K.J. Elphinstone

Thinking about humanity from an autistic perspective. #Autism #Autistic #Neurodivergent #DoubleEmpathy

http://www.neurofabulous.org.uk

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DoubleEmpathy:
AutismAwareness:
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Last Notes

2026-04-11 06:36:12 UTC

What has autism got to do with trauma?
Quite a lot, actually.
And not only because of what happens inside the autistic person, but because of what happens around us.
A thread 🧵
1/10
#Autism #Trauma #Neurodivergent

2026-03-28 19:14:06 UTC

- reply

So what could ethical research look like, instead?
Here's the proposed researchers’ code of ethics:
1. Co-participation,
2. Respectful language,
3. Autistic differences not always as deficits,
4. No alignment with those promoting ABA, eugenics, and similar harms.
Far from today's reality.
7/11
Thanks @npub1ral…mtp8 for this! And your work is in the references.

2026-03-28 19:13:43 UTC

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Then, as we’re not listened to, society's understanding of autism develops without us.🤷🏽‍♀️
That flawed understanding is then used to overrule us, again.
Strange little loop. ➰
6/11
#EpistemicInjustice #Autism #AutismResearch

2026-03-28 19:13:19 UTC

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Because a ‘world without autism’ isn't abstract.
It's a world without autistic people. 🙎🏽‍♀️🙎🏾🙎🏻‍♀️
There’s also a deeper issue here.
Autistic people aren't believed about our own experiences. Or we don't get asked at all.
#UtaFrith said it would be unscientific to do so. More on her views here: https://mas.to/@KatyElphinstone/116206483353899881
5/11

2026-03-28 19:12:56 UTC

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The implication here – sometimes unspoken, & sometimes not so unspoken – is that autism is something to be reduced, corrected, or even eventually eradicated ☠️
So my questions are:
1/ Whose problem is autism being treated as?
2/ And whose interests are served by that?
4/11

2026-03-28 19:12:10 UTC

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That idea – that there’s a separable ‘pure self’ – is basically not one that's shared by us.
But it's very popular elsewhere!
Many millions are poured into #autism research every year, in the areas of treatment, intervention, prevention, and the hunt for biomarkers.
💰💰💰
3/11

2026-03-28 19:11:40 UTC

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For us, autism doesn't feel like some detachable defect.
Take it away – and you don’t leave me, just improved. You change who I am.
This feeling isn’t limited to one ‘type’ of autistic person. Across support needs, most autistic people say the same (refs at the end).
2/11

2026-03-28 19:11:15 UTC

Most autistic people, despite everything, actually like being autistic.
Not all, of course. But most of us.
And I don’t just mean ‘making peace with it’.
I mean: it's bound up with who we are.
A thread 🧵
1/11
(refs at the end)
#Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent

2026-03-10 19:19:41 UTC

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Her view: Autism in women has gone too far.
Reply: Interesting. Has freedom in women gone too far, too?
_________
Her view: We must categorise autism into smaller subgroups.
Reply: Interesting also - a bit like how Hans Asperger did in Nazi Germany? I think, in this case, the purpose is to exclude a lot of people from the category "autism" and to divide the autistic community.
⬇️
#Autism #Research #Neurodiversity

2026-03-10 19:18:40 UTC

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Her view: The concept of masking is “unscientific” because it’s unfalsifiable.
Reply: So is the concept of pain. Should we treat that as irrelevant in medical or psychological contexts, as well?
⬇️
#Autism #Research #Masking #UtaFrith

2026-03-10 19:16:57 UTC

Replying to Uta Frith's views, one by one.
With thanks to all the members of the autistic community who've informed me & inspired me to write this thread.
For those lucky not to know about her article in The Times, and various other related statements, links at the end.
CW: it's upsetting 😟
A thread 🧵
#UtaFrith #Research #Autism #Autistic #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent

2026-03-07 18:56:11 UTC

#AskingAutistics
How would you describe your ordinary daily level of anxiety (if any at all)?
#Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent #AuDHD

