Published on 12, July, 2020
Hello fellow autistic people! I have just found out about this brilliant website Autism Understood which is an encyclopaedia of autistic lived experience knowledge. You can also upload content or resources about autistic experience to this website. It was created by Spectrum Gaming and is a great and very positive introduction to autistic experience for our younger neurokin.
https://autismunderstood.co.uk/
I hope you like the website as much as I do!
Thanks for posting. I agree this is an absolutely brilliant website.
I know their home page states 'for autistic young people' but I think they are selling themselves short. It is suitable for anyone of any age who wants a clear and easily understood explanation of various aspects of autism.
I'm not young and I think it's great I especially like the 'panic monkey' and 'dino brain' explanation of meltdowns and shutdowns.
https://autismunderstood.co.uk/struggling-as-an-autistic-person/introduction-to-the-limbic-system-panic-monkey-and-dino-brain/
I also like the clear explanation about the differences between rational and irrational anxiety.
https://autismunderstood.co.uk/co-occurring-conditions/anxiety/
When the anxiety is due to sensory overload it is rational. It is not helpful to tell an autistic person to 'get used to it' or subject the person to sensory torture in the name of exposure therapy. It does not help and can make the anxiety much worse, sadly so many people do not understand that.
The website is going to a be a good place to signpost those who are considering they may be autistic or newly diagnosed and overwhelmed by the volume of information out there.
I think it would also be very useful to share with non autistic people, so that they can hopefully understand more about what autism is and how it affects us.
Hello. You are very welcome! I agree this website is for absolutely anyone who is interested in learning about our autistic experience and culture.
I'm not young and I think it's great I especially like the 'panic monkey' and 'dino brain' explanation of meltdowns and shutdowns.‘
So do I. It’s great. This explanation of stress responses is originally from another brilliant website called Autistic Village:
https://autistic-village.com/
I will respond in more detail soon.