Hey guys! Welcome back to my blog! I’m 21 now, I had an amazing birthday celebration, and I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Today was also my first day of work. I like the job so far! The staff and kids are all SO nice! For this weeks topic I’ll be talking about autism, and our eating habits. This is a perfect topic to be writing about after this eating oriented holiday!
It is a very common trait for people with autism/autistic people to be picky eaters. I did a poll on my Instagram story for autistics/people with autism only asking if they considered themselves picky eaters, and most of them said yes. I’ve also seen lots of Instagram posts revolving around autism and eating, so that goes to show that it is common. I’m also a picky eater, ask anyone who’s eaten with me before lol. A lot of our picky eating habits revolve around textures and flavors of certain foods. If we don’t like the texture or flavor, this can be overwhelming, and intolerable for us. This all revolves around something called samefoods. “”Samefoods” is the term coined by the autistic community as a food that one finds to be safe, both in flavor and in texture. Samefoods can change and shift- they can last for a few weeks, or a whole lifetime, and anywhere in between”. -lovely.autistic.mess on Instagram. Neurotypical individuals get sick of eating the same foods over and over again, as autistics/people with autism have a field day if they get the same foods over and over again. Why? Because we know the texture and taste, and don’t have to worry about the unknowns. At restaurants, we usually order the same thing so we don’t have to fear the unknowns, and helps reduce decision making of maybe disliking a food. When I go to new restaurants, I’ll sometimes go on their website and take a quick skim at the menu, so I know what I’m getting myself into! Another thing with autism and eating is sensory issues. If we’re in an environment that’s overstimulating, we may forget, or not want to eat. This can be an issue because in order to be healthy, you have to maintain proper eating habits. Also, with picky eating, we may have a hard time eating foods in all of the food groups, which also keeps people healthy. If you’re a picky eater in general, maybe carry snacks with you so you can have food you like accessible to you if that’s not what’s being served. I should really do that! So that’s about it for this post. Thanks so much for reading and I’ll see you all next week! Email- [email protected] Instagram- @embracingmysuperpower Facebook- Embracing my Superpower Tik Tok- @embracingmysuperpower https://www.instagram.com/p/COrrVKVM96W/?utm_medium=copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CTVWnU3v9jG/?utm_medium=copy_link
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Hey guys! Welcome back to my blog! For this weeks post I will be writing about something called echolaila. Echolaila is of course autism related, or else I wouldn’t be writing about it! Up until recently, I have never heard of this term, so this is one of those posts where I’m learning right along with you as I write this. I found some posts about echolaila on Instagram that I’ll be using to help me write this post.
Echolaila is the repetition of sound. Echolaila comes in a variety of forms. Some of those being talking, humming, singing, copying animal noises, clapping, repeating yourself, and more! Echolaila isn’t uncommon for us, as I’ve done it too. Kids of all neurotypes engage in echolaila, but with autistics/people with autism, this may go on our whole lives and that’s ok! For us, it’s natural, healthy and necessary. Not only do we use echolaila to communicate, other people do too such as people with dementia, Tourette’s, ADHD, and schizophrenia! A person with autism/autistic person may engage in echolaila for many reasons such as stimming (week 31), it’s comforting, to communicate with others, to process things, etc. Echolaila can either occur in the present, or days later. An autistic person/person with autism may repeat a phrase right then, and there, or wait a couple days once they’ve fully processed it. Another example of processing delays. Do we hear what you say right away? Yes. Do we fully process it and know exactly what you mean right away? Not always. So please be patient, kind, and compassionate to our processing delays, no matter how long it takes us to process what you have to say. A HUGE false assumption about echolaila is that it should be corrected in therapy. That is not true at all, and is very toxic to do so. There are many purposes of echolaila. It should not be frowned upon. Honestly, most of us probably won’t be able to survive without it! So that’s it for this post. I’ll be 21 next Tuesday, and I don’t want my blog to distract me from celebrating my special day, so I’ll