Tootfinder

Non-speaking teen with autism — once thought to be intellectually disabled — accepted at MIT
#Autism

Non-speaking teen with autism — once thought to be intellectually disabled — accepted at MIT
Viraj Dhanda's norm-shattering acceptance was made all the more poignant because he was considered intellectually challenged for the first 14 years of his life.

TL;DR: spending money to find the cause of autism is a eugenics project, and those resources could have been spent improving accommodations for Autistic people instead.
To preface this, I'm not Autistic but I'm neurodivergent with some overlap.
We need to be absolutely clear right now: the main purpose is *all* research into the causes of autism is eugenics: a cause is sought because non-autistic people want to *eliminate* autistic people via some kind of "cure." It should be obvious, but a "cured autistic person" who did not get a say in the decision to administer that "cure" has been subjected to non-consensual medical intervention at an extremely unethical level. Many autistic people have been exceptionally clear that they don't want to be "cured," including some people with "severe autism" such as people who are nonverbal.
When we think things like "but autism makes life so hard for some people," we're saying that the difficulties in their life are a result of their neurotype, rather than blaming the society that punished & devalues the behaviors that result from that neurotype at every turn. To the extent that an individual autistic person wants to modify their neurotype and/or otherwise use aids to modify themselves to reduce difficulties in their life, they should be free to pursue that. But we should always ask the question: "what if we changed their social or physical environment instead, so that they didn't have to change themselves?" The point is that difficulties are always the product of person x environment, and many of the difficulties we attribute to autism should instead be attributed to anti-autistic social & physical spaces, and resources spent trying to "find the cause of autism" would be *much* better spent trying to develop & promote better accommodations for autism. Or at least, that's the case if you care about the quality of life of autistic people and/or recognize their enormous contributions to society (e.g., Wikipedia could not exist in anything near its current form without autistic input). If instead you think of Autistic people as gross burdens that you'd rather be rid of, then it makes sense to investigate the causes of autism so that you can eventually find a "cure."
All of that to say: the best response to lies about the causes of autism is to ask "What is the end goal of identifying the cause?" instead of saying "That's not true, here's better info about the causes."
#autism #trump
P.S. yes, I do think about the plight of parents of autistic kids, particularly those that have huge struggles fitting into the expectations of our society. They've been put in a position where society constantly bullies and devalues their kid, and makes it mostly impossible for their kid to exist without constant parental support, which is a lot of work and which is unfair when your peers get the school system to do a massive amount of childcare. But in that situation, your kid is in an even worse position than you as the direct victim of all of that, and you have a choice: are you going to be their ally against the unfair world, or are you going to blame them and try to get them to confirm enough that you can let the school system take care of them, despite the immense pain that that will provoke? Please don't come crying for sympathy if you choose the later option (and yes, helping them be able to independently navigate society is a good thing for them, but there's a difference between helping them as their ally, at their pace, and trying to force them to conform to reduce the burden society has placed on you).

#Autism Has Always Existed. We Haven’t Always Called It Autism. | Portside
https://portside.org/2025-09-25/autism-has-always-existed-we-havent-always-called-it-autism

I am pleased to share that I am receiving professional support regarding my diagnosis (SETD5) and gender dysphoria.
It has been extremely challenging for me to come forward about my gender identity(15 years), however, I will now be formally consulting with a therapist.
#Autism #GenderDysphoria

Study of 2.4 million children:
"Acetaminophen [#paracetamol] use during pregnancy was not associated with children’s risk of #autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability in sibling control analysis. This suggests that associations observed in other models may have been attributable to familial c…

I would like to remind you that Neuronationalism, (which is just autistic fascism), is increasingly on the rise.
#Fascism #Autism #ActuallyAutistic

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to reveal #autism causes in September update
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5471327-autism-epidemic-kennedy-trump/

Jessica Wildfire: They're Going After Autistic People for a Reason
#autism #autisme

This is a really well thought-out survey on redesigns for an updated autistic pride flag! I believe it's open to everyone but obviously the input of autistic and neurodivergent people is especially significant. (I also like this survey because it takes the possible overlap with the Metis flag seriously)
Symbols matter, so consider contributing!
#autism

Autistic pride flag survey round 2!
In this survey, I'm going to ask you to rate 13 flag designs that have been proposed as autistic pride flags. You will get to see the results of the survey upon submitting. No questions are mandatory so if you run out of steam feel free to submit a partial response. You may edit your response after submitting but you will need to save the special URL google will provide you in order to do so. When you hit submit, right click "edit your response" and save that URL into a text file or somewher…

Instead of doing any of the thousands of things that could be done to make the world a little less dystopian and a little more accommodating for neurodivergent people, fucking Tylenol?!?
#autism

Groundbreaking Study Identifies Four Biologically Distinct #Autism Subtypes
https://scitechdaily.com/groundbreaking-study-identifies-four-biologically-distinct-autism-subtypes/

Hello world!
At last I got a job! I am so grateful at last I can work again!
With my mental health issues, thanks God, I can still land a job!
I am not unemployed again! I am so happy!
#MentalHealth #ADHD

This is what my mom doesn’t understand 🧩 I know more than the average Joe ♾️
#Autism #ActuallyAutistic #Autistic

Trump linkt autisme aan gebruik van paracetamol, wetenschappers spreken van ‘gevaarlijke bangmakerij’ | de Volkskrant
#autism

Pretty sure my mom gets that “flying-an-airplane-without-a-manual” feeling whenever she walks in and catches sight of my anarchist flag waving next to the rainbow, trans, and neurodiversity pride flags.
#Autism #ActuallyAutistic

Is it #immoral to have a special interest on a #villain character? I’ve had people be kind of offended by it.
#autism

#Autism #Autistic #ActuallyAutistic #Unix

What the heck??
Surely there is a money trail here. Nothing else makes sense.
Who benefits and how much stock does Trump and his cronies have?
#autism #tylenol #corruption #theAmericanFascist
https://flipboard.com/@bbcnews/u.s.-and-canada-0m0p8ifgz/-/a-L2d-Ys30QkK6mmy_5XfFTQ:a:3199692-/0

Comedian Drew Lynch
https[:]//drewlynch[.]com/
#Tylenol #Autism #Acetominophen #ISeeDaMinnowFin

Why Autistic Masking Works For Your Benefit
#Autism

Admit it. You long for the days when the President mused about injecting bleach as a public health measure.
#USA #health #vaccines #Tylenol #autism

IDK; I'm autistic, and I think queer and bisexual people are cool! 🏳️‍🌈
#ActuallyAutistic #Autism #Autistic

Acceptance vs Resignation
#ActuallyAutistic #Autism

Here's Why I Get Mad When People Compliment My Smile
#ActuallyAutistic

The Danger Of Assuming People Wanted The Life They Got
#ActuallyAutistic

I have recently become aware that I tend to change my profile picture based on my mood.
As someone who is #ActuallyAutistic, I have only just discovered this particular habit of mine.
The more you know!
#Autistic

Who can relate?
#ActuallyAutistic #Autism #Autistic #Humor

#Autistic #ActuallyAutistic #Autism #Meme

#ActuallyAutistic #Autism #Autistic #Humor

My Tuesday evening, looks like an autistic evening!
#ActuallyAutistic #Autism #Autistic #Debian