Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis

@ayannasanaa.bsky.social

2.5K followers 460 following 4.3K posts

💜Award Winning Autism Avocate💜 Autistic/Artist/Theater/Author/Dreamer Seen on earth 🦋 Please share pinned post 🫶🏽♾️ Host of Black Girl Diagnosed Podcast 🎙️ Www.linktree.com/phenomenallyautistic

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Pinned

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · Sep 8

phenomenallyautistic.substack.com/p/why-race-a...

Why Race and Autism Cannot Be Separated in Lived Experience

The comment (below from a substack user) suggests that being Black and being autistic are “two different things that don’t have a significant effect on each other.” This statement overlooks the realit...

phenomenallyautistic.substack.com

1 15 25

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 2h

I was supposed to post my books more this week but so far that has been a fail lmao I’ve been so distracted 😂

Reposted by 🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis

RetroPipes @retropipes.org · 5h

For me I have a strong tendency to either over express my emotions or strongly suppress them. This, combined with my tendency to detach emotionally from my thoughts, is partly why I'm so hard to relate with at times, as this concept is completely foreign to those without autism.

1 1

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 6h

If an autistic person tells you they're in pain, believe us even if we look calm, smile, or keep talking. Masking isn’t just social it’s how many of us survive in bodies & systems that weren’t built for us

1 12 43

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 6h

I’m up to 5 autoimmune diseases 😕

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 6h

Internalizing pain isn’t strength it’s survival. Many autistic folks bottle distress to stay “acceptable” in a neurotypical world. But over time, this costs us burnout, shutdowns, and health issues are the price 👌🏽

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 6h

4 19

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 6h

Autistic pain is often invisible. We may not scream, cry, or flinch the “expected” way. That doesn’t mean we’re not in pain it means we’ve learned it’s safer to hide it than risk being dismissed, judged, or punished.

1 2 7

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 6h

Autistic people often internalize pain because we’re taught early that our reactions are “too much.” So we mask. We hold it in. But pain doesn’t disappear it just goes quiet until it becomes too loud to ignore…

4 13

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 6h

Right

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 7h

When I got diagnosed as autistic the first thing they wanted to do to ‘treat’ me was ECT (Electroconvulsive Therapy) my dad said absolutely the F not 🥴

1 2 6

Reposted by 🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis

Arjen Meijer @amsneek.bsky.social · 7h

And they have absolutely no idea that what they're saying is definitely not a compliment.

1 1

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 7h

😆🫶🏽

Reposted by 🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis

Supernova Momma @supernovaparenting.org · 7h

HERE WE ARE

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 7h

"You don't look autistic ."
Cool. You don't look like someone who says dumb shit, but here we are 🥰💕

Phenomenally autistic in a pink breast cancer awareness shirt that says support squad with the pink breast cancer ribbon her hands on her hip curly hair with 2 small pink bows one on each side

1 11 27

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 7h

🖤🖤🖤🫶🏽

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 7h

"You don't look autistic ."
Cool. You don't look like someone who says dumb shit, but here we are 🥰💕

2 4 40

Reposted by 🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis

Dark Justice @nuggetkbdc.bsky.social · 9h

God yes it sucks so much when someone goes “well this person is autistic and perfectly fine why do you need so much help” like I become barely functional when I get stressed dude idk what you want from me i can’t even talk in that state

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 1d

The way that people don’t understand that autism is a spectrum and some require high support while others do not …

1 2 3

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 9h

www.ktre.com/2025/10/08/m...

Mental health professionals speak on importance of ADHD awareness, how to navigate it

October is ADHD awareness month, and ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that, according to the CDC, affects 11% of children in the us, and 6% of adults...

www.ktre.com

3 2

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 9h

www.fox5atlanta.com/video/1720842

Raising awareness on ADHD

Doctors say at everyone in America knows someone with ADHD, but they want to raise awareness on the over-use of medicine to treat the disorder.

www.fox5atlanta.com

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 9h

Many children with ADHD miss a crucial step in treatment hechingerreport.org/many-childre...

Many children with ADHD miss a crucial step in treatment

Behavior therapy should be a first step for families who have a child with ADHD, but a recent Stanford Medicine study found many children are receiving medication within a month of diagnosis.

hechingerreport.org

4 3

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 10h

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...

Black Girl Diagnosed - Charlotte Bachelor

Podcast Episode · Black Girl Diagnosed · 10/07/2025 · 18m

podcasts.apple.com

1 3

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 10h

The wait is over a new Black Girl Diagnosed episode is here! 🎙️ We’re joined by Charlotte Bachelor, writer + advocate for Black Disabled Women & Girls.
🎧 Listen now on all podcast platforms
📺 Watch on YouTube at 6PM EST

2 4

Reposted by 🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis

Carol Greenburg @autisticenough.bsky.social · 14h

A thousand times THIS. If you care about justice for autistic people, please follow and boost the signal of the truly phenomenal @ayannasanaa.bsky.social

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 2d

If you care about justice for autistic people, start here: 1) Amplify Black autistic women’s voices. 2) Demand bias training in schools/clinics/workplaces. 3) Push for accessible, culturally competent supports. Small changes save lives. Share one action you’ll take today

1 2 3

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 12h

Thank you so very much 🫶🏽

1 1

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 12h

🫶🏽🫶🏽🫶🏽

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 14h

What's not normal,
Is being told you are strong when you really needed support

🦋 Phenomenally Autistic 🦋| Ayanna Sanaa Davis @ayannasanaa.bsky.social · 14h

A pink background with black bubble text that reads: What's not normal,
Is the exhaustion of holding it all together while anxiety sadness eat away behind the mask