964U9V) ^81c841 - Acceptance because being Autistic is good. And there's nothing wrong with that. - Instead of "they can't help being born that way" it becomes "it's perfectly okay and good to be that way" and the "motivational" media of someone "overcoming" their disability to fit into and appear more NT-like is ableism porn - "Allistic people often accuse us of overthinking things, or being too slow and hesitant to come up with a response. We also get overwhelmed when presented with mountains of data, which neurotypical people find much easier to just ignore.” [Page 32](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=32&annotation=LS6NXBXL) ^d88df2 - "Autism touches every part of the Autistic person’s life. Of course, many non-Autistic people might resonate with some of the feelings and sensations I just described. There’s a difference between being allistic (which simply means non-Autistic) and being fully neurotypical (which means lacking any mental illness or cognitive disability). An allistic person with a social anxiety disorder may also feel overwhelmed in busy bars and restaurants, just as Autistic people do. Someone with post-traumatic stress disorder may similarly be rattled by a noisy pinball machine. The difference between Autism and these other disorders, however, is that Autism is a cognitive and sensory difference that affects every area of life. You wouldn’t expect a socially anxious person to get overwhelmed by the sound of a clanking radiator when they’re alone at home, for example (unless they’re also Autistic or have a sensory processing disorder).” [Page 33](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=33&annotation=HTXIKXLR) ^39c20c - "Because the neural and cognitive features of Autism are so pervasive, it affects almost every aspect of a person’ s body and brain. It’s related to coordination and muscle tone, the ability to read emotions on people’ s faces, communication skills, reaction time, and even how a person recognizes feelings of pain or hunger.” [Page 34](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=34&annotation=3R3Z6ISU) ^66de8b - "Autism is behavioral. Autism is associated with repetitive selfstimulatory behavior (“stimming”),[31] which can be something as benign as hand-flapping, or as severe as chewing one’s fingers until they bleed.” [Page 34](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=34&annotation=WQSLRR9L) ^ac3109 - "There are a variety of ways to stim, and stimming can make use of any of the five senses. Some of us stim using echolalia, the repeating of words, sounds, or phrases that feel good vibrating in our throats. Others stim by engagin g the body’s proprioceptive system (the neural system that tracks the body’s physical movement) by jumping up and down or swaying in place.” [Page 34](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=34&annotation=PAHECN9I) ^bfb3f6 - "Repetitiveness is a key feature of Autistic behavior, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the DSM). And it is true that many of us crave the stability that repetition provides. Because we find the external social world so unpredictable, most of us prefer consistent routines. We often eat the same meals over and over again, or only enjoy a limited range of foods (sometimes called samefoods in the community). We hyperfixate on activities that we enjoy and can get so engrossed in them that we forget to eat or take a break to stretch our legs. We echo phrases from movies and TV because they help us emulate “normal” social behavior, or because we lack our own words for how we are feeling, or simply because the sounds feel pleasant to have vibrating in our vocal cords. Even having special interests can be viewed as a repetitive behavior. Many of us watch the same movies over and over or read and compile facts about our favorite subjects far beyond the point that an allistic person would find entertaining.” [Page 35](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=35&annotation=EFT8WCKF) ^778782 - "Autistic people are at risk. Timotheus Gordon Jr. is an Autistic researcher, advocate, and the founder of Autistics Against Curing Autism Chicago. He tells me that for him, choosing to stim (or how to stim) is highly dependent on which neighborhood he’s in, and how people are likely to react. “Walking into certain neighborhoods in Chicago or in the Chicagoland area, I can’t wear my headphones to enjoy music,” he says, “otherwise I’ll get robbed potentially . Or if I walk around and fidget with toys, police or certain people in the neighborhood will think I’m strange or doing something illegal and I might get arrested, killed, or beat up.” [Page 35](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=35&annotation=T6LQIJZA) ^5ecec4 - "Timotheus says that in some circumstances, he masks his need to stim by choosing a more socially acceptable outlet, such as bouncing a basketball. As a Black Autistic person, he is frequently having to take the temperature of his surrounding s, gauging how others will react to his actions, and modulating himself accordingly. The risks of being himself are simply too great to take for granted.” [Page 36](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=36&annotation=MEFZ9KST) ^122c40 - Being a POC as well as Autistic is just further exacerbating the risk of that individual with law enforcement especially with the potential for lack of eye contact to trigger an elevated response from law enforcement due to [[The Reid Method]] - "Autistic people reach for flawed coping strategies to help manage stress. We’re at an elevated risk of eating disorders,[32] alcoholism and drug addiction, [33] and insecure attachments to others.” [Page 36](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=36&annotation=Y4ALM6G5) ^2aa23f - Eating Disorders, Alcoholism, Drug Addiction, Insecure Attachments to others - "I’ve already mentioned, a lifetime of masking puts us at a high risk of conditions like depression and anxiety.” [Page 36](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=36&annotation=8C8ZPH4Q) ^f8afa2 - "others are incredibly hyperverbal from a young age, with huge vocabularies. Some Autistics can read people’s emotions so easily that it’s overwhelming; others empathize with animals or objects, but not people; some of us have zero emotional empathy.” [Page 37](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=37&annotation=5GBEDQGY) ^893b71 - High vocabulary and reading comprehension, read emotions easily in situations of tension due to trauma response but zero emotional empathy - "The term neurodiverse refers to the wide spectrum of individuals whose thoughts, emotions, or behaviors have been stigmatized as unhealthy, abnormal, or dangerous. The term was coined in 1999 by sociologist Judy Singer.” [Page 37](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=37&annotation=JV4M54AA) - "Singer and her family were disabled in a way that no one knew how to name, so she created a name for them: they were neurodiverse, and they suffered because the world demanded they be neurotypical. These terms would be popularized by journalist Harvey Blume and widely adopted by disability advocates a few years later. The label neurodiverse includes everyone from people with ADHD, to Down Syndrome, to ObsessiveCompulsive Disorder, to Borderline Personality Disorder. It also includes people with brain injuries or strokes, people who have been labeled “low intelligence,” and people who lack any formal diagnosis, but have been pathologized as “crazy” or “incompetent” throughout their lives. As Singer rightly observed, neurodiversity isn’t actually about having a specific, catalogued “defect” that the psychiatric establishment has an explanation for. It’s about being different in a way others struggle to understand or refuse to accept.” [Page 38](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=38&annotation=X8PXU5EI) - "We tend to be both easily disturbed by sound in our environment, and unable to tell when a noise actually merits our attention, at the same time.” [Page 39](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=39&annotation=S62JP7KG) ^431062 - "I think it’s also likely that lifelong masking has rendered me hypervigilant, almost as a trauma response. My sensory system is used to scanning the environment, to determine whether I’m alone and thus “safe” enough to be myself. Trauma survivors often become hypervigilant, which tends to come with intense sensory issues.” [Page 39](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=39&annotation=U9E3AB5X) ^826b0e - "Some researchers have also theorized that sensory issues in Autistics are, at least in part, caused by the anxiety and hypervigilance we experience from living in a world that doesn’t accommodate us, and often treats us with hostility.” [Page 39](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=39&annotation=PDFN8XG9) ^89aabd - "Some people are also subclinically Autistic, meaning they might not qualify for an official diagnosis, in the eyes of psychiatrists, but share enough struggles and experiences with us that they belong in the community. Relatives of diagnosed Autistic people, for example, frequently are found to exhibit subclinical traits.