Hello Dark Mode Users :)

I'm autistic and I currently feel like shit checklist

Hi there. Are you autistic? Do you currently feel like shit and don't know why? Try this checklist to see if you can Fix The Problem!

When was the last time you used the bathroom? If you answered "I don't know" or "at least 3 hours ago", go now!

Do you need a drink? Go get one if you don't have one in front of you.

When was the last time you ate? If you haven't eaten yet today, consider eating A Meal, or perhaps A Snack. Something is better than nothing, eat whatever you feel able to!

Is there something in your immediate surroundings that is bothering you? If the light is too bright, turn it off. If there is an annoying sound, make the sound stop or reduce your ability to hear it (earplugs, headphones, etc.). If your clothes are bothering you, change them.

Is your space messy? Pick one area of your room and clean it up as best you can. Clean your whole room if you have the energy!

When was the last time you did An Activity? Scrolling on social media doesn't count. Try actively doing something fun! Play a game you like, read a book, make something, or go for a walk.

When was the last time you Spoke to a Person? Consider talking to a person you like if it has been a while.

How long has it been since you did something Special Interest related? Make some time to do that today. Infodump to a friend, have a nice long research session, look at related images or gifs, make art about it, whatever works best for you!

Try stimming actively! Put on some music and dance, spin in circles, go to the park and use the swings!

If you still feel like shit after trying all of these things, you might be tired or sick. Go to bed early and get some rest. Hopefully you will feel better tomorrow!

Hope that helps :)

You ever think about the MOVE bombing and then think about the fact that so few US Americans even know that the MOVE bombing like. Happened.

Today was scary but raising 3k with my sister and being with my girlfriend filled me with hope. I love being transgender and I'll never stop.

future archaeologists will know you were (not) a boy

Personally your work inspires me. I love seeing how incredibly vast your library of characters is.

How they all have different experiences. It makes them feel real to me, with their style, culture, disabilities, names even being so well researched and built into the character rather than just an afterthought.

(No shade to the anon though i just think things like that are better when they are thought about earlier in character building). It's just incredible to me seeing how you build your characters and how well represented I feel seeing characters with disabilities, identities, and cultures that are apart of my life as well.

Hey, so I mean this entirely in good faith and just want to see where you're coming from.

When you draw pictures of people (OC), why do you only list their name, age, disabilities, and race (and some other stuff sometimes)? not likes or interests or hobbies or a look into their life? Is there somewhere else for me to find out more?

Personally, I don't find those to be the most interesting things about a character or a person or an object or anything like that, and I don't typically base characters around it (not saying you do, just not sure why else they take precidence over other aspects of their character)

I love your art and hope youu have a nice day!

I’ll try to answer this in the best way possible, but my wording might be off because I am more ill than usual, so bare with me.

1. Experiences with creating Original Characters is not a monolith — what you like to do with characters may not be what another creator likes to do with them. Some people never make backstories for their characters and keep them mainly for designs. Some people like to create backstories, and both of these things can exist and are okay. What you personally find interesting isn’t the same for everyone.

Even if I do have backstories for many of my characters, not all of them are even close to finished yet or even fully fleshed out, I often start with basics and go from there. If you are interested in the backstories of my characters, I have a toyhouse in which I post them.

2. Race, Culture, Age and Disability is a huge part of a lot of people’s lives, I can attest to that for myself. A lot of what I put down as “descriptors” for my characters are for people to get the absolute “bare bones” of who this character is, kind of like a bio on social media. It may not personally interest you, but Culture is a huge aspect on how people develop and think, the way people grow up and who they are around influence their thoughts, likes, dislikes, career, life choices and more. I find that many people from different cultures are often very happy at the representation of their culture being present if done respectfully, and causes a lot of happiness to feel seen.

I have a particular interest in researching humans, cultures, disabilities and diversity. You don’t have to have those interests, the same way I don’t particularly have to have an interest in “likes vs dislikes” of a character.

It would concern me if someone doesn’t care about peoples race or ethnicity, the same way it concerns me when a white person says “well, I don’t see color”, it erases the diverse experience of being human. It erases culture, experience, struggle and more. A lot of POC, myself included, find solace in knowing someone may understand a specific experience of what it’s like growing up a certain way. That we are not alone in our struggles.

And this all relates to Disability as well. Able-bodied people are not going to understand the life of a disabled person they haven’t lived in. Growing up disabled, becoming disabled later in life, in general /being/ disabled is a different way of life than the average person. We have struggles and experiences not everyone can relate to — which means by sharing this in a description of a character — it can actually tell a lot about what they’ve been through and understand.

Other disabled people may not understand what life is like for another disabled person — I have had numerous asks and messages by other disabled people and able-bodied people alike telling me they are happy to see representation of a specific disability, or that they discovered a disability through my artwork and they were able to research it or even apply it to their medical training. This is a huge reason for why I do what I do.

I’m glad this is a question in good faith — Thank you for liking my art, and i hope you have a good day as well.

If you have anymore questions, I have an FAQ:

rentry.co

FAQ

@SPROUTwiki's Frequently Asked Questions: What program / brushes do you use? I use CSP (Clip Studio Paint) on my IPAD and Cintiq. I use a lo

A post for people who struggle with dental care <3

*made by somebody who also struggles with dental care

A few things to preface:

I am not a dentist! If you have any concerns about your oral health please reach out to a dentist or doctor!

You aren’t gross or bad for having trouble with dental care- it can be really difficult! Oral health (or any health) is not a moral indicator.