2026-03-03 11:16:30 UTC

Subject: Autistic ‘black and white’ thinking.
It's framed as a deficit often seen in autism, but... is it that simple? :shrug2:
Autistic people are traditionally criticized for our inflexibility, or cognitive rigidity.
But I think this isn’t the whole picture.
To start with what we know, here are ten things we autistic people generally have in common (refs at the end of the thread):
⬇️
#Autism #Neurodivergent #ActuallyAutistic #AuDHD #Neurodiversity

2026-02-14 17:33:34 UTC

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Autistic people, after all, are known for preferring logic (I certainly do).
And we’re also known for thinking outside the box – meaning that if we’re forced to make false decisions based on faulty assumptions, then we are quite likely to make the ‘wrong’ choice.
Interested to hear others’ thoughts on this! And I’ll be looking for another influential study to look closely at.
I really enjoy analyzing things! 😊
End of thread. 🧵

2026-02-14 17:32:16 UTC

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This would mean:
- responsibility should be proportional to agency, influence, and ability to change outcomes (this would be not just logical but also extremely useful),
- individual / exclusive blame is not required in all situations where harm occurs,
- but *responsibility* to take appropriate action is not the same thing as blame, and conflating the two is an error.
⬇️

2026-02-14 17:31:11 UTC

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Here’s an alternative take.
(Note: These are just my thoughts, I’m very open to discussion and other suggestions!)
It may be – though we can’t know this, since participants weren’t asked – that autistic people in the study didn’t lack anything, but rather tended to reason in logical terms.
⬇️

2026-02-14 17:30:28 UTC

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...are tasked with the enormous and near-impossible job of ‘educating them’ (and blamed for failing when they don’t manage to).
But, sadly, the privileged ones are selectively deaf or you didn’t use the right tone or… or… well, I think you get the gist.
⬇️
#EpistemicInjustice #Racism #BlackLivesMatter #Patriarchy #GenderEquality #TransLivesMatter #LGBTQ+

2026-02-14 17:30:07 UTC

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I’ve noticed that being innocent of knowledge is a good defense for many crimes in our society.
Those with the most power to change things seem to often be the most innocent of knowledge.
While people who are marginalized, discriminated against, and who don’t have much in the way of resources, influence, or free time...
⬇️

2026-02-14 17:29:34 UTC

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Within this frame, prioritizing outcomes over intentions is coded as a moral error...
A lack of understanding about the situation and about other people.
Even though, for the person who’s now dead, intentions make very little difference, while the outcome has been quite important to them.
⬇️

2026-02-14 17:28:37 UTC

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Error 1) Presupposition / Loaded framing. The task assumes that when harm occurs, someone usually gets blamed. That assumption isn't tested & is built into the question.
Error 2) False dichotomy. Moral evaluation is reduced to blame vs no blame, leaving no room for partial, shared, or non-punitive responsibility.
Error 3) Category error. Conflation of blame and responsibility. Responsibility for outcomes is treated as identical to moral condemnation, collapsing two very different concepts.
⬇️

2026-02-14 17:27:36 UTC

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Autistic participants were more likely than non-autistic participants to say Sally was to blame, despite her good intentions.
This was interpreted as evidence of faulty moral reasoning or reduced empathy.
But that conclusion rests on three errors of logic built into the task itself, and not on evidence that autistic people care less about others.
⬇️

2026-02-14 17:27:11 UTC

Have you wondered where the claim that autistic people lack empathy came from?
The “jellyfish” study (2011) was influential in this, as it concluded that autistic people lacked Theory of Mind & capacity for moral reasoning.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-01-autistic-mind.html
In the fictional scenario given to participants, Sally tells a friend it’s safe to swim with jellyfish. She believes they’re harmless. The friend is stung and dies.
⬇️
#Autism #Empathy #Neurodiversity #Psychology #TheoryofMind #ActuallyAutistic

2026-02-06 20:41:15 UTC

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"We call ourselves a ‘civilized nation’ but we lack rules and accountability around what a person claiming to be law enforcement is permitted to do to another human being.
I am not afraid.
And I am not afraid to keep working on this problem even after ICE is gone.
Thank you for your time.”
End of transcript.