[47] Of course, what’s considered to be “subclinical” is often more a function of a person’ s ability to hold down a job and conform to societal rules than it is a reflection of how much they are suffering.” [Page 39](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=39&annotation=7Y9GVSFN) - "do think that when allistic people declare that everyone is a little Autistic, it means they are close to making an important breakthrough about how mental disorders are defined why do we declare some people broken, and others perfectly normal, when they exhibit the exact same traits?” [Page 40](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=40&annotation=XDQ8VGPZ) - "They may complain Autism has “stolen” their once well-behav ed baby from them. T” [Page 40](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=40&annotation=Z9TM6CXB) - potential tie in here of the idea that medieval "changelings" were not fae babes left with the human families, but rather the maturation of a child with autism, which often ended with death - "That’s despite the fact all existing diagnostic tools for Autism were developed with wealthy, white, genderconforming boys in mind.” [Page 41](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=41&annotation=IGIENR76) - "An Autistic shutdown happens when an Autistic person gets so overstimulated and stressed, they can no longer process their surroundings. [51] It’s the quieter, more interior counterpart to an Autistic meltdown, which tends to involve more crying, self-harm, or outward aggression. Shutdowns are essentially a way of dissociating from one’s surroundings. It can look like falling asleep very suddenl y, becoming unresponsive, or just kind of zoning out” [Page 41](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=41&annotation=EIP86Y8P) ^5bc183 - "Hans Asperger and other early Autism researchers did study girls on the spectrum, but generally left them out of their published research reports.[55] Asperger in particular avoided writing about Autistic girls because he wanted to present certain intelligent, “high-functioning” Autistic people as “valuable” to the Nazis who had taken over Austria and were beginning to exterminate disabled people en masse.” [Page 43](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=43&annotation=4MKW232V) ^6888ff - "As Steve Silberman describes in his excellent book NeuroTribes, Hans Asperger wanted to spare the “high functioning” Autistic boys he’d encountered from being sent to Nazi death camps.” [Page 43](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=43&annotation=FXK4L5JT) ^245d1d - "Asperger was a scientist who had no choice but to collude with the fascist regime and save what few children he could. However , more recently unearthed documents make it clear that Asperger was far more complicit in Nazi exterminations of disabled children than had been previously believed.[56] Though Asperger held intelligent, “little professor” type Autistics close to his heart, he knowingly sent more visibly debilitated Autistics to extermination centers.” Page 44 ^75378a - "In fact, the developer of the first therapeutic “treatment” for Autism, Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy, was Ole Ivar Lovaas, who also invented anti-gay conversion therapy.” [Page 44](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=44&annotation=35CZVIA9) ^e65677 - "The few white girls who were diagnosed had to be very obviously “masculine” in how their Autism presented. Nonwhite Autistics were instead identified as defiant, antisocial, or schizophrenic—all disorders that made it easier to incarcerate them, or forcibly place them in institutions.” [Page 44](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=44&annotation=C9SFW6B4) - "As of 2020, one in 54 children is diagnosed as Autistic, up from one in 68 just four years ago. In the 1990s only one in every 2,500 children was diagnosed.” [Page 48](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=48&annotation=J6F8GD39) ^385030 - now 1 in 36 in 2022 - "In the United States, as many as 50 percent of all people who need mental health support lack access to it,[67] so we are talking about a truly massive underdiagnosis rate.” [Page 48](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=48&annotation=AEABWDC4) ^82ec9f - ![[Media/zotero/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022-48-x88-y313.png]] ^cffd54 - 1 in 36 for 2022 and this doesnt take into account the marginalized, and poor - "I firmly support Autistic selfdetermination. I prefer the terms self-determination or self-realization to self-diagnosis, because I believe it’s more sensible to view Autistic identity through a social lens than a strictly medical one.[75] Diagnosis is a gatekeeping process, and it slams its heavy bars in the face of anyone who is too poor, too busy, too Black, too feminine, too queer, and too gender nonconforming, among others.” [Page 52](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=52&annotation=M7IFHACY) ^92968e - "Being identified formally as disabled is very much a double-edged sword; a diagnosis can even be used against you in divorce proceedings or child custody cases, or to force a legal adult under a financial conservatorship.” [Page 52](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=52&annotation=AVPHZI9J) ^e4b1fb - "Since Eugen Bleuler first coined the word in the early 1900s, Autism has largely been used in negative and dehuman izing ways, and to this day many parents and educators are still deeply frightened by it. By capitalizing Autism, I signal that it’s actually an important, meaningful aspect of who we are, one we don’t need to shy away from.” [Page 54](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=54&annotation=9TMHCRZZ) - "We are not “differently abled”—we are disabled, robbed of empowerment and agency in a world that is not built for us. “Differently abled,” “handi-capable,” and similar euphemisms were created in the 1980s by the abled parents of disabled children, who wished to minimize their children’ s marginalized status. These terms were popularized further by politicians[76] who similarly felt uncomfortable acknowledging disabled people’s actual experiences of oppression.[77] These words obscure reality and reflect a discomfort many people have with disabled bodies and brains. A person who is completely blind is not “differently sighted”—they lack an ability that other people have, in a world that was designed by and for people who can see.” [Page 54](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=54&annotation=Z9BAXLKK) ^5f23fc - "Many non-disabled parents of Autistic kids prefer what’s called “person first” language rather than “disability first” or “identity first language.[78] Disability service organizations that are not run by disabled people tend to advocate for person first language as well. I also know many clinicians and social workers who tell me that when they were in school, they were taught to always separate a person’s disability from their identity in this way.” [Page 55](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=55&annotation=JINYFH2K) ^caa551 - "We don’t call Asian people “people with Asianness” and we don’t call gay folks “people with homosexuality” because we recognize it is respectful to view these identities as parts of their personhood.” [Page 55](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=55&annotation=TU9L4PHM) ^b20b2f - "They also discourage describing a person as “high” or “low” functioning, preferring instead things like “high support needs.” Here’s a table summarizing some of the most common terminology preferences expressed by the community:” [Page 55](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=55&annotation=CEXGSKN2) ^e151e3 ![[Media/zotero/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022-55-x70-y1.png]] ^331fdb ![[Media/zotero/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022-56-x71-y233.png]] ^129ab9 - "Others identify as having Asperger’s, though that disorder label no longer exists, and was rooted in Hans Asperger’s eugenicist research.” [Page 56](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=56&annotation=LK4WC7EJ) ^689898 - "Though most of the community discourages the use of such terms, some Autistic people do identify as “low functioning” or “severely Autistic.” Functioning labels oversimplify the Autistic experience, and they do serve to imply that we should be defined by how productive and independent we are.” [Page 57](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=57&annotation=T9HNPA4J) ^c1be57 - "My acceptance in society is conditional on my behaving respectably and being productive. That’s really a deeply ableist reality, but I shouldn ’t pretend it isn’t true.” [Page 57](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=57&annotation=YHLZFIJP) ^44acd5 - "Adults speak to young girls using more emotion-relat ed words than they do when speaking to boys,[6] which means Autistic girls often get a leg up in social and relational skills. Much of the play that girls stereotypically engage in (and are encouraged to engage in) involves mimicking adult social interactions, such as playing house or pretending to run a store. [7] As a result many Autistic girls learn how to fake their way through routine conversations at a younger age than boys do. For these and a variety of other reasons, Autistic girls are assessed and diagnosed at older ages.” [Page 62](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=62&annotation=DS7VQ6KZ) ^5bb995 ![[Media/zotero/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022-63-x68-y99.png]] ^e6eeac - Traits Commonly Associated with “Female Autism” ![[Media/zotero/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022-64-x74-y135.png]] ^820d58 - Traits Commonly Associated with “Female Autism” - "it’s easier to socially camouflage if you’re the kind of person society doesn’t view with much suspicion in the first place.” [Page 65](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=65&annotation=SX5B95I8) ^96b3e0 - "This is actually a really common Autistic experience. Perhaps because so many of us are alienated from mainstream neurotypical life, we come to identify with fantasy creatures,[14] aliens, robots,[15] or animals instead of the people around us.” [Page 67](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=67&annotation=8X8BDPNN) ^6f0f4f - "We’re fully fledged, complex people, who are entitled to the same body autonomy and self-determination as anyone else. And it’s meaningless to question whether a trans Autistic person would have “still” been trans had they not been born neurodiverse, because Autism is such a core part of who we are. Without our disability (or our gender identity) we’d be entirely different people. There is no separating these aspects of ourselves from our personhood or personality. They’re both core parts.” [Page 68](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=68&annotation=9DJKPY2Y) - "This history shaped how professionals saw and defined Autism from the very start, and its legacy is still with us today. Autistic people of color frequently end up having their Autism ignored due to racism and bigotry.