see you all in 2 weeks! Thanks so much for reading, and I’ll see you then! Email- [email protected] Instagram- @embracingmysuperpower Facebook- Embracing my Superpower Tik Tok- @embracingmysuperpower https://www.instagram.com/p/CUscoEBs00A/?utm_medium=copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CU3dTrEALdO/?utm_medium=copy_link Hey guys! Welcome back to my blog! We’re back! I’m finally feeling a little motivation to write. I still haven’t been my usual self, but I will no longer let other people being negative get in the way of doing what I love! Writing! But I will be taking the week of the 22nd off since my birthday is the 23rd which is a Tuesday, and I don’t want my blog to be a distraction of celebrating my special day. 21! Ahhhhh! So guys, before I get into this weeks topic, let’s talk. What have you all been up to? I’ve been working on my driving to finally get my license. I also got a job! I’m so excited to begin! I need to do A LOT of prep work first since I’ll be working with kids. I have to get 2 fingerprints, do 8+ hours of online training, do a cpr and first aid class, and get a physical! Wow! I’m done with most of the trainings, and when I’m done with that, I will go forward with the rest. I love kids. Mostly elementary ages. For my post this week I’ll be talking about autism, and it’s connection to animals. As you’ve learned from my blog, autism has connections to a lot of different things! For this post, I will be using the help from 2 of my favorite autistic advocate Instagram accounts to help me. @adulting_with_autism_, and @neurodivergent_lou. I’ll link their posts at the bottom, like I always do! :) In fact, autistic people/people with autism connect with animals on a deeper level than neurotypicals. Although all neurotypes connect with animals, it’s important to note that we can empathize with other living things besides humans. There is no scientific evidence of any of this, but it’s important to listen to autism advocates themselves instead of NT scientists “studying” us. (I hate that whole concept bc we are NOT lab rats). Since we’re apart of a minority, we’re much more vulnerable to bullying, and discrimination, as animals are also a minority and vulnerable. For example, they’re vulnerable to hunters among other things. So it’s easy for us to relate to them. As you all know from my previous posts, autistic people/people with autism have loads of empathy. Unlike the misconceptions that say otherwise. Since all neurotypes of people empathize with animals, since we’re so empathetic, we may empathize with animals more than an NT. Animals (mostly pets), can also provide sensory input for us when we pet them. We may enjoy the texture of the fur and moving our hand while petting them. Some pets may lie on their owners, which depending on the size of the animal, will be deep pressure which is very helpful for us. Animals also help provide structure to our day. As you all know, we LOVE, and NEED structure! It’s nice knowing that your pet is always there when you need company, and they’re almost always on a constant schedule. They need to be fed, walked, taken outside, cared for, and loved, and that will never change. It definitely helps me feel more motivated to get up in the morning, since I have other living things besides myself to care for! Autistics/people with autism are VERY socially awkward most of the time, so animals are an easy thing to talk about with others. They may also be a special interest, which can be talked about as well (week 29). We also may have a special bond with animals because they’re so easy to interact with. We don’t have to worry about possible social cues, which is one of the many reasons why it’s difficult to be autistic/have autism sometimes. We also can’t forget about service, and emotional support animals! They’re so important in our society! Most importantly, animals love us unconditionally. The love I feel from my pets is more than I feel from some of my fellow humans at times. I have 2 cats, and 1 dog, and they’re my entire world. They all have me wrapped around their paws. Especially my cats. I think about them 24/7, and I always show people pictures of them whenever I can lol. So that’s about it for this post. I hope you all enjoyed it! I’m going to attach some pictures of my animals for you guys to see. Rascal (boy), is the gray and white cat, and Willow (girl), is the tabby. I also have a dog named Tatum (girl). Thanks for reading and I’ll see you all next week! Email- [email protected] Instagram- @embracingmysuperpower Facebook- Embracing my Superpower Tik Tok (new ish)- @embracingmysuperpower https://www.instagram.com/p/CUqC__DsaA1/?utm_medium=copy_link https://www.instagram.com/p/CRRr2O6MFQZ/?utm_medium=copy_link Aren’t they cute??
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