2026-02-06 20:40:50 UTC

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"But I do not deserve more humane treatment than anyone else US Citizen or not. And I am here today with a strong spirit and a duty to the many people who haven’t had the privilege to tell their stories, or see their loved ones come home.
I am extremely distressed by the pattern of violence from law enforcement [that] has been happening to black and indigenous communities for centuries and to DHS survivors for over 20 years.
⬇️

2026-02-06 20:40:27 UTC

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"When I became unable to speak, my cellmate pleaded for me. The last sounds I remember before I blacked out on the cell floor were my cell mate banging on the door pleading for a medic and a voice outside saying,
‘We don’t want to step on ICE’s toes.’
When I opened my eyes at Hennepin County’s emergency room, I learned I was brought there to be treated for assault. The impacts of DHS detention on my physical, mental and financial well-being and safety have been very severe...
⬇️

2026-02-06 20:40:03 UTC

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"Agents did not know if the facility had a wheelchair.
When I was finally placed in one to be taken to interrogation, agents taunted me,
‘You were driving right? So your legs do work.’
I pleaded for emergency medical care for over an hour after my vision had become blurry, my heart rate went through the roof, and the pain in my neck and head became unbearable.
It was denied.
⬇️

2026-02-06 20:39:32 UTC

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"You have no reason to believe you will make it out alive if you are already being called a body.
Agents had to repeatedly stop and ask how to do tasks. I received no medical screening, phone call, or access to a lawyer. I was denied a communication navigator when my speech began to slur. Agents laughed as I tried to immobilize my own neck. I asked for my cane and was told, 'No'
Pulled up my arms and prodded forward in leg irons by agents, laughing & saying,
‘Walk, You can do it, walk!’
⬇️

2026-02-06 20:39:01 UTC

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"Approaching the Whipple Center, I saw black and brown bodies shackled together, chained together, being marched by yelling agents outdoors.
I continue to hear the word ‘bodies’ because that is how the agents refer to us.
‘We’re bringing in a body.’
‘They’re bringing in bodies 7-8 at a time, Where do I put em?’
‘We can’t use that room, there’s already a body in there.’
⬇️

2026-02-06 20:38:38 UTC

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"Shooting pain went through my head, neck and wrist when I hit the ground face first and people leaned on my back. I felt the pattern, and I thought of Mr. George Floyd who was killed four blocks away.
I was carried face down through the street by my cuffed arms and legs while yelling that I had a brain injury and was disabled. I now cannot lift my arms normally.
I was never asked for ID. Never told I was under arrest. Never read my rights. And never charged with a crime.
⬇️

2026-02-06 20:38:20 UTC

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"I felt immersed in a pattern, and I thought of Genoa Donald, an autistic black man, killed by police during a traffic stop in 2021. I remembered Mr. Silverio Villegas González who was killed by ICE in his vehicle last year.
An agent pulled a large combat knife in front of my face, which I thought was for cutting me, and I later learned, was used to cut off my seat belt.
⬇️

2026-02-06 20:37:58 UTC

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"His first instruction.
Agents, on all sides of my vehicle, yelled conflicting threats and instructions that I could not process while watching for pedestrians.
Then, the glass of my passenger side window flew across my face.
I yelled, ‘I’m disabled.' at the hands grabbing at me.
An agent said, ‘Too late.'
⬇️

2026-02-06 20:37:36 UTC

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"On January 13th, on the way to my 39th appointment at Hennepin County’s Traumatic Brain Injury Center, I encountered a traffic jam caused by ICE vehicles and no signs indicating how to get around it.
I had not wanted to pull into a blocked, chaotic intersection, but verbally agreed to do so and rolled down my window after an agent yelled:
‘Move! I will break your f•ing window!’
⬇️

2026-02-06 20:37:06 UTC

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"And while what the world saw happened to me exactly 3 weeks ago today, on video, was a terrible violation - it is still nothing compared to the horrific practices I saw inside the Whipple Center.
So, I am here today with a duty to the people who have not had the privilege of coming home. And I offer this data, because these practices must end now.
⬇️

2026-02-06 20:35:07 UTC

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“Thank you members, for taking the time to be here today, and thank you staff for making this happen.
My name is Aliya Rahman and I’m a resident of South Minneapolis. I’m a Bangladeshi American born in Northern Wisconsin and I’m a disabled person with autism and a traumatic brain injury.
Not all autistic brains do this, but mine fixates on sounds, numbers and patterns.
⬇️