[27] They’re less likely to get referrals to Autism specialists.[28] They have an incredibly hard time finding culturally competent health care.[29] Only about 4 percent of all mental health providers in the United States are Black,[30] though Black people make up 13.4 percent of the country’ s overall population.” [Page 70](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=70&annotation=25HUAKX3) ^5e2634 - "This is a systemic and far-reaching problem. White Autistics are 19 percent more likely to be diagnosed than Black Autistics are, and 65 percent more likely to be diagnosed than Latinx Autistics.[33] Black and Latinx Autistic people also get their diagnoses at older ages, reflecting their delayed access to services.[34] Indigenous Autistics are underdiagnosed and delayed in their diagnoses at even more extreme rates.” [Page 71](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=71&annotation=9W6MVTAE) ^468cb6 - "Many Black Americans are conversant in code switching, having to shift between African-American English (or AAE)[38] and Standard English as they move between communities, and modulating their appearance, mannerisms, and volume to avoid being negatively stereotyped.[39] Code switching is similar to Autism masking in the sense that it’s an effortful process of signaling you “belong” in a space, and of knowing when to hide the sides of yourself that the majority will be oppressive toward. Code switching is a cognitively demanding activity that can hinder a person’s performance on challenging or demanding tasks,[40] and it is associated with psychological stress and feeling inauthentic and socially isolated.” [Page 72](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=72&annotation=T9SZ7AYM) ^077890 - "Approximately 50 percent of people who are killed by police have disabilities,” [Page 73](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=73&annotation=D7QJAHSE) ^33d321 - "It’s an experience I know that many masked Autistics can relate to. We have to keep other people at arm’s length, because letting them see our hyperfixations, meltdowns, obsessions, and outbursts could mean losing their respect. But locking ourselves away means we can’t ever be fully loved. “I would never have survived following neurotypical rules,” Anand writes. “But my rules weren’t necessarily the best ones to follow in a relationship. For example, my rules said disconnect the minute I’m overwhelmed. Stop listening...Keep my secrets.” Anand went through several breakups and multiple divorces before finally getting diagnosed as Autistic. Instead of sharing his feelings with his partners, he’d run away, either physically or into the recesses of his mind. When his third wife suggested this might be caused by a disability, Anand finally was put on a path toward self-acceptance.” [Page 75](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=75&annotation=6BVJKLDA) - "In 1911, the psychiatrist Eugene Bleuler coined the term autism.[53] It literally means “isolated self.” This is in contrast to the term for nonAutistic, allistic, which means other-self or connected-self.” [Page 76](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=76&annotation=3VUDS6Y2) - "Just as some Autistics desire a lot of social contact, some seek out a high degree of stimulation and sensory input. Contrary to popular belief, Autism doesn’t make a person’ s hearing super sensitive or their eyes super responsive to light. What Autism actually does is influence how our brains filter through the information taken in by our senses, and how we combine all that data into a cohesive whole. That can manifest in us being either sensory seekers (sometimes called sensory inattentive types)[63] or sensory avoiders—and most of us are a combination of both, depending on the sense.” [Page 78](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=78&annotation=HLAE9HIA) - "“Autistic People Party, Too,” the writer Jesse Meadows” [Page 79](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=79&annotation=PUL9LD96) - "Incidentally, Autism and ADHD co-occur at very high rates, and are diagnostically quite difficult to untangle. [69] Psychologists often call them “sister conditions” because both of them impact things like distractibility , sensory seeking, and being deeply pained by social rejection. This brings me to the next group of Autistics who often get overlooked: those with comorbid and overlapping conditions.” [Page 80](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=80&annotation=AVIRX8ZY) ^6cb69f - "Psychiatrists in the 1940s believed Autism was a form of childhood schizophrenia,” [Page 81](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=81&annotation=88ADE2AG) - "To complicate matters, many Autistic people experience trauma at a young age, and have PTSD symptoms from that. It’s common for us to be mistreated by parents and caregivers, bullied by classmates, or seen as “easy prey” by abusers. The leading treatment for Autism in children, Applied Behavioral Analysis therapy (or ABA for short), has widely been criticized by Autistic people as being traumatic to endure.” [Page 82](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=82&annotation=LNAYTQDM) ^555520 - "Therapy that is focused on battling “irrational beliefs,” such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), doesn’t work as well on Autistic people as it does on neurotypicals. [72] One reason for that is many of the fears and inhibitions of Autistic people are often entirely reasonable, and rooted in a lifetime of painful experiences. We tend to be pretty rational people, and many of us are already inclined to analyze our thoughts and feelings very closely (sometimes excessively so). Autistics don’t need cognitive behavioral training to help us not be ruled by our emotions. In fact, most of us have been browbeaten into ignoring our feelings too much.” [Page 83](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=83&annotation=5TCIYIY4) ^0f020f - "Autism can also look a lot like an anxiety disorder. Most of us are anxious nearly every moment we’re around other people, after all. Overstimulating, unpredictable surroundings will tend to activate our fightor-flight response. The rituals and repetitive behaviors we develop to cope with stress can look a lot like Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Autistic burnout presents very much like a major depressive episode. All too often, these negative mental health consequences of masking are what a therapist recognizes, rather than the untreated disability that’s caused it.” [Page 83](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=83&annotation=RI6XG6SI) ^a25dbf - "Nylah says, “My mother is very self-involved, but that’s because she literally cannot understand what’s happening in others’ brains and she can get so locked into her own view. Her actions can seem selfish because Autism gets in the way of her empathy . I have really intense empathy, it is painful almost, and she is the flip side. She just doesn’t have it. But is that evil? She literally cannot help it.”” [Page 85](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=85&annotation=YN7NWTDG) ^a7c45a - "Usually, I find a lot of problems with BaronCohen’s work; he has long been an advocate for the view that Autism is best understood as an “extremely male brain.”” [Page 85](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=85&annotation=MY4UTCXF) - "Both Autistics and ADHDers are easily distracted by stimuli, yet also prone to hyperfixating on activities we find enjoyab le, getting engrossed for hours without remembering to pee or eat. Generally speaking, Autistics tend to perceive themselves as having more control over what they hyperfocus on than ADHDers do. ADHDers are more likely to describe boredom and understimulation as painful, where as some Autistics really enjoy stillness and quiet.” [Page 86](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=86&annotation=SG2ZIGJX) ^d5e927 - "While ADHDers don’t appear to process information in as bottom-up a fashion as Autistics do, the high energy and anxiety associated with the neurotype can look incredibly similar to how Autistic s react to overwhelming sensory information.