The Little Autistic Joys

Listening to my long-time favourite bands (eg the Magnetic Fields, Belle and Sebastian) and realising how autistic I am for liking these bands in the first place - let alone listening to them on repeat for 20 years 

drinking diet cherry Dr Pepper with the right amount of ice 

going on 15K runs when my body can really only manage 5K but it feels so good (in the moment) to keep going 

being on a sandy beach on a warm summers day when the air and the ocean are all the exact same temperature 

Watching Arrested Development for the 20th time 

Sitting quietly and absorbed: painting with watercolours - for a couple of hours - in the company of a small number of people who are not super-chatty.

Same. I’m constantly grinding my teeth to whatever song is stuck in my head. It’s kind of not great, since I‘ve chipped a tooth and even my dentist has recommended a mouth guard to prevent further tooth damage.

Alien0n3arth said:

this ball with spikes

...I find the ones just like your photo (which fit in your hand easily) are a favourite. 

Whereas, the larger sized ones (similar to that of a Grapefruit) are:

a) too subtle in their feeling / feedback to your fingers, and

b) if they contain a flashing LED light; it is difficult to use one without the light switching on when it was not your wish at that moment.

I have 2 (1 to use at home, plus 1 to take out and about in my bag).

My chosen edition has 6 different areas of dense colour.

I also like to shuttle it between both hands (throw / catch, backwards and forwards - from my one hand to my other hand).

Only if I am really stressed will that movement be tough enough to make the LED light illuminate.  It can be helpful information for me to consider.

Wonderful movie and endlessly quotable.

Having alexithymia can also save from trauma. It’s like being abused but not really feeling it. But it comes out later somehow anyway. 

Alexithymia is the worst, but the princess bride almost makes up for it.

Music it really saves me on a daily basis. 

Comfort movies like Little shop of horrors or The princess bride.

My dogs

My alexithymia really doesn't let me have joy but these bring me comfort. I do get random bursts of euphoria but I've no idea why.

Yes like the one on your profile picture! I have two - pink and blue. They didn't have green.

Good to see you back!

For me it’s pacing in circles or spinning, the spinning just gives me a mental shake and makes me happy. If I’m engrossed in something I often rock back and forth. I have a song I love playing repeatedly at the moment, obviously it led to me researching the singer, I also enjoyed that. The track is Everlasting Love by The Love Affair.

You need to get a green one 

I just dropped in while waiting for a call. What a lovely positive post!

I have my own music in my head when I hear an engine. For example in a tram. Or my granny’s old fridge. 

At home, not usually in public, I go up the staircase two steps at a time at high speed, bent right over with my arms hanging down like an ape. I enjoy this for no obvious reason.

When I shave with an electric shaver, I hum little made-up tunes around the drone of the razor.

I have a collection of walking sticks. I stim with them. I flick them up and catch them, let them slide through my hands and spin the ones with a hooked handle Charlie Chaplin fashion. I like the variation in weight, surface texture and balance between them. One, a gentleman's dress cane from the 1920s, has a sphere of amethyst as its handle, in bright light it is stunning and it is visually stimulating to look into its planes of varying colour.

Textures of leaves, love the soft ones like silk and the little furry new ones.

Watching bumblebees and seeing them disappear in foxgloves.

Skipping instead of walking when no ones watching. Also still love swings.

Wanna add 3 more things:

1. Pacing my kitchen (its a must routine every morning and evening)

2. Talking to myself or an imagined listener. Not always possible but very therapeutic! 2 hours of my speech about my special interest and I feel recharged and fresh!

3. Listening to the same song endlessly 

OMG I thought I was the only person that runs up/down stairs! I’ve done that ever since I was in track and field as a kid. It drives my wife up a wall every time I rush up/down stairs, but it’s like, I can’t help it. It just feels better than walking.

Love the post Max and did make me smile reading it. Here are a few of mine to throw into the mix...

• Repeating lines from my favourite films/shows, "You are a member of the rebel alliance and a traitor. Take her away" or "remember the emperor is not as forgiving as I am". I am big Darth Vader fan.
• Running up and down stairs is a real favourite, not always the safest thing but fun
• Mimicking voices that I like, there is one I like to do from somebody on a coach trip over thirty years ago that i still do to this day, going on about a church he enjoyed visiting...quite random but fun