2026-02-06 20:34:14 UTC

Aliya Rahman's statement after being abducted by ICE.
The transcript is in the posts below (courtesy of Jenny Carter on FB).
If you watch it, at the link below (it's on Instagram), I should mention I was crying by the end of her statement.
🧵⬇️
#Autistic #Neurodivergent #ICE #Fascism #Democracy #Racism #Minnesota #Trump #ActuallyAutistic (me) #BlackLivesMatter #Disabled
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUU_Vjijgth/?igsh=djJjbDRxMHE4MHF4

2026-01-24 09:06:03 UTC

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Apparently not 🤷‍♀️
Rather like we don't have the 'right' kind of empathy*
*I've just written an article about this because of studying power structures, and realizing how closely empathy (or social intuition) relates to that stuff!
@npub19v8…gsx7

2026-01-24 07:26:02 UTC

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Exactly!!
What prompted me to ask this question was a Facebook post by Naomi Fischer, she's basically saying what you're saying...
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17xKsSdyr8/
And I started wondering about imagination more generally. I think the idea we don't have any - or limited - might be a great deal to do with societal expectations.

2026-01-24 07:08:06 UTC

One of the current diagnostic criteria for autism is a lack of imagination.
Would you say you lack imagination?
Whatever way you answer, I'd love to hear more detail - if you've time & inclination.
Reposts also appreciated ☺️
#AskingAutistics #ActuallyAutistic #Diagnosis #Neurodivergent

2025-12-16 06:29:02 UTC

*Reasons are for people with power*
My son was telling me about a short he'd seen, contesting the idea that if women were in charge there'd be no wars. Commentator said there would, but just "for no reason." Everyone was laughing; my son wasn't. 💓
So 🤔... perhaps 'reasons' are for those with power (it goes unspoken they're ‘good’ reasons)?
While things like 'excuses' are for those with less power who aren't doing exactly what you want them to. Think of a kid arriving late at school.
⬇️

2025-12-11 19:02:18 UTC

** Convenient myths **
Myth no. 1:
🚸 That children must be harshly disciplined to become decent, polite, kind people (it's actually the opposite).
Myth no. 2:
👹 That humans are naturally lazy, selfish beasts who, if they were kindly & gently treated from birth, would be monsters.
Myth no. 3:
🤷 That autistic people are terrible at communicating properly, so allistic people have to be very patient and accommodating with them.
A little thread 🧵
⬇️
#Childhood #ActuallyAutistic

2025-12-01 21:03:53 UTC

Does anyone have advice, or know of any networks or organisations in Belfast for neurodivergent folk.- where a young adult could make friends, or meet people, or so?
Any and all ideas welcome 💟😊
#AskingAutistics #Neurodiversity #Neurodivergent #belfast #Ireland

2025-11-28 21:58:47 UTC

#Neurodivergent #AutisticJoy #ActuallyAutistic
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/115/629/564/032/878/155/original/1906a171a60f3b67.jpg

2025-11-21 23:30:57 UTC

"What have you got to be anxious about?"
#Neurodivergent #Autism #ActuallyAutistic #SocialAnxiety #Anxiety
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/115/590/290/262/855/288/original/01fa82956cbfbcb9.jpg

2025-11-15 17:15:00 UTC

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Plus, if you stick only to problem-solving instead of judging then it’s more likely that… uh… problems will get solved?
The true revolution, I think, isn’t in judging, polarizing, ridiculing, or punishing.
It’s in compassion.
End of 🧵
My articles on ‘the doghouse’, and on ‘morality and inertia’:
https://www.neurofabulous.org.uk/dynamics-of-blame.html
https://www.neurofabulous.org.uk/what-makes-bad-people.html
#ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent #SocialJustice #Capitalism #Media #Tech #GlobalEconomy #Politics

2025-11-15 17:13:14 UTC

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The ‘blame and punishment’ model upholds the power structure, and separates us from each another and from ourselves.
Studies show that moralistic thinking reduces empathy.
If you don’t believe in blame, badness, or indeed inferiority of any kind, it’s really hard to dehumanize people. Even if you want to, you find you can’t.
(Reduced empathy article: https://www.neurofabulous.org.uk/decreased-empathy.html)
⬇️