[84] And while some masked Autistic may generally be better at staying on task, maintaining a consistent schedule, and keeping organized compared to the average ADHD, many of us are so chronically exhausted and burnt out that we experience the same struggles with daily life that people with ADHD do.” [Page 87](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=87&annotation=T94LZC55) ^cc0bc9 - "As an Autistic person without ADHD, I need a quiet, private, clean space in order to feel calm and focused. I also need silence and darkness in order to sleep.” [Page 87](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=87&annotation=728G9G7E) - "Clutter and mess overwhelms many Autistic people; for many ADHDers “visual noise” is easy to ignore, so much so that messes can “disappear” from their field of view.” [Page 87](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=87&annotation=QZ6GHTSU) ^6930a2 - "Writers and creatives who have ADHD tend to work in big bursts of late-night passion, and put their work together in an associative, big-picture way.” [Page 87](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=87&annotation=94XHMMLZ) - "Neurotypical people are obsessed with functioning levels. If you tell a nondisabled person that you’re Autistic, but you’re able to hold a conversation or maintain a job, they’ll immediately start gushing about how functional you are. Usually, that remark comes with the implication that you don’t really count as disabled because you can fake a nondisabl ed status (if only for a moment).” [Page 89](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=89&annotation=WHFJT8BM) ^22c81a - "When neurotypical people equate “functioning” with being less disabled, they fail to recognize the immense, hidden labor that goes into appearing normal.” [Page 90](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=90&annotation=PLI2Z9HA) ^c8e8bf - "Until 2013, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders drew a distinction between Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome. Autism was more profoundly debilitating and associated with major communication deficits and intellectual challenges. Asperger’s, on the other hand, occurred in people with high intelligence, and was associated with well-spoken emotionally frosty math geniuse s and computer nerds.” [Page 91](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=91&annotation=4QVMH4DM) ^d1514f - "For me, and for countless “high functioning” Autistics, communication and intelligence become an essential part of our masks. I never could fit in with other kids, but I could impress teachers with my grasp of big words and my sophisticated-sounding opinions. Though my language was highly developed, my social and emotional life was not. I annoyed other kids by talking too much about subjects that didn’t interest them. I clung to adults who found me “impressive” and equated being well-behaved with being mature and worthy of their respect. I” [Page 92](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=92&annotation=6LPN7CJL) - "The very concept of “functioning status” is predicated on the logic of capitalism and the legacy of the Protestant work ethic, which both have trained us to believe that a person’ s productivity determines their worth.[94] No one is more harmed by this worldview than the disabled people who cannot work and produce value at all, and are the most likely to wind up abused, forcibly institutionalized, or homeless as a result. Equating a person’s social value (or even their right to exist) with their productivity is sadly a common outlook, but it’s also a profoundly alienating and ableist one. It harms the Autistic people who are able to “play the game” and mask as productive and respectful; for the Autistics who cannot play along, that game can quickly turn dangerous, even deadly.” [Page 93](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=93&annotation=Q3E2MZVI) ^550767 - "The adults aren’t as kind and gentle as they once were. If you take a long time to figure something out, they assume you’re dragging your feet out of adolescent apathy rather than executive functioning differences. If you have problems making friends, it’s because you’re a moody teen, not because neurotypical conversation rules are inscrutable to you.” [Page 98](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=98&annotation=5GI4EC4B) - "I think for most masked Autistic people, there are key moments in childhood or adolescence where we learn we are embarrassing or wrong. We say the wrong thing, misread a situation, or fail to play along with a neurotypical joke, and our difference is suddenly laid bare for all to see. Neurotypical people may not know we’re disabled, but they identify in us some key flaw that is associate d with disability: we’re childish, or bitter self-absorbed, or too “angry,” or maybe we’re just awkward and make people cringe. Avoiding being seen in these ways become s our core motivation in life, each day a battle between the heavy armor we wear and the embarrassing characteristics that armor was designed to cover up.” [Page 101](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=101&annotation=ST55XSSM) ^1c0531 - "When I was disgusted by the textures of the unfamiliar food at sleepaway camp and went into a full-blown, sobbing meltdown over it, I got reprimanded for being a picky eater and a crybaby, and was forced to sit at the table all evening, until I gulped some cold ravioli down.” [Page 101](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=101&annotation=SCW2R2YI) - "As I grew older, I overcorrected for secretly being “childish” and “embarrassing” by adopting a façade of jadedness and hyperindependence.” [Page 102](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=102&annotation=WX343TYS) - "In the psycholo gical literature on the subject, Autism masking is said to consist of two classes of behavior:[4] Camouflaging: attempting to hide or obscure Autistic traits in order to “blend in” with neurotypicals. The main goal of camouflage is to avoid detection as disabled. Compensation: using specific strategies to “overcome” challenges and impairments related to disability . The main goal of compensation is to maintain the appearance of high, independent functioning.” [Page 104](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=104&annotation=N78FV32Y) ^f45d40 - "A person might camouflage their auditory sensitivities by gritting their teeth through the pain and never complaining about it, or they might compensate for it by wearing subtle noise-canceling earbuds that don’t stand out as unusual.” [Page 105](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=105&annotation=ZXSHFHAL) ^664e31 - "Most of us have to mask everything from our information processing style, to our lack of coordination, to our limited food preferences, to the fact that we require more rest than neurotypical people are expected to. Masking shapes the fields we work in, how we dress and carry ourselves, where we live. Many maskers choose careers that allow them to hide their exe” [Page 105](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=105&annotation=VNPHQWIF) ^c0060d - "Many Autistic people who work in tech gravitate to the field because Autism spectrum traits are somewhat normalized there.” [Page 106](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=106&annotation=IWPCJMUG) - "Masked Autistics tend to arrange our lives around our limitations and needs, and sacrifice anything that might demand too much energy out of us. An impressive resume or academic transcript might hide the fact our homes are messy, our hair is unbrushed, and we haven’t socialized with anybody recreationally in months. In a few key areas we may appear to be functioning highly, but that façade requires we let everything else in life fall apart.” [Page 106](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=106&annotation=L5YB9G9D) ^607073 - "My friend Jess once described their compensation this way: “It’s like going to the grocery store, but only being able to bring home what you can sneak into your pockets when nobody is looking. And everybody else gets to just go through the checkout and buy as much as they want, so they don’t understand why you find shopping stressful.”” [Page 106](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=106&annotation=I557IGAD) - "Psychiatrists and psychologists have always defined Autism by how the disability impacts neurotypical people. A more “severely” Autistic person is not necessarily a person who experiences more interior suffering, but rather someone who suffers in a more disruptive, annoying, or disturbing way. The Autistic children who present the biggest hassle are the ones most likely to be referred to services, whereas those who can conceal their struggles are granted tentative approval—but risk never being understood or empathized with.” [Page 107](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=107&annotation=ZEBJLCQP) ^5ecead - "Despite how loathed ABA is by Autistic people, the parents and teachers of Autistic kids tend to love it, and research broadly deems it “effective.” This is because the efficacy of the program is based on the neurotypical gaze, not how the Autistic child feels. ABA does teach Autistic kids to quiet down and be less annoying and “weird.” The problem is, it does so by training them to hate themselves and obey all adults. It’s akin to evaluating how “effective” a depression treatment is by asking the depressed person’s boss how they are performing, rather than checking in