Explorautist

irony (noun): the serial rigidity of non-autistic people about autism and autistic people; the inability of non-autistic people to put themselves in our shoes.

[Simon Baron-Cohen @sbaroncohen]

Putting Trump's comments about autism in context https://t.co/v0z4Rs2UmM

[Explorautist @Explorautist]

The Double Empathy Problem will prove to be true, in science and beyond.

Enacting the Golden Rule with humility, the Double Empathy Problem questions our presumption that another person is exactly like us. It encourages us to be curious.

[John Marble @JHMarble]

Very excited to be listening to @milton_damian give the keynote at #INSAR2026!

Dr. Milton just made the point that the #DoubleEmpathy problem could be applied to any two people.

🙌 How true. We’d all do well to pause & seek to understand where another person is coming from.

[Explorautist @Explorautist]

Four years ago this week, my shrink dx'ed me as ASD, "without need for support." We laugh about it now, as there is no such thing as an autistic person w/no need for support. Together, we have learned so much.

My #1 accommodation: Self-acceptance + self-understanding.

Grateful.

[Explorautist @Explorautist]

Love, love the chance to hear from QUEEN Kassiane Asasumasu. She coined *neurodivergent.* She is serious about it:

"There will never be a list of qualifying conditions. However big you think it is, bigger than that.”

[Sara Luterman @slooterman]

I dug into Nicki Minaj’s use of the world “neurodivergent” — Where did it come from? What does it mean? And how does a very niche, 25+ year old activist word end up being used on the far right? https://t.co/3r4TBn4q7d

[Ludmila Praslova PhD @LudmilaPraslova]

The erasure of 1925 and 1927 pioneering work is harming #ActuallyAutistic people in 2026. #autistic #autism #psychology #research https://t.co/38ahejnc5U

[Explorautist @Explorautist]

@makebelieveleaf I relate to seeing yourself in this type of work. Truly, I see myself in the Sally-Anne test, for example. That stuff got much more useful after autistic people started weighing in. The same will be true here, I expect, with the new phenotypes. The inside view + the outside one.

[Explorautist @Explorautist]

@makebelieveleaf Of course not. What I'm saying is that the universe of data they used was entirely data about the autistic subjects. Each instrument was a parental report about the kids. That means this study was A) about kids; and B) from the perspective of their parents. That's all.

[Explorautist @Explorautist]

@makebelieveleaf You can see they worked off three tests, all for kids, all to be filled out by their parents, about the kids. This is obvs a problem across autism research -- about w/o, but also about *whom*.

https://t.co/52zUcxK3Gy

https://t.co/Jy7gwrOXQ7

https://t.co/vtfKLv6E2b

[Explorautist @Explorautist]

@makebelieveleaf That paper reads to me like they talked to zero autistic people. Affirming would be a couple of positive steps from where they are now. It's really too bad.

[Explorautist @Explorautist]

@makebelieveleaf Agree, it's a lot to keep track of. But some of these stories are getting mainstream attention, including the Princeton one. https://t.co/7dYwXupjZo

[Explorautist @Explorautist]

@makebelieveleaf Agree, there are other frameworks out there. In the US, I do think this one got some attention. My sense of what's happening with the subtypes comes from reading influential people's proposals. Who knows.

[Explorautist @Explorautist]

@makebelieveleaf From what I'm seeing, the big push is for moving away from three categories to two -- with and without intellectual disability. I don't see anyone lined up behind creating more levels. It's more like two big groups as opposed to three.

[Explorautist @Explorautist]

@makebelieveleaf This is the question, I think.

I also think the idea that going back to a less-stigmatized dx, something closer to the old Asperger's, will increase diagnoses, not lower the count.

[Explorautist @Explorautist]

The feeling when you mute the person whose blaring posts have been bothering you all week while adding nothing to your understanding. You don't even have to decide whether to take the bait anymore. There is no bait. 🧘

[Explorautist @Explorautist]

@TomChivers Curious whether you're autistic. Also curious how much you've kept up on theory of mind. Possibly a minority opinion, but I find it a useful concept. Dame Uta would cut out many of us who relate to her ideas on this and test accordingly, but do not have intellectual disability.

[Explorautist @Explorautist]

Coming to understand my difference, that I do not constantly scan for the thoughts/feelings of others, was a huge part of understanding *why* I'm autistic.

Dame Uta & her fellows were onto something. They needed to ask us and use what we said. Good thing we're speaking now.

[#K.J. Elphinstone @KatyElphinstone]

"Theory of mind" has been used, in autism research, to support the idea of a deficit of empathy in autistic people.

The theory, I think, isn't all it's cracked up to be.

A short 🧵

👇

#Autistic #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent #AuDHD #TheoryOfMind #DoubleEmpathy

[#K.J. Elphinstone @KatyElphinstone]

"Theory of mind" has been used, in autism research, to support the idea of a deficit of empathy in autistic people.

The theory, I think, isn't all it's cracked up to be.

A short 🧵

👇

#Autistic #ActuallyAutistic #Neurodivergent #AuDHD #TheoryOfMind #DoubleEmpathy

[Explorautist @Explorautist]

@JulianeWriter Personally, I do think envy plays a role in non-autistic feelings about autism. Self-understanding, self-acceptance, working w/your strengths, being distinctive -- all enviable. That's not the full picture, ofc, because we also struggle. But I love being me, and that's enviable.

[Explorautist @Explorautist]

@emilykmay @EricMGarcia For me, I found people a few years older who would let me live with them. When I tried to live alone or with peers, it proved impossible. That left me quite vulnerable in the world. Knowing I'm autistic and needed to ask for help would have been a huge help.