WELECOMEEEE

As u may have gathered from the Home page i am AUTISTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love being autistic and I love being near autisic people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
This is the flag of my beutiful country. autism baby stacking cans.

(sourced from the autism page on wikipedia.)

WHAT AUTISM FEELS LIKE TO ME

THERE ARE SAPPY FEELINGS IN THIS PARAGRAPH. FEEL FREE TO SKIP TO THE FUN STUFF BELOW THIS SECTION

I was not diagnosed until i was 16, so for a lot of my life i felt distinctly "othered" but i had no explanation other than thinking there was something wrong with me. obvs i know thats not true now :p
since i was diagnosed ive been able to better understand and care for myself, and grow my own identity. I met other autistic and worked with autistic kids. I feel a strong sense of community with my people. But i also find myself enraged at times that the general population does not understand me or my people. My goal in life is to make a postivite change for the better of autistic people, no matter how small.
The manifesto "Don't mourn for us" by Jim Sinclair is something i hold close to my heart. read it here
i just love it so much. I know it is intended for neurotypical parents. but it really helped me put words to how i feel exsisting in society. On the topic of relatedness to others the essay says this:

"It takes more work to communicate with someone whose native language isn't the same as yours. And autism goes deeper than language and culture; autistic people are "foreigners" in any society. You're going to have to give up your assumptions about shared meanings. You're going to have to learn to back up to levels more basic than you've probably thought about before, to translate, and to check to make sure your translations are understood. You're going to have to give up the certainty that comes of being on your own familiar territory, of knowing you're in charge, and let your child teach you a little of her language, guide you a little way into his world."

After reading this essay, this is the most succinct way i can describe my identity as an autistic person: I am an alien with no physical home planet, but I can find a home with others like me . This is why community with other autistic people is so important to me. When I work with the kids i just cant help but be amazed and happy to think that, on occasions, every single person in the room is autistic. It makes me feel glad, and like in a way i am helping to provide a make-shift home for others like me. Maybe its dramatic and corny, but i feel so glad when I think about it.

AUTISIC CHARACTERS

Here are some of my favorite character who are either cannonically autistic or autistic-coded.

	-PERIDOT FROM STEVEN UNIVERSE- Ahhh peridot. she is not cannonically autistic, but definetly autistic coded. She was one of the first characters I recall strongly relating to as a child. She will always have a special place in my heartttt. See a fun compilation here
	-ENTRAPTA FROM SHE-RA- Another character i loved in childhood, and related to a lot. She is a socially unaware but sweet and excitable gal... which i gettttt!!! Another compilation here here
	-KIYOTAKA ISHIMARU FROM DANGANRONPA THH- Again, not cannon but Taka is good representation of those of us with very strong morals, and is is very particular about following the rules. He also outright talks about his confusions about socailizing and friendship in his free time events, feel free to watch here
	-GIN FROM YOUR TURN TO DIE- a cannonically autistic little guy!!!! he is hyperfixated on animals and has a certain outfit he wears to feel comfortable. This depiction was really refreshing, and very positive. The other characters respect him and treat him the same both before and after he tells them he is autistic. Lovely game that is free to play and I reccomend it very much.
	-MIKITAKA FROM JOJO'S BIZARRE ADVENTURE- I KNOW its not preferable to have autistic coded characters who are always aliens but.... i really like to imagine mikitaka is autistic. When i was hyperfixated on JJBA i liked him a lot and related to him... I also think the arc of Jouske and Okuyasu at first thinking he is strange, but later coming to understand him better is good. Here's a clip of mikitaka experiencing sensory overwhelm... which i relate to so much.