2025-11-15 17:12:52 UTC

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While if you don’t have a doghouse at all (instead having more understanding and compassion towards others and yourself) you don’t need to be so scared.
You can be honest, instead.
That way lies self-awareness.
Growth. And connection.
⬇️

2025-11-15 17:11:51 UTC

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A hard and fast rule becomes: never admit fault, never confess to a mistake – not even to yourself. Never make yourself vulnerable. Always be right – and if the evidence suggests you’re not, say you’re right anyway.
If you’ve got a doghouse, with anyone in there (even if it’s Caligula, or Hitler, or so), then conceptually you’re being faithful to to the ‘blame and punishment’ model.
Given the right circumstances, you yourself, or your most loved people, could end up in there.
⬇️

2025-11-15 17:11:25 UTC

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We maybe punish with judgemental words, ridicule, harsh criticism. Often against them personally.
What they look like, how they talk, how stupid or evil they are – and maybe unnecessary details e.g. about their personal or family lives.
Only that the more punishment people receive, the more they hunker down.
⬇️

2025-11-15 17:10:31 UTC

- reply

We tend also (strongly encouraged by institutions like government, industry, the media, and big tech) to get personal very quickly.
It’s a pastime we often seem to find more satisfying than the search for solutions to problems; looking for someone who’s to blame and finding fault with them. Punishing them.
⬇️

2025-11-15 17:08:52 UTC

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Me: “Who are evil, you mean?”
Them: “Well, yes.”
Me: “I’m afraid I don’t believe in that, either.”
Them: “Why am I not surprised?”
We both laugh. End of conversation.
Let’s pick this apart a bit:
We tend to equate blame with responsibility, and punishment with prevention. But the outcomes are very different.
⬇️

2025-11-15 17:08:27 UTC

- reply

Me: “I’d be really surprised if at this point in your life you went that way. But anyone who believes in blame and punishment is, yes, I think, more likely to do things like that that someone who doesn’t believe in them at all.”
Them: “Thanks for that (laughing). Well, I think you’re right for most people and situations, but… no… (shaking their head) for me there are just some people who are beyond the pale.”
⬇️

2025-11-15 17:08:05 UTC

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Me (cont'd): "Plus, I think a major and necessary ingredient for lacking empathy and (for example) going on to commit terrible acts like genocide is… um… believing in blame!”
Them: “Are you saying I’m the kind of person who might go on to commit genocide?” (mock serious)
⬇️

2025-11-15 17:07:38 UTC

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Them: “True, but some people have horrible backgrounds and end up nice people. I think you can’t use someone’s background to justify what they do.”
Me: “I don’t think it’s really about justifying, though. Just reasons. Everyone's background has specific ingredients, unique to that person, time, place..."
⬇️

2025-11-15 17:07:03 UTC

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Them: “But what about people who are responsible for genocides, are you saying they aren’t to blame for it? They should be held to account.”
Me: “Well, it’s not like they land one day from Outer Space in front of a sign that says, ‘this way genocide; that way no genocide.’ There’s, like, a context. Of course I’d want to stop them from doing any more bad things, but it would be purely preventative. Not punishment.”
⬇️

2025-11-15 17:06:35 UTC

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Me: “Nuh. I don’t ever believe in blame at any level, for anyone. I think it’s illogical.”
Them: “Mostly I’d agree with you. But some people do really bad things. Cause untold harm. I don’t think they should just be let off the hook.”
Me: “I know people do awful things. But… well… if I were them I’d be doing the same thing (obviously, because I’d be them). The fact I’m not, I reckon, is more because of my trajectory than any intrinsic personal… um… saintliness.”
⬇️

2025-11-15 17:06:02 UTC

"We’re gonna have to face it, we’re addicted to blame."
My sister just described a conversation she had with a friend. It struck me it was almost identical to one I also had recently with a friend.
It was about the role of blame in our society. It went a bit like this:
Me: “I don’t believe in blame.”
Them: “Me neither. Oh, except for, like, really bad people.”
Me: “Like who?” (laughing a bit)
Them: “Well, Trump, Elon Musk, Liz Truss, people like that.”
⬇️

