Good little BBC animation on autism

Thanks for posting this. I have found that shorter clips are helpful to people wanting to learn a bit about autism, both for concentration/commitment but also due to them allowing further research if a chord is struck, rather than forcing someone to commit to hours on end.

This was an interesting watch with lots to reflect on. I see your point about masking, but also appreciate the challenge raised about stereotypes. This would be a good watch for people who say that they ‘get it’ because they saw an autistic person once.

A couple of the points that really stood out to me, but annoyingly, not in order of appearance, are:

1. The diagnosis acting as a framework to explain our experiences of the world (reliant on people actually listening, but a great point nonetheless)
2. The understanding gained from diagnosis giving permission to be forgiving to yourself and to begin the journey towards actually liking yourself. This is something I can really relate to at the moment as I approach my third year post diagnosis.
3. The need to over explain yourself in order to be understood- this has slowed down for me since diagnosis, but the feeling like I don’t belong hasn’t so much.
4. The low self-esteem as a result of a lifetime of being ‘different’ and judged for it. Hear it enough, it becomes internalised. I’m learning to overcome this at the moment.
5. The underrepresentation (a challenging word to spell, which I’m still not sure about) of various groups within the diagnostic process and beyond. An issue to really move away from.

Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for posting this. I have found that shorter clips are helpful to people wanting to learn a bit about autism, both for concentration/commitment but also due to them allowing further research if a chord is struck, rather than forcing someone to commit to hours on end.

This was an interesting watch with lots to reflect on. I see your point about masking, but also appreciate the challenge raised about stereotypes. This would be a good watch for people who say that they ‘get it’ because they saw an autistic person once.

A couple of the points that really stood out to me, but annoyingly, not in order of appearance, are:

1. The diagnosis acting as a framework to explain our experiences of the world (reliant on people actually listening, but a great point nonetheless)
2. The understanding gained from diagnosis giving permission to be forgiving to yourself and to begin the journey towards actually liking yourself. This is something I can really relate to at the moment as I approach my third year post diagnosis.
3. The need to over explain yourself in order to be understood- this has slowed down for me since diagnosis, but the feeling like I don’t belong hasn’t so much.
4. The low self-esteem as a result of a lifetime of being ‘different’ and judged for it. Hear it enough, it becomes internalised. I’m learning to overcome this at the moment.
5. The underrepresentation (a challenging word to spell, which I’m still not sure about) of various groups within the diagnostic process and beyond. An issue to really move away from.

Thanks for sharing!

Always love your writing Oakling, and this is no exception. The way you’ve dissected that clip and articulated/opened up key points is thought provoking and beautifully expressed.