And this is frankly why we need more unmasked, authentic autistics in services. I know there's a lot of autistics working in the autism world, but most of them are masking and burnt out. We need to make a better setting for autistic leadership. Nothing about us without us.

I think the big reason I was able to be reasonable was the fact that I knew what it was like to be treated different for being autistic, in a bad way. I treated them different in a respectful way- I communicated with them as a fellow autistic, and I think that built a huge amount of mutual respect.

Key to me being a reasonable adult was treating the kids with dignity and as peers (to a degree), being very flexible, having very high expectations and being frank, letting the small stuff slide, and seeing the big picture of who they were as a person.

A lot of ABA folks, teachers, etc, don't.

Depends on the sandwich. If it's made with dwarf bread (a la Pratchett) it could do some damage.

Loved this. Love that Garth absolutely can not conceive of any metaphor, ever.

I'm a poet who has written over 3k poems, many of which are horror themed, just a horror story in a poem. Went to a poetry gathering, said "I've met poets who use metaphor, and they're all cowards."

They were big mad.

What type of work? Unfortunately I have seen a lot of just awful workers, but something that is frustrating is it has led to me running into difficulties when doing community outings with clients. I had to start wearing my badge constantly due to the harassment.

Especially given a lot of abusers target autistics, they often are raised on compliance and not trained to ID red flags.

Generally bad idea. Don't want to assume control of a person's character in a therapeutic environment and have bad things occur without their consent. Also, I'm not a therapeutic DM. But I generally just have them be 'uhh, standing over there.' a la The Gamers.

You should do that, and highlight local community orgs (like the various Arcs.) The BEST thing parents can do is connect with their local disability advocacy orgs and find the systems navigators and support groups, etc.

While they're still around. (I got DOGE'd.)

Nice, again, looks hella sharp!

Looking sharp dude!! Lmk how it is!

Ok upon listening to it a few more times, nah, it actually really rules. Just took a while to warm up, as I was expecting something Daft Punk Tron Legacy level, but it's definitely something different, and, once I opened myself to it, it's real fun. Not the Daft Punk masterpiece, still great tho.

Hi! Looking forward to playing more Little Kitty Big City!

Fun fact, with that first science presentation, it was an actual presentation on how typical mass spectrometry worked. Although, being Gordon, I didn't really talk about it.

I feel like I've earned my HEV suit, in some way.

Something that kinda hit me. When that first photo was taken, I was just entering a master's degree program to become a science teacher (inspired by Gordon.)

Now, my work's been published in peer reviewed journals. (Not physics, though- it's a framework for using TTRPGs to teach autism advocacy.)

Ayyyy!!