with the depressed person themselves. Sadly, the comfort and convenience of the neurotypical teachers and parents are prioritized, so ABA remains the one and only “evidence-based” treatment for Autism that most insurance plans will cover. Becoming “well behaved” is more important than being psychologically well.” [Page 109](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=109&annotation=9Y4H8F4F) ^e3ec48 - "For many masked Autistics, the best way to camouflage a socially undesirable quality is to rebound into the complete opposite direction, and overcorrect for anything neurotypical people and institutions have taught us to hate about ourselves. An Autistic person who was mocked for being needy and intense as a child may camouflage as hyperindependent and emotionally avoidant, for example. On the flip side, an Autistic person who has repeatedly been told they are selfish and robotic might instead wear a mask of helpful friendliness, and become a compulsive people-pleaser or teacher’s pet. We internalize many of the values of the ableist society we’re living in, and project those values both at other disabled people and at ourselves” [Page 113](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=113&annotation=7AH3HJIL) ^c84d5f ![[Media/zotero/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022-113-x74-y69.png]] ^9eff23 ![[Media/zotero/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022-114-x76-y70.png]] ^f301b0 ![[Media/zotero/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022-115-x75-y75.png]] ^3ed7fd ![[Media/zotero/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022-116-x79-y91.png]] ^3736ba ![[Media/zotero/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022-120-x78-y72.png]] ^22f30c ![[Media/zotero/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022-121-x66-y163.png]] ^8ccc09 - "One of the most common and subtly debilitating experiences Autistics have is sensory overwhelm. I’ve already described how the bottom-up nature of Autistic sensory processing leads to us being overstimulated and easily distracted by things like ambient noise and visual clutter. There is an additional neurological feature of Autism that contributes to our sensory issues and meltdowns in a significant way—our difficulty adjusting to a stimulus over time. Neurotypical brains engage in sensory adaptation and habituation: the longer they are in the presence of a sound, smell, texture, or visual cue, the more their brain learns to ignore it, and allow it to fade into the background. Their neurons become less likely to be activated by a cue the longer they are around it. The exact opposite is true for Autistic people: the longer we are around a stimulus, the more it bothers us.[2] As I’ve already mentioned, our neurons are also “hyperexcitable,” meaning our senses get set off more easily by small input that neurotypicals don’t even notice, such as a hair falling into our face or a pile of mail being left on our desk. [3] We’re better at noticing small details and changes in our environment,[4] which can be a real advantage for meticulous work (like programming, Thomas’s profession), but we are also more prone to being startled or distracted.” [Page 124](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=124&annotation=2QITWD76) ^3d4c02 - "Sensory overload can look like a temper tantrum or a crying fit, it can take the form of a shutdown or meltdown, or it can present as the Autistic person becoming confused and responding to questions in routinized or nonsensical ways. Sensory overload makes it hard to complete complex tasks, think through things rationally, or manage emotions. When we’re overloaded, we become irritable, or filled with despair; we might even start self-harming to get an endorphin rush or ground ourselves. Our bodies are visibly tense with anxiety, and we’re difficult to engage with during these times. What nonAutistic folks often don’t realize is that Autistic people experience intense sensory input as if it were physical pain.” [Page 124](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=124&annotation=US45KWBW) ^178a06 - "Autism isn’t a disorder that needs to be treated, but most Autistic people do have mental health struggles related to living in an unaccepting neurotypical world.” [Page 127](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=127&annotation=RMMVLI6Q) - "“I knew innately from a very young age I find life harder than other people,” they say, “but there was never any reason. It was always just you are lazy; you are being lazy.” Dorian says they had many clear Asperger’s Syndrome traits. They inhaled books and sat off alone in the corner at family gatherings. They spoke “like a thesaurus” and did well on IQ tests, but found daily classwork hard to keep up with. But like so many other masked Autistics, they were seen as a “girl,” and were assumed to be gifted and a little weird, rather than disabled. “My parents were told, there’s nothing wrong with your kid.... Your child is going to go far! Your child has nothing that’s going to ever get in their way.” Many masked Autistics are sent to gifted education as children, instead of being referred to disability services.[18] Our apparent high intelligence puts us in a double bind: we are expected to accomplish great things to justify our oddness, and because we possess an enviable, socially prized quality, it’s assumed we need less help than other people, not more. Dorian couldn’t handle the pressure of such high expectations, or the lack of compassion. So they began to self-harm.” [Page 129](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=129&annotation=5LEUVA9A) - "Clinical research has found that somewhere between 20 and 37 percent of diagnosed anorexia nervosa sufferers are Autistic.” [Page 131](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=131&annotation=XLGP4R8E) ^e66222 - "can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard an Autistic person say they wish they could just be a floating brain in a jar, or a dark, sentient mist with no physical form. It’s a common neurodivergent fantasy, because our bodies can seem so at odds with what the world wants them to be.” [Page 132](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=132&annotation=BX3QJK9E) - "Research shows that most Autistic people have a reduced sense of the body’s warning signals, or interoception” [Page 134](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=134&annotation=ELA7L8CG) ^d75402 - "Though Autistic people tend to be hypersensitive to sensory input, most are relatively numb to physical pain.[33] It may sound paradoxical, but it makes sense when you recall the research showing that Autistic brains are generally detail oriented and hyperexcitable. When my shirt gets untucked, I cannot stand the little burst of cool air I feel hitting my belly. It’s a persistent, small stimulus that is too annoying to ignore. Yet I’ve walked for miles with bleeding fissures on my heels and barely felt a thing. M” [Page 134](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=134&annotation=MFQA736Y) ^fbe5c9 - "Many of us become quite adept at ignoring pain, just as we neglect our own hunger or thirst.” [Page 135](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=135&annotation=9224GVIC) ^655240 - "Unfortunately, this isn’t just true of physical pain. It extends to emotional pain, too. Research by psychologist Geoff Bird indicates that about half of all Autistics suffer from alexithymia,[34] or the inability to recognize and name emotions.[35] For those of us with alexithymia, we may know in a vague way that we’re distressed, but might not be able to name a specific feeling like jealousy or resentment. We also struggle to figure out why we’re feeling emotions. This trait is yet another reason that neurotypicals stereotype us as unfeeling and detached.” [Page 135](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=135&annotation=UIFG4E72) ^88a5e3 - "Because Autistic people often struggle to look after our bodies or to recognize and advocate for our needs, work, school, and other social settings can be incredibly painful for us to navigate. An oft-cited statistic claims that 85 percent of Autistic adults are unemployed,[36] though higherquality cross-sectional research puts the number closer to 40 percent.” [Page 136](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=136&annotation=KZ7RBVDD) ^623247 - "Digital work and gaming are incredibly appealing to Autistic people’s brains. Online and in games, cause and effect are clearer than in “real” life. [41] It’s easy to ignore subtext or nonverbal cues and focus only on shared tasks and clear, measurable outcomes. In digital communication, Autistic people get the time we need to carefully process a message, google any terms that are unfamiliar , and carefully reflect on how we might want to respond.” [Page 136](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=136&annotation=DHERUHG6) - "However, excessive and compulsive internet use and gaming can prove damaging to Autistic people and inhibit our social connections and development.” [Page 136](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=136&annotation=JJAIZWC7) - "It’s important for Autistic people to be aware of the warning signs of psychological manipulation, because we are at an elevated risk of being targeted by organizations (and even informal social groups) that employ such methods.” [Page 141](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=141&annotation=T7J343C5) ^1ae205 ![[Media/zotero/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022-141-x68-y65.png]] ^6aab4a - "Most Autistic people never become radicalized by hate groups, of course, and it would be both ableist and ethically troubling to claim someone’s disability excuses their adopting a racist, sexist, transphobic ideology. However, it’s important for each of us to recognize how a mix of social exclusion, Autistic hyperfocus and rule-abiding, and cultlike programming can blend to taint a vulnerable person’s thinking. When you have never been able to move through the world comfortably , you’ll seek relief and meaning where you can get it. For a subset of Autistic people, that means falling into abusive, cultlike communities. For others, it takes the form of rationalizing or excusing abuse in private relationships.” [Page 142](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=142&annotation=XZ7LT495) ^4cd263 - "Many of us mask through compulsive people pleasing and compliance.” [Page 142](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=142&annotation=NPE3KTJ7) ^220c3c - "In the average person’ s mind, there is a singular image of how Autism presents in adults: a genius, almost always a man, who is blunt and direct to the point of cruelty. To avoid embodying this trope, Autistic people fold ourselves into all kinds of accomm odating shapes. We do what we can to not seem difficult, cruel, or self-absorbed. We internalize the message that talking about ourselves and our interests bores other people, that we’re socially inept and bad at reading emotions, and that our sensory needs make us big babies who never stop complaining. For fear of becoming a Sherlock , we morph ourselves into Watsons: agreeable, docile, passive to a fault, always assuming that the larger personalities around us know what’s best.” [Page 143](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=143&annotation=28JCWU9H) - "Masked Autistics are frequently compulsive people pleasers. We present ourselves as cheery and friendly , or nonthreatening and small. Masked Autistics are also particularly likely to engage in the trauma response that therapist Pete Walker describes as “fawning.”[53] Coping with stress doesn’t always come down to fight versus flight; fawning is a response designed to pacify anyone who poses a threat. And to masked Autistics, social threat is just about everywhere. “Fawn types avoid emotional investment and potential disappointment by barely showing themselves,” Walker writes, “by hiding behind their helpful personas, over-listenin g, over-eliciting or overdoing for the other.”[54] Walker notes that by never revealing their own needs or discomfort with other people, fawners spare themselves the risk of rejection. But they also fail to connect with people in any meaningful way. It’s a lonesome state to live in. It’s also deeply draining. Many masked Autistic adults struggle to balance full-time work with social lives or hobbies at all because maintaining a conciliatory mask for eight hours per day is just too labor intense to have energy for anything else.” [Page 143](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=143&annotation=88VQ6TBA) ^e4cad6 ![[Media/zotero/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022-144-x63-y98.png]] ^794a27 - All but number 2, i've learned over time how to just "NO" people - "Autistic people are at an increased risk of domestic abuse, in part because we tend to be a bit gullible or overly trusting, and are quick to alter ourselves to placate others.[58] When you’re trapped under the mask, all love feels conditional. It’s hard to know which needs are acceptable to voice. It’s also easy for us to feel responsible for serving as an intermediary or peacekeeper when any tension arises between other people, because for us, conflict can be very dangerous.” [Page 145](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=145&annotation=YMTWKY34) ^27ebc6 - "One common fawning tactic among Autistics is mirroring: lightly mimicking the actions and emotions of another person, trying to meet the energy they are giving off so that they view us as normal and similar to themselves. However, paying close attention to a person’s actions and feelings and then mimicking it as best you can is a very cognitively draining and distracting endeavor.” [Page 145](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=145&annotation=BK3PLHL2) ^e1d173 - "In fact, these results suggest that all the attention we put toward masking our own emotions and mirroring another person’s contributes to our struggles with empathy in the first place.” [Page 146](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=146&annotation=DH5WCXIP) ^081f97 - "It wasn’t that their efforts had never been enough, or that they were fundamentally wrong or bad. They simply hadn’t been treated with the compassion they deserved, or given the tools that would have allowed them to flourish.” [Page 148](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=148&annotation=R6KIH94A) - "Finally, unmasking demands that we look back on our past selves with a spirit of grace, gradually learning to see that the sides of ourselves that we were told were too loud, too stilted, too weird, or too much are actually completely fine, even wonderful, and absolutely deserving of love.” [Page 149](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=149&annotation=2MUKGP7R) - "Hand flapping is one of the most common Autistic stims. It’s such a well-known, visible sign of Autism that training children to have “quiet hands” is one of the foremost goals of ABA therapy .[1] Though hand flapping is harmless and not disruptive, neurotypical people recognize it instantly as a sign of disability—and therefore punish it harshly.” [Page 150](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=150&annotation=RM8JTLEY) ^e5a296 - "He wasn’t a muscular guy. Like many Autistic s,[2] Trevor had a reduced muscle tone relative to most of the neurotypicals he knew. He walked with a hunched posture and had reedy upper arms. B” [Page 151](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=151&annotation=PUW5WC6H) - "The early 1990s were an era when people commonly believed that a kid’s Autism ruined their family’s lives. An oft-quo ted (and entirely incorrect)[5] statistic from that period claimed that parents of Autistic children had a divorce rate of 80 percent.” [Page 152](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=152&annotation=RHGF5LH2) - "Though Autistic people are stereotyped as lacking empathy, it’s frequently non-Autistic teachers and caregivers of Autistic children who fail to reflect on their interior experience, and the motives and feelings that make their behavior make sense.” [Page 152](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=152&annotation=JRSR5EWA) ^a7218d - "however, there is essentially no research into how to reduce self-stigma in Autistics. What little data does exist is on helping the abled family members of Autistic children to feel less shame about being related to someone disabled.” [Page 154](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=154&annotation=KBMK25BW) - "review by Corrigan, Kosyluk, and Rush (2013) concluded that for a variety of people with mental illnesses, coming out proudly about one’s disability and presenting it as a valuable part of one’s identity helped reduce self-stigma’s impact” [Page 154](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=154&annotation=8TE79Z49) - "In general, most research does show that proudly owning one’s disability can have a big impact on how people feel—and it can change the attitudes of the neurotypical people around us.” [Page 154](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=154&annotation=N363GLZS) - "“When kids get told that they’re too sensitive, that their reactions to things are wrong, that really messes with them. But sensitive is not bad. If we were talking about a metal detector , sensitive would be good. Or a bomb-sniffing dog. You want a good instrument to be sensitiv e. Why is it bad to be very skilled at sniffing out the emotional bombs in the environment?” Bobbi was emotionally astute, even as a child. Their family disliked how skillfully they picked up on emotional manipulation, neglect, and abuse. “Sensitivity,” despite being a sign of attentiveness and discernment, is frowned upon when you’re good at detecting things people would rather you not see.” [Page 155](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=155&annotation=UBKV28RK) - "When it comes to special interests, Autistic brains are total sponges, absorbing facts and figures at a rate that seems kind of inhuman to neurotypical people.” [Page 160](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=160&annotation=NGWAML6H) ^774f6d - "The mental health costs of preventing Autistic children from enjoying their special interests are immense. Having the freedom to develop and express special interests is linked to improved social, emotional, and even fine motor development.” [Page 161](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=161&annotation=6Z5GPJSP) ^a59770 - "In a study of internet habits, researchers Johnson and CaldwellHarris (2012) found that Autistic adults actually had a greater variety of interests and more numerous interests than their non-Autistic peers, and made far more social media posts about their interest that were designed to provoke conversation, compared to neurotypical people.” [Page 162](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=162&annotation=FNLK4KAL) ^7e6445 - "being Autistic in a neurotypical world is often traumatizing,” [Page 169](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=169&annotation=R96BHU8P) - "he didn’t know why he was so adept at scanning through facts and developing systems that helped organize them, or why he could absorb new languages like a sponge. He just naturally gravitated to work that gave him ample time to sit alone, processing information.” [Page 170](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=170&annotation=3PG2CMNA) - "Experimental research shows that many Autistic people have trouble ignoring visual “noise,” to the degree it really disrupts our processing. [2] Clutter can erode our focus, making it hard for us to think clearly or regulate our emotions.” [Page 179](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=179&annotation=SJZDM4QY) - "That said, not all Autistic people are well suited to minimalism . Marta Rose observes that objects carry a very strong significance for Autistic people, so tidying our living spaces up and throwing things away can be very difficult.