SeekingRadicalJoy

@KatyElphinstone @MxOolong @KierenRose Have followed, thank you!

@Radical__Joy @MxOolong and @KierenRose

Who are the #actuallyautistic elders? The community leaders? The people who can influence? What is our community structure? Why has no one hyperfocussed the shit out of this? We need to skills share and share mutual aid and coregulate to survive.

@Learn_DoBetter @SophWilliams28 @NeuroSurvivor Yes I appreciate the extra context. The partnering part is that the need has to be heard and validated and something needs doing, to prevent further dysregulation and escalation.

@Radical__Joy @SophWilliams28 @NeuroSurvivor I'd add to this that maybe they have expressed their needs and they are being ignored. The more needs (expressed or not) are ignored, the more distressed/frustrated a person gets. The more distressed/frustrated a person is, the more difficult it is to clearly communicate.

@AmyEBrown3 @peaso19 Reframe: “what & who exists now” with a view to mapping the mycelium of existing experience, knowledge, “power”, skills, gaps, resources. Through our neurodivergent lens, there will still be folks doing the leading, by doing it first or doing it at all. Who are they?

@Radical__Joy @peaso19 Curious that you are looking for "leaders"? Autistic people don't tend to congregate in leader / follower fashion the same way allistics do. #AutisticElders will have wisdom to share in different areas.

@adamisafox @EChickentender This! What if we could self identify autists / neurodivergents who need support… right now I know a lot of folks who need help, and there’s lots of help out there, but the two sides can’t find each other.

@MegaliArkouda I can identify! Imagine a space where it was special interest focussed and there’s a tool for communicating what help you need and the group can then collectively redistribute tasks and resources. What exists now needs ‘mapping’ so it can be formed with intention.

@reesedixon That’s what I’m seeking. Where has it worked, where does it not work. Can it be acknowledged and shared so ‘new entrants’ (there’s a lot of us coming) feel grounded in the history, the reality of who already exists in the space. So the transition is not as clunky as I’m seeing.

@Radical__Joy Most of them get bullied and threatened off of social media when they gain a certain level of platform. The people I followed when my son was small were all pseudonyms and now quiet. This work has been dangerous, but seems to be getting better thanks to numbers.

@socialautiste What if it was support and knowledge sharing rather than authority?

@Radical__Joy I am averse to any forms of authority.

@FlorenceOfLabia Who are the activists everyone should know about?

@HammerUK9 My (undiagnosed) autistic child had constant car sickness as a baby, he hated the car seat. Still gets car sick at 9yrs. Lots of my very neurodivergent family do too.

#ActuallyAutistic people: Do you get carsick? All the time? In specific seats? Other specific circumstances? I’d love to know!

@illcrydonttryme Just to be clear, it was a flippant joke at the time. I’m keen to get the picture of how things are, to understand, to document, to share, to adapt or tear down etc

@mightbeautistic @BiggMattWeaford @awesomebrandi @commaficionado @send_plight @aclientfirst @ekverstania @amboinreallife @BecauseIMatter Glad to have you be signal boosted. Thanks!

Reminder of why #journalling is great for #rejectionsensitivitydisphoria coping: Post meltdown, go back to the journal… “We exist as a million versions in others heads… none of them are accurate.” Inhale. I can tolerate being misunderstood. Exhale. #ActuallyAutistic #RSD

@KatyElphinstone @AutisticNW No need to be sorry in the slightest!!! I only said in case I’m you went on a thread deep dive. Really no need, you’ve already been more than helpful. And I’m twittered out 🤯

@Radical__Joy @AutisticNW Sorry for not reading your further tweets...

@KatyElphinstone @AutisticNW @johnnyprofane1 A new favourite already!

@Radical__Joy @AutisticNW Oh, fabulous! It's hard to say how old people are is the thing.... Most people don't put up profile pictures and so on. On-the-fly another person I would highly recommend this @johnnyprofane1 (Great talks and vids)

@KatyElphinstone @AutisticNW Super! I’ve tweeted a few clarifications / expansions on what I meant by elders. Essentially tell me about people you rate with experience or solid opinions so I can assimilate more info pls :)

@Radical__Joy How old do you have to be to be an elder? 😋 I have seen many incredible people on here, & other platforms, influencing like crazy - hard to tell how old they are but seem to have a lot of experience and to be really effective. Just an example who I've just RTed, @AutisticNW

@essie_is_okay Absolutely not what I meant, and I truly hate that the same words can have so many different readings. I have spent way more time than I wanted to making sure that my intentions are clear, respecting elders and survivors matters to me very much.

@Radical__Joy That would have been much better wording yes. Your meaning does not come across in your other words. It sounds like you are saying that no one has done any work to make information for new autistics which isn't true. But I will accept that it was miscommunication.

@Radical__Joy It's not assumption, it's what you wrote. Listen and be respectful of the people who have done the work you claimed doesn't exist.

@essie_is_okay I need to say this again. I did not tell Cal (who I had no context for at the time) that the work had not been done. I did not say that and I would not say that.

@Radical__Joy I am not angry at you. I am just telling you that your actions have been disrespectful and ignorant. Do with that information what you will. It's not an attack. It's a constructive criticism. It's rude to tell a person (like Cal) that the work isn't done.

@essie_is_okay And I’m not angry either. But one sentence has been misread I’ve been put in Twitter stocks for an hour. I know it’s minor, it really is, I’m sorry that I didn’t stop replying to messages. Being misunderstood is naturally very difficult.

@essie_is_okay Because the meaning to me is the same. The words are different. I can’t control how my words are interpreted. And it was an off the cuff tweet. I had like 10 followers. I would have chosen my words different in a different context. But I haven’t said what you think I’ve said.

@Radical__Joy This is you saying work hasn't been done.