2025-10-25 11:12:33 UTC

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There's a dilemma when it comes to male/female relationships.
Because of our cultural abandonment of children and our collective focus on power and competing (both cornerstones of our society, and yet oddly taboo as a conversational topic), most children grow up without the levels of love and support they need to thrive.
Including, of course, boys.
⬇️
#Relationships #Feminism #Parenting

2025-10-25 11:11:22 UTC

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In a similar way to how I must acknowledge, as a white person, that I’m richer than most Black and brown people are.
These dynamics help those who hold the most power to become richer, and they foster division among us.
In this thread, I’ll cover a bit of ground on the gender side of things...
⬇️
#Patriarchy #Money #BlackLivesMatter #Feminism #SocialJustice

2025-10-25 11:10:16 UTC

"Who should pay?"
CW: controversial.
Many men are poor. But women, as a group taken together, are poorer. And this is true in all countries in the world, not just those known for gendered oppression.
If you’re a man who’s interested in having more connection & understanding, I think it's important to consciously know this, “I am richer, in money terms, as a man, than most women are.”
(Refs at the end)
A thread 🧵
⬇️
#Poverty #Patriarchy #Women #Relationships #Money #Feminism

2025-10-14 19:31:48 UTC

The five neurodivergent love languages 😊💖
#ActuallyAutistic #AutisticJoy #Neurodivergent
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/115/374/182/076/295/405/original/b0e4b838571cdbc4.jpg

2025-10-12 21:40:39 UTC

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Every church should have a hidden cellar. Tunnels, even...
@npub10lm…wky9 @npub1tju…ladn

2025-10-12 18:14:17 UTC

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And btw, 💓💔🫂
It must be terrifying, and horrible... I'm so sorry for your situation 😐
@npub1ekj…wjxt @npub1tju…ladn

2025-10-11 20:53:44 UTC

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All this said, it's true that once a dictatorship is in place there's no taxing them out of power - obviously.
That's why I feel we ought to move on this stuff... before it's too late.
@npub1tju…ladn

2025-10-11 20:47:42 UTC

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As for fascism - with very few exceptions (when you dig deep enough) extreme politics tend to be all about cash. The 'values' part is generally a ruse to win over the population and the cavalry.
There's a *lot* of money to be made through dehumanising and oppressing large swaths of the population.
So yes, with robust international mechanisms in place to equalise wealth, you'd change everything. Extreme politics would not have such a fertile soil to grow in.
@npub1tju…ladn

2025-10-11 20:38:31 UTC

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Tax laws are a good way to equalise wealth, if they're used for that purpose (e.g. taxing property, especially when its ownership is excessive and/or detrimental to others; taxing excessive wealth , e.g. by placing negative interest on money so that it devalues over time... how that money would move!).
Plus, it would be nicer, I think, to do it without bloodshed.
There's a reason why violent revolutions and violent politics lead to yet more violence (and inequality, as you say).
@npub1tju…ladn

2025-10-11 18:13:42 UTC

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I'm kind of hoping we can get international wealth taxes passed, because if we don't, we're facing global ecological and social collapse in the not-too-distant future.
@npub1tju…ladn

2025-10-11 10:41:25 UTC

Just a 2% wealth tax on the world’s richest 3,000 billionaires could raise $250 billion every year, enough to save lives, protect ecosystems, & fund a just transition to a greener future.
Ramaphosa has set the stage. His G20 presidency theme, “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability”, puts justice to the fore. He’s launched a task force on wealth inequality & economic disparities. A billionaire tax could 'seal the deal':
https://act.sumofus.org/go/734830?t=10&akid=153805%2E15669379%2EE6bhRf
#Environment #TaxTheRich #Billionaires

2025-10-10 04:20:58 UTC

For #autistic people everywhere 💓
Credit to Taylor Sanders on Neurodivergent Memes, FB.
#Neurodivergent #ActuallyAutistic
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/115/347/951/268/859/503/original/d969dfbd3ee3a6d7.jpg