[5] Many of us identify with the items we love, and even feel a degree of empathy for them, as if they were alive. Psychologi sts call this phenomenon object personification, and Autistics exhibit it at an elevated rate compared to the neurotypical population.[6] We also tend to connect emotionally with animals more readily than people, which can also influence how our home environments should be arranged.” [Page 180](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=180&annotation=58HQL29S) - "Algedra Interior Design is a Dubai-based interior design firm that has consulted with Autistic people and families to develop a handful of divergent design best practices.” [Page 181](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=181&annotation=RLNMIU5K) - "Sue has been able to shape her life around the fact she’s very efficient, and has little patience for activities she perceives as a waste of time.” [Page 183](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=183&annotation=6GAYKWYY) - "As we’ve repeatedly discussed in this book, research shows Autistic people pay much closer attention to small details than neurotypical people do, particularly when they have the cognitive energy to do so, and in the workplace that can have real benefits. [11] Many tech companies actively recruit Autistic employees because we have a reputation for doing thorough work.” [Page 184](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=184&annotation=IBWN9E7S) - "The sleep-wake cycles of Autistic adults also differ, on average, from the circadian rhythms of neurotypicals, [13] and many of us experience sleep disorders.” [Page 184](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=184&annotation=238SFXBZ) ^e2ccc8 - "One reason that we may need more sleep than others is just how tiring it is for us to be in the world. Sensory overload, social overwhelm, and the pressures of masking all significantly drain our batteries.” [Page 184](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=184&annotation=VP9268ZL) ^0056c3 - "Autistic sex educator and researcher Stevie Lang describes how intense focus on a special interest can itself be restorative:” [Page 185](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=185&annotation=B3TNXUG6) ^7ca3a8 - "Autistic people don’t necessarily thrive in judiciously balanced days where rest, work, and play are parceled out in equal amounts. Some of us operate best on boom-and-bust cycles of intense hyperfocus followed by recuperation time.” [Page 186](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=186&annotation=77XCTILQ) ^6a4cae - "Engaging our special interests is an important part of maintaining Autistic people’s mental health;” [Page 186](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=186&annotation=C6L7G4KN) ^1be739 - "We don’t complete discrete projects. We build worlds.” [Page 187](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=187&annotation=IRYWRDZU) ^e21084 ![[Media/zotero/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022-188-x60-y551.png]] - "Many neurodiverse people suffer from Autistic inertia.[24] The same heightened focus that makes us so good at studying our special interests for hours also makes it challenging for us to get off the couch and attend to the overflowing trash. To an external, neurotypical observer, it doesn’t look like we’re struggling. It just looks like we’re being “lazy.” A” [Page 189](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=189&annotation=WPC872X5) ^4f384f - "Autistic people are constantly having to invent our own unique ways of getting things done. We use extensive research, digital tools, and a variety of little sneaks and cheats to brute-force our way through activities that NT people don’t even think about.” [Page 190](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=190&annotation=5IY2LXD3) - "don't tell me how to do it, tell me what the end goal is so i can figure out how to do it my way" - "I don’t know any neurotypical people who sit at home googling how to pronounce words like bouillabaisse or injera so they don’t seem “weird” at a restaurant. But for Autistics, this level of scripting and pre-planning is normal.” [Page 190](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=190&annotation=X2WGA8ES) - "For masked Autistic people, knowing “too much” or thinking about something too deeply is seen as suspect. People find it calculating or creepy for us to put more effort into something they never grant a passing thought.” [Page 191](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=191&annotation=EEFZCCZ5) ^95fd95 - "Autism isn’t always as visually obvious as using a wheelch air, but research shows there are many subtle markers of our difference that neurotypical people do pick up on, though not always consciously. Sasson and colleagues (2017), for example, found that neurotypical people quickly and subconsciously identify that a stranger is Autistic, often within milliseconds of meeting them.[29] They don’t realize that they’ve identified the person as Autistic, though; they just think the person is weird. Participants in the study were less interested in engaging in conversation with Autistic people and liked them less than non-Autistics, all based on a brief moment of social data. It’s also important to point out that the Autistic people in this study didn’t do anything “wrong”; their behavior was perfectly socially appropriate, as was the content of their speech. Though they tried their damnedest to present as neurotypical, their performance had some key tells, and was just slightly “off,” and they were disliked because of it.” [Page 195](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=195&annotation=4EBVURG5) - "psychologists McAndrew and Koehnke (2016) asked 1,341 respondents to answer questions about which personal qualities and behaviors they associated with “creepy” people,” [Page 195](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=195&annotation=VDASIIW4) - "Sopeaking for too long about a single topic, and not knowing when to end a conversation .” [Page 195](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=195&annotation=ABU385BE) - "A series of experiments by social psychologists Leander, Chartrand, and Bargh (2012) found that when a person engages in social mirroring in an even slightly inappropriate way, it skeeves people out, and even makes them feel physically colder. [31] A little bit of mimicry is normal among friends. People mirror one another ’s postures and mannerisms as they get comfortable and fall into sync. But if you mirror someone too much, or at the wrong time, these studies show you can literally give other people the chills. Autistic maskers try really hard to mirror other people, but since we can’t do it as fluently and effortlessly as neurotypicals do, we often unwittingly set off NT’s creep-dars.” [Page 195](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=195&annotation=N5LCIXRY) ^ac267c - [[The Uncanny Valley]]? - "Having an explanation for the Autistic person’s oddness helped the creeped-out feeling go away. Follow-up research by Sasson and Morrison (2019) confirmed that when neurotypical people know that they’re meeting an Autistic person, first impressions of them are far more positive, and after the interaction neurotypicals express more interest in learning about Autism. [32] Radical visibility has its rewards.” [Page 196](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=196&annotation=BZCDV7ZT) - "Autistic people tend to love infodumping (sharing knowledge with other people as a means of bonding), we miss social cues that seem obvious to others, and we tend to speak in monotonous voices that are read as dry or sarcastic. A lot of us find the natural flow of conversation challenging, either interrupting people at the “wrong” times, or failing to jump in during a fast-paced exchange and being left out entirely .” [Page 202](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=202&annotation=XWPIV6KG) ^1c8104 - "In many ways, masking is psychologically similar to codependency, a relational pattern of seeking to manage or control the reactions and emotions of other people that usually results from abuse.” [Page 203](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=203&annotation=H3EWBDRY) ^866fb9 - "Maskers tend to get very distressed when people are unhappy with us, because disapproval has been so dangerous and painful for us in the past. Many of us will do nearly anything to keep other people satisfied. Learning to tolerate the distress of upsetting someone is crucial to developing reliable self-advocacy skills. Maskers are highly dependent on the opinions and feelings of other people. We bend over backward to make life easy for neurotypicals and the people we care about, we hide facets of ourselves that are distracting, weird, or inconvenient, and we become hypervigilant about tracking people for signs of disapproval.” [Page 203](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=203&annotation=RA7TDCR5) ^7ff794 - "A recent study by Romualdez and colleagues asked Autistic adults about their experiences self-disclosing in professional settings.