People have different opinions about fluoride- I’m of the opinion that fluoride is beneficial/necessary so this post will be made with that in mind. (I’ve linked a source below)

I am not affiliated with any companies, any brands I mention or link are simply the ones I use or have found online (:

Okay now to recommendations! (:

Mouth wash

I find that alcohol-free mouth wash is a way better sensory experience for me and has honestly been a huge game changer! If this is you too, look for products that say “alcohol-free” and check that they that still have fluoride! (:

Many people find mint to be unbearable! If that’s the case, don’t feel bad about trying other flavours, even if those are flavours marketed towards kids.

If you’re unsure of which flavour you might like, I sometimes see small travel sized mouth washes at drug stores, so if you wanted to try one out before committing to spending more money those could be a good option!

I use: Listerine brand antiseptic alcohol free mouth wash. I personally really like there green tea flavour, but they have other flavours as well. (I’ve linked the one I use below)

Tooth brushes

Electric tooth brushes can be very useful for people who may struggle with finding the effort and motivation to brush their teeth, and/or people who may struggle with dexterity, mobility, or doing a thorough brushing for any reason.

Some people might find the vibrations and noise of electric toothbrushes to be too overstimulating.

Electric toothbrushes also tend to have a larger handle which can help people who may need large handles to be able to hold things! You can also find some large handle-hand held toothbrushes online. Large handle toothbrushes might be marketed towards elderly people. (I’ve linked one below)

Whether an electric or handheld toothbrush is best for you, one thing that might be helpful to look for is soft bristles.

Soft bristles are useful to people who have sensitive gums! Sensitive gums may be caused by different health conditions and they are also common with people who haven’t brushed their teeth in a long time. In anecdotal experience, most autistic people I know (including myself) have sensitive gums. Soft bristled brushes may be marketed towards children and/or elderly. If you think they might help, please don’t let that stop you from trying them out!

(You know all those jokes about bleeding gums? Gum sensitivity can seriously deter people from brushing, you aren’t being “too sensitive” and you aren’t alone! There are alternatives)

I use: handheld Oral B brand soft bristled brush and Oral B brand sensitive gum care electric toothbrush. (Oral B website Linked below, you can also find these on Amazon).

Toothpaste

Mint can be an overwhelming flavour for many people (myself included). Sometimes, mild-non mint flavours will be marketed towards children. Just double check to make sure your toothpaste has fluoride as toothpastes for very young kids often won’t contain fluoride.

Foamy toothpaste can also be overwhelming! If this is the case for you, look for gel toothpastes.

Similar to mouthwash, you can try to find travel size toothpastes to see which flavours work for you!

I use: brand hismile toothpaste. (Linked below) It is a gel toothpaste with really nice flavours! I’ve tried mango and coconut and I like them both. This has been a big game changer for me in terms of motivation for brushing my teeth and I find I’m able to brush them for the whole 2 minutes! (:

What to do when mouthwash and brushing teeth just isn’t feasible

If you absolutely can’t brush your teeth or use mouthwash, I saw a dentist on tik tok recommend simply swishing with water! This can help get rid of things stuck in your teeth and help prevent build up. A lot of people have an ‘all or nothing’ mentality when it comes to dental care, but remember that even a ‘small’ action taken is still an action taken!

Advice on following a schedule

Being autistic, I can sometimes get really caught up in following ‘rules’ I was taught as a kid. One of those rules is to brush your teeth once in the morning before breakfast and once before bed after dinner. Having trouble with brushing teeth due to both mental and physical health issues while also trying to follow this rule meant that there were often times that I couldn’t brush my teeth at the times I was ‘supposed to’ but I also actively did not brush my teeth when it wasn’t those times, even when I could.

For some people, following a strict schedule might be really useful or necessary! If this is you, it might be useful to set an alarm on your phone to remind you and help get you into the habit of doing it at the same time every day.

For other people (like me) you might find it useful to make a habit of brushing your teeth when you remember and when you’re able to do so rather than adhering to a strict schedule. Even if that’s mid day, or midnight, even if it’s right before you eat. (:

You might also find it helpful to task-stack. For instance if you shower every day in the morning, it might be easier to brush your teeth every time you shower. Likewise, if you take medication every day, it might be helpful to brush your teeth when you take medication. For some people It can be easier to add to an already existing habit than to create a whole new one.

Whether you follow a schedule or not, you might also find it useful to have a chart to check off once you’ve brushed your teeth! These might be marketed towards children. (I’ve linked one below) Theres nothing wrong with having “childish” charts if they help you! If that’s not your vibe, you can also find some simple designs in the form of dry erase boards. (I’ve linked one below as well).

*last notes: please let me know if using the #/cripplepunk isn’t appropriate and I will remove it from the post!

Feel free to add onto this post with further advice or products that help you! (:

Links:

Why fluoride is important:

Green tea flavour alcohol free mouthwash:

LISTERINE® Antiseptic Mouthwash, Rinse & Oral Care Products

Green Tea Zero Antiseptic Mouthwash | LISTERINE®

Do you find rinsing a little too intense? Introducing LISTERINE® Green Tea Zero. This mouthwash contains essential oils and green tea extrac

And other flavours of alcohol free mouthwash:

Large handle toothbrush:

Oral B website:

oralb.ca

Oral-B | Electric Toothbrushes & Oral Care Products

Explore Oral-B's electric, manual and battery toothbrushes. Read important information on how to maintain good oral hygiene and a healthy sm

Hismile website:

Charts:

The people who police your gender will police your gender even if you're cis.

Eat them.