2025-09-21 05:52:12 UTC

I relate to this.
Anyone else out there 'hardworking and quiet'?
And.. yes:
"Why don't we just start using words to communicate so I can stop tracking everyone's eyebrow twitches, that would be great."
#Autism #Neurodivergent #ActuallyAutistic
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/115/240/726/183/511/118/original/df3b02da454fdda6.jpg

2025-09-16 21:10:06 UTC

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1. Autistic people have often been conditioned since infancy to regularly go well outside our comfort zones (whether socially or in sensory ways), and to not complain about it.
How is one to then know that *some* of those uncomfortable things are socially not acceptable, or even illegal? 🤷‍♀️
⬇️

2025-09-16 21:09:30 UTC

Why is it that autistics can all-too-easily end up in exploitative or even abusive situations?
Giving this some thought, I figured out a couple of possible reasons for this (below).
I'd love to hear others' thoughts on this, too!
⬇️
(A short 🧵)
#Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent #Abuse

2025-07-25 20:25:18 UTC

#AskingAutistics
What's your relationship to information and data?
Is it like mine... in that the more info I have, the happier I am??
🧑‍💻💞
⬇️

2025-07-19 21:47:46 UTC

What she said 💟 👇
#equality #genderequality #womensrights #feminism #patriarchy #financialabuse
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/114/882/095/726/783/158/original/3cec03e207a8d5e9.jpg

2025-06-26 17:22:18 UTC

#Neurodivergent #Autistic
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/114/750/818/774/596/733/original/769a4745168ec527.jpg

2025-06-21 18:12:40 UTC

I'm looking for a theoretical physicist - also a student, or indeed anyone with a large knowledge in this subject area.
My specific question, at this moment, is about the second law of thermodynamics and entropy, but I'll have more questions.
I'd be very grateful for someone to chat with about these things.
Reboosts also very appreciated! 😊
#Physics #Science

2025-05-30 06:32:37 UTC

This 💟
#biosphere #Environment #EarthDay #biodiversity #MentalHealth #Economy
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/114/595/381/686/026/428/original/00728af240515aa9.jpg

2025-05-13 21:04:03 UTC

Agreed 😵‍💫
#ModernSociety
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/114/502/549/068/207/201/original/3b98aa021e91731d.jpg

2025-05-13 16:31:15 UTC

What does power do to humans?
A little insight into our psychology.
👇
#Psychology #Power #Leadership #Politics #Monopoly

2025-05-05 19:10:31 UTC

#LateDiagnosedAutistic #Neurodivergent #Autistic
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/114/456/804/105/672/180/original/f24b66fc3e0f9957.jpg

2024-12-26 00:29:05 UTC

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Is all this burgeoning right-wing ideology around the rights of women (i.e. that we shouldn't really have any), in all walks of life and in all places in the world…
…de facto just another part of a grand money making scheme?
🤔😳
💰💰💰
15/15
#Wealth #GlobalEconomy #Billionaires #Monopoly #FarRight

2024-12-26 00:28:39 UTC

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Everything these days is a tide to make the wealthy and powerful even more so.
I find this unnerving. Coincidence?
Or has the wealth-generating algorithm foretold the future?
What I'm really wondering is… 👇
14/15

2024-12-26 00:27:39 UTC

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But back to demographics.
Women have more children when they have no choices, are dependent, and are poor (in rights, education, and financially).
13/15
#Demographics #Children

2024-12-26 00:27:04 UTC

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It would also explain:
a) Why schools put so much pressure on children to compete & ‘succeed’
b) Why the authorities don't much like putting resources into #disabled & #autistic kids (where's the ROI?).
12/15
#School #Education

2024-12-26 00:25:54 UTC

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Mm so ensuring people pay privately for raising children…
… but that the money those kids later generate (as taxpayers, consumers, workers, suppliers etc) will go into the system…
… is a savvy (if not 100% logical) move. 🤨
11/15

2024-12-26 00:25:21 UTC

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… but other people are actively benefitting, economically. Salaries, pensions, a functioning system, carers when they're old… etc… etc.
Collectively, we deride & exploit (or allow exploitation of) main-carer parents.
While benefiting directly from their labor.
😥
10/15
#Patriarchy #Exploitation #Oppression