[2] The authors found that while most Autistics “came out” with the hope of getting workplace accommodations and being treated more patiently , 45 percent said the decision did not benefit them. Though relatively few people in this sample reported being mistreated after coming out as Autistic, many confessed that it didn’t change anything about how they were treated, and only left them feeling more vulnerable. On the flip side, 40.4 percent of respondents said that coming out was a net positive, either because their supervisor was open to accommodating them or because coworkers were understanding and appreciative.” [Page 205](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=205&annotation=4CS2GN97) - "Developmental psychology research has observed that Autistic people often have insecure attachments to other people, beginning from a very young age” [Page 211](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=211&annotation=BM2CGH5B) ^00fbb0 - "One way that an insecure attachment style sometimes manifests in Autistic adults is feeling discomfort when receiving praise or attention. You may not even recognize the positive attention you’re getting is socially appropriate, because you’re so used to being mocked or picked apart, or else being swallowed up in intense or abusive relationships.” [Page 213](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=213&annotation=SWWAI877) ^54a38a - "It’s challenging for Autistic people to tell the difference between friends who genuinely like us, and superficial acquaintances who are responding favorably to our masks.” [Page 214](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=214&annotation=HGLKN4R4) ^e0ebd5 - "Neuroscientists have observed that Autistic brains continue to develop in areas associated with social skills for far longer than neurotypical brains are believed to.” [Page 216](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=216&annotation=GJ46VI9Y) - "Autistic people usually prefer explicit, clear messages that don’t rely on tone or nonverbal cues. We like having specific expectations laid out for us, and being given many opportunities to ask questions and clarify meaning. When we share these needs with the allistic people around us, our relationships can open up, allowing for much greater depth and breadth of connection. When we accept the unique features and strengths of our communication style, we can also feel a lot less socially inept and disempowered.” [Page 217](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=217&annotation=HW6YX3CD) - "More times than I can count, I’ve spoken up during a work meeting to ask what the actual point of the meeting is. In both academia and political organizing, it’s quite common for people to call a meeting when they have a loose sense that something needs to be done, but aren’t sure exactly what that something is yet, or how to accomplish it. My overly analytic Autistic brain yearns for structure, and my social anxiety and sensory issues mean I want most meetings to end as quickly as humanly possible. So, when the conversation seems to have lost the plot and people are talking in circles, I tend to jump into an unofficial facilitator role. If someone dances around expressing reservations, I try to understand their perspective and voice my own concerns explicitly. If someone behaves inappropriately or is offensive without realizing it, I redirect when I can. Many Autistic people can skillfully put their “little professor” and masking instincts to good use in situations like these, taking the tools they once used to placate and deescalate and putting them toward more prosocial ends.” [Page 220](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=220&annotation=EB5YDFTQ) - "Though Autistic people have a reputation for being “bad” at communicating, the data shows that really isn’t the case. A study by Crompton et al. published in 2019 found that when two Autistic people were paired together to work on a task, they were very efficient social communicators. They spread a lot of knowledge and nuance in a short span of time, completed the task quickly, and connected to one another easily.[12] However, when paired with non-Autistic conversation partners, Autistics were frequently misunderstood and not listened to. This study suggests that much of what researchers consider the “social deficits” of Autism aren’t really deficits at all; they’re just differences in our communication style that neurotypicals don’t adjust to.” [Page 221](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=221&annotation=I43UTI74) ^dccc44 - "One of the most liberating realizations I’ve made as an out Autistic person is that it’s not harmful for me to ask questions, interject when needed, or be honest about how I feel. When you tell people what you want and need, you actually stand a chance of getting it. You also free up other people to express their needs more openly, too.” [Page 222](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=222&annotation=TUNWFGQJ) - "The voice in my head that tells me it’s pathetic that I don’t cook is not my voice; it’s society programming, speaking from within me, and I don’t have to listen to it. Instead, I can call forth the side of myself that loves reading, writing, dance parties, and video games, and acknowledge that if eating a lot of snacks and fast food gives me more time to honor that person, it’s a worthwhile trade. I can also take time to remind myself that I live in a world that exalts hyperindependence to a ridiculous, isolating degree. Throughout history and across many different cultures, most individuals did not cook for themselves.[13] Food was prepared communally, or by specialized workers, because it was a labor-intensive, time-intensive task. Fast food and street carts have existed since ancient times!” [Page 224](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=224&annotation=5Y3D8PE6) - "The genderqueer group’s rules and procedures also seemed to be tailormade for Autistic people and our communication needs. Moderators provided a specific discussion topic each week and articulated specific rules about how to know when to speak, how to respect other people’ s boundaries, and what to do and say if someone accidentally said something offensive.” [Page 230](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=230&annotation=2EFLTHMJ) - "As Reese Piper put it, “It’s neurotypicals who categorized autism as a social disorder.” Autistic people don’t actually lack communication skills, or a drive to connect. We aren’t doomed to forever feel lonely and broken. We can step out of the soul-crushing cycle of reaching for neurotypical acceptance and being rejected despite our best efforts. Instead, we can support and uplift one another , and create our own neurodiverse world where everyone—including neurotypicals—is welcome” [Page 234](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=234&annotation=MTG79YGQ) # <++> - "Many people who are categor ized today as disabled or mentally ill might have functioned just fine outside of an industrialized capitalist economy. Someone who might thrive as a hunter, midwife, storyteller, or seamstress in a more interdepe ndent society may appear dysfunctional if trapped in an office. In fact, some genomic evidence suggests that when humans moved away from hunter-gatherer -based societies and toward agrarian (and later, industrial) ones, alleles that predict neurodivergence became a disadvantage.[7] For example, in societies where daily life offered less stimulation and novelty than a life of hunting and gathering did, ADHD traits turned disadvantageous. Some researchers have theorized that the same is true of Autism, but much of the research on the subject is quite poorly done, because it assumes Autism must have always been a pathology and an impairment to reproductive success.[8] We don’t really have good reason to believe that is true across all societies and all periods of time, though. Our ways of living and of caring for each other are so numerous, and haven’t always been as atomized as they are today.” [Page 243](zotero://open-pdf/library/items/4FVV83G5?page=243&annotation=8BTZSIFP) ![[Media/zotero/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022/priceUnmaskingAutismDiscovering2022-253-x69-y183.png]] ## Summary of key points: - ## Context: %%(How this article relates to other work in the field; how it ties in with key issues and findings by others, including yourself)%% - ## Significance: %%(to the field; in relation to your own work)%% - ## Important Figures and/or Tables: %%(brief description; page number)%% - ## Cited References %%to follow up on (cite those obviously related to your topic AND any papers frequently cited by others because those works may well prove to be essential as you develop your own work):%% - ## Other Comments: - %% Import Date: 2023-06-12T21:03:36.166-07:00 %%