u/No-Marketing-208

Hi 18M here

I Travel a few times a year with the plane. I allways hated traveling but since I unmasked a month ago it has become unbearable. While in the airport and plane it feels like someone is restricting me like I can’t be my true self. On top of that I have to suppress my stims (hand flapping) which is really hard and feels uncomfortable. But also the sounds and bright light are just to much at some point I even worried that I could get a panic attack due to overstimulation. I already used ANC headphones, sunglasses, stim toy but it was still so mentally and physically draining.

Hi I am a 18M Autistic person and I would like to talk a bit about my experiences in school but I would also love to hear of your experiences. sorry in advance for the spelling I have dyslexia.

I went to school at the age of seven before that I was in Kindergarten. Kindergarten was most of the time a safe space for me but even there I noticed that I was different from everyone else. when I then went to my first school I was so shocked and Traumatized by it because there was no kindergarten safety anymore. I don’t remember much of my time there but the only thing I know is that I got bullied a lot and that my parents and to remove me from that school in the first half year. I then went to a normal state school till the forth class. There I really tried to fit in but I got bullied again so I just started to hide in the emptiest possible place.

Then my parents put me on Waldorf school which was a huge improvement because it had smaller classes and was more ASD friendly. But then I started to become more self aware and started copying people actions. This Masking and trying to fit in lasted until now. As in the recent months I have been trying to understand who I am really am. plus I discovered that I can stim particularly I love hand flapping which is really fun.