autisticemmalyn – Autistic Emmalyn

11Nov 2021 by autisticemmalyn

Weekly Update 11/11/21 – Expectations

Updates

I went into this week with a lot of expectations for events and activities. While not everything worked out how I’d planned, it still turned out very well! A Struggle From This Week This week, I had a lot planned. I was going to finish a woodworking project, try to earn money, and bring Marlowe to my cousins’ to play with their cockatiel. Despite my excitement and planning, not everything happened the way I expected it to. First of all, even though I’d decided I was going to work, I couldn’t think of any projects or things to do that would earn me money. I’m still trying to find another job, so there’s that, but I still need to get paid in the meantime. I found myself with no responses…

08Nov 2021 by autisticemmalyn

Autism and Animals

Feelings

One of the most widely known and frequently discussed symptoms of autism is difficulty with social interactions. Many autistic people may misunderstand cues, struggle to express themselves, and take things literally. As such, it can be hard for an autistic person to navigate communication with other people. However, while autistic people may have trouble interacting with their own species, they may find success with others. In fact, it’s fairly common! Autistic people tend to love animals, and here’s why. First of all, we have huge hearts that long to care for someone, and often a pet or wild creature tends to be a wonderful receiver. Oftentimes, they understand when they are being helped and loved, and they do not hesitate to show gratitude and affection in return. Many autistic people…

04Nov 2021 by autisticemmalyn

Weekly Update 11/4/21 – Simplifying

Updates

Welcome back to another weekly update! This week, I felt overwhelmed by a lot of little happenings, so I spent time simplifying things. A Struggle From This Week On Saturday, I went to rehearsal while having an intense round of PMDD. My PMDD tends to make my autism more sensitive, so I wasn’t feeling great at all. Everyone was chatty and trying to figure out instructions as they were giving them, which resulted in a lot of confusion. I kept forgetting my lines and missing my entrances because the environment was so distracting, plus I was constantly being given wrong directions. It was very frustrating. The next rehearsal would be Monday, so I decided to be independent and take care of myself. I looked through the script and wrote down…

01Nov 2021 by autisticemmalyn

How Autism Affects My Other Conditions

Experiences

Hello everyone. Since autism is not my only disorder, I wanted to share how it affects the symptoms of the other conditions I have. A lot of the time, autism can heighten the feelings of oversensitivity and rejection that these disorders bring on, as well as have unique effects on specific conditions. I want to bring some awareness as to how these comorbidities work and how I try to heal. Generalized anxiety disorder. I have generalized anxiety disorder, meaning that my brain often misinterprets things as being more threatening than they are, causing me to worry excessively. Personally, I’ve found that my autism tends to make me worry more, since I’m already oversensitive to certain stimuli and situations and I often tend to doubt my abilities to make it through…

28Oct 2021 by autisticemmalyn

Weekly Update 10/28/21 – Plans

Updates

Welcome back to another weekly update! This week, I focused a lot on plans. A Struggle From This Week I had several plans for this week, but they all changed one by one. First of all, I had signed up for a costume contest for Saturday that got canceled. Then I was going to hang out with my boyfriend on Tuesday, but I wasn’t feeling well. On Wednesday, my aunt and I had planned to have dinner together and arrange a playdate for our birds, but my sister got sick, so I had to stay home. Today, I’m not feeling well again so I have to miss rehearsal for theater. So many plans and now they’re all gone! It was hard to deal with every time - I had devoted…

21Oct 2021 by autisticemmalyn

Weekly Update 10/21/21 – Stagnation

Updates

Hey everyone! Here’s the weekly update for this week. I’ve been feeling a sense of stagnation in my life recently, so I’ve been trying to combat it by making small, meaningful changes. A Struggle From This Week One of my biggest goals at this time is to save up money to first pay off my student debt and then get a down payment on a house. It’s a huge responsibility, and every little bit counts! However, my current job and side hustles aren’t bringing in as much as I’d like, plus I’ve been struggling with fatigue on-and-off, so I’ve felt useless in my own life. On top of that, I’ve checked off everything on my to-do list and have nothing else to take care of. As someone who likes to…

18Oct 2021 by autisticemmalyn

Autistic Legs

Feelings

Hey everyone! Last week I wrote about autistic arms (aka what we like to do with our arms and why,) so this week, I wanted to continue the topic of autistic mannerisms and talk about autistic legs! Just like with arms, autistic people have certain things that they tend to do with their legs. These behaviors vary between individuals, but it’s important to recognize that they are all for the autistic person’s comfort and should never be discouraged or punished. The first category I’d like to discuss is how autistic people walk. You may have noticed in yourself or others that we often don’t follow the neurotypical pattern of walking. Autistic people have a wide variety of things we like to do with our feet when we walk, such as…

14Oct 2021 by autisticemmalyn

Weekly Update 10/14/21 – Expanding the Environment

Updates

Welcome back to another weekly update! This week, I spent time expanding my environment - that is, taking an atmosphere I was already familiar with and adding new things to it. A Struggle From This Week This week, I started rehearsals for the play I’m in. So far, my castmates and I are getting along pretty well. However, with the majority of them being younger and new to theater, they aren’t as practiced in the art of backstage etiquette. Every time I had to go backstage with my play siblings, they were talking and laughing loudly and playing with props from the last show. It got to a point where they were really distracted and none of us could hear our cues, plus it was interfering with rehearsal onstage. Since…

11Oct 2021 by autisticemmalyn

Autistic Arms

Feelings

Hello everyone! This week I want to talk about an interesting (and rather lighthearted) aspect of autistic life, and that is what we do with our arms! If you’re autistic, you may recognize these behaviors in yourself, and if you know an autistic person, you might notice them in others. It’s important to know that these postures are not negative or harmful - they’re actually quite beneficial to the autistic person and make them feel comfortable. They are perfectly natural and nothing that needs to be changed! Many autistic people like to bend their arms at about a 90 degree angle with their hands out in front of them. Some may droop their wrists. The autistic community has affectionately dubbed this pose “T-Rex arms.” T-Rex arms are good for many…

07Oct 2021 by autisticemmalyn

Weekly Update 10/7/21 – Connections

Updates

Hey everyone! Welcome back to another weekly update. This week, I spent a lot of time trying to connect with myself and others. A Struggle From This Week This week, I struggled with trying to connect with myself. There were things I wanted to do that for whatever reason - fatigue, burnout, lack of motivation - I just couldn’t. I definitely had to listen to myself and try to do what was best for my mental and physical health at the moment, but it was still really frustrating that I didn’t have my to-do list done. I also struggled with figuring out what I wanted, not only in terms of work, but in hobbies as well. Nothing seemed intriguing, but neither did rest. It was difficult trying to decipher all…

Author: autisticemmalyn