2024-12-26 00:24:39 UTC

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So… let me get this straight.
Not only are parents (esp. single ones) derided, gaslit, poor… looked down upon by society while doing very arduous & difficult work...
9/15
#SingleParent #Parenting

2024-12-26 00:24:12 UTC

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In my article I'd focussed on the intrinsic value of raising our young people... our future generations.
It hadn't occurred to me it could be (way down at the bottom, when you do some digging) about cold, hard cash! 💰
8/15

2024-12-26 00:23:42 UTC

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One person answered my thread on “ten reasons why parents should be paid” using the phrase, “ROI”.
“Return on Investment.”
💰💰💰
7/15
#Banking #Economics

2024-12-26 00:22:59 UTC

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I discovered, while researching my article, that birth rates decline when women gain better living conditions and have more rights.
Hm. Funny, that. Lol. 🤨
The two things go hand in hand.
6/15
#Patriarchy #Misogyny #Money #Economy #Capitalism

2024-12-26 00:22:39 UTC

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Elon is currently also funding far-right parties in various parts of the world.
And (even more sinister than the mom thing) - like Trump - he fights actively against gender equality.
5/15
(References at the end of the thread)

2024-12-26 00:21:59 UTC

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Elon repeatedly says about women that they ‘should be moms’.
Though he doesn't quite seem as interested in them getting salaries (nor indeed child support) as I am. 🤔
4/15
#Parenting #Mothers

2024-12-26 00:21:37 UTC

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Elon Musk is a foresayer of doom in this regard.
He says “civilization is going to crumble” if people don’t start having more children.
Note: He lacks many things, but economic acuity isn't one of them.
3/15
#Population #Civilization

2024-12-26 00:17:37 UTC

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…in its turn relies on human populations growing bigger.
If they fail to do so, or indeed decline, this economic system we currently have, based upon growth, is likely to fail.
🌪️
2/15
#Depopulation #EconomicGrowth #Capitalism

2024-12-26 00:17:01 UTC

When I recently looked into whether parents should be paid, I was coming at it from an “it's a lot of work” perspective.
https://mas.to/@KatyElphinstone/113697701436784792
But what's been brought to my attention since, is that the economic growth on which our system relies… 👇
1/15
#Wealth #Capitalism #Patriarchy #GlobalEconomy

2024-12-22 17:41:59 UTC

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4. Food and shelter (and other bits and bobs), in our society, cost money.
5. Parenting being unpaid, but a lot of work, often makes the main-carer parent a dependent of one kind or another. Being dependent can be quite a powerless, even humiliating, position in society.
⬇️
#Society #Work #Labor #Money

2024-12-22 17:41:29 UTC

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1. Being a main-carer parent is a lot of work.
2. A main-carer parent needs food and shelter.
3. They also need to provide food, shelter, clothing, etc. to their children.
⬇️
#Children #Mothers #Parents #UnpaidCarers

2024-12-22 17:40:43 UTC

Should parents be paid?
There are lots of reasons why we tend to think parents shouldn't be paid. I'll cover those (end of thread).
But let me first look at 10 reasons why, perhaps, they should be paid…
A thread 🧵
1/9
#Parenting #Education #Family #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent

2024-12-17 07:12:29 UTC

"Glorifying pushing past our actual bandwidth is a toxic societal trait that we need to evolve out of."
Yes. And we also need to evolve out of forcing people to do so, e.g. if they're parents and their children will directly suffer if they don't.
#parenting #rest #education #capitalism
Credit to Dr. Jen Wolkin for the slide 💖
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/666/919/496/502/180/original/1ea944f267716eb0.jpg

2024-12-15 08:21:47 UTC

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💚💜
I also used to draw and paint. It was 'my thing'... And I also haven't done it for years.

2024-12-15 07:11:28 UTC

I remember playing inside the beech hedge in our back garden. It was a whole other world in there.
And sitting in a cardboard box in front of the fire in our living room reading stories by firelight.
#ActuallyAutistic #AskingAutistics
Credit to Plantsages on FB for the slide 💚
https://media.mas.to/media_attachments/files/113/655/590/880/954/818/original/e348b359e554606f.jpg