u/TEAGANUSESAAC

I hate it when people, usually lower support needs autistics as i've come to observe, say that their support needs fluctuate day to day. Like that's not true at all, you're just making a very broad and non nuanced statement that only causes harm instead of achieving understanding in those around you.

I mean, sure, they can fluctuate but it's often not in a way that their support needs level or their autism level would decrease or increase, and if they could do something that they couldn't do, that's often an one off case and doesn't mean that that skill is now included in your baseline. Also, i'm pretty sure that there is a lot of other things that you have to meet first for any support needs level or for any autism level because one thing shouldn't be the thing that puts you in so and so level. Especially if it's not consistent or isn't a part of your baseline, and if your doctor still has good evidence proving that you're still assigned the correct level or support needs term.

Anyway i'm not talking about how false the theory that you can fluctuate from level one to two or three the next day is, i'm talking about how this is so frustrating and so invalidating to hear from people less affected by their autism than i am for example. It just screams dismissive and invalidating. Because that is just them say

I have some screen time restrictions on all of my devices when it comes to accessing social media and for how long, and this is enacted by my parents.

I would want to stay on social media for a while, and have control over when i can access it and for how long, but my parents keep it locked down and are forcing me to have to ask them for more time, on both the computer and on my ipad and on my iphone. This app is one of the apps of which i would have to ask my parents to access, for example. Their reasoning is that i might get triggered or would otherwise ignore my basic needs if i were to stay on social media, or if i had my way on when and for how long i could use social media.

I have been triggered by social media before, especially whenever i am in an argument online with another internet user, and that has caused me to have meltdowns where my parents would have to step in to intervene or where my school has had to suspend me since i had a physically aggressive episode because i couldn't let the comment slide.

Does anyone else relate?

Lately, it feels as though i am using my AAC app for content more than its' intended purpose, which is to help people use their words in another method that isn't with their mouth.

I mean, i do use it for meltdowns and for other reasons, but the problem (Well not really problem because that's good for me) is that i don't have a lot of meltdowns anymore, so i don't exactly have any real reason to continue using my AAC like i was before. I have talked to my mom about using it for other reasons such as when i'm tired or for some other reasons where i can't speak verbally, but i never really got when i should use it outside of meltdowns.

And when i do decide to use it during a time of peace and calm for me, i feel as if though it was just to remind everyone around me that i use AAC. Or when it comes to new people, almost as if it was just to let them know that i'm using AAC without verbally communicating that to them. I don't even say anything explaining why it's coming from my iPad instead of through my mouth, it's just my words inputted into the device during a conversation.

I do notice it is often when i'm feeling hyper so maybe that is good, as it can slow my thinking down so i can say something that may be easier to understand instead of through my mouth which can go very fast sometimes. But, again, this barely happens. Oftentimes, i just straight up forget that my AAC app exists, and i barely use my iPad outside of AAC like for drawing or for watching Netflix for example.

I just got it a year ago, when i was in speech therapy due to an unrelated speech difficulty not just for if i want professional advice on whether or not to use AAC or not as a part time AAC user. And i'm also frustrated at myself for shutting down the speech therapist just because she suggested i try out a free app that's text based and not symbols based like the more popular AAC apps are. So now i'm feeling as if i had wasted government money for a largely temporarary situation or challenge.

But the thing is, i do feel that due to my semiverbality and my still ongoing struggles with speech production, i may still need to use my AAC however i don't know when and for who. I don't know if my parents would really support that as they too think i'm using my AAC for clout, or that they used to and i'm just assuming that this is still their beliefs.

Sigh, i just don't know. I just feel weird about it, especially since i am using it less and less as time goes on, and that i didn't first try out a free app to see if it would help permenently or it would be a good thing to just use this app.

Hi, i'm Teagan, and i'm a Medium/Moderate Support Needs autistic.

I have found this space after i saw that most spaces and particularly subreddits didn't have many higher-support-needs autistic members posting and commenting. Other subreddits aren't safe spaces for higher support needs autistics because when we talk about our experiences with our autistic traits and struggles, people tend to shoot us down or shut us down by dismissing us.

The broader online autism community is not very representative of everyone on the autism spectrum, as i've noticed that the people who post more and have more followers are people with low support needs or level 1 autism.

I don't see a whole lot of autistic creators with more rarer presentations and with higher support needs autism, although i am a part of a subgroup that is almost exclusively full of higher support needs autistics. While i understand that it can be hard for us to make content, i still feel bad that the mutuals who i follow on Instagram don't get a ton of attention for their posts that they make, which are usually in an educational sort of sense.

Anyway, i'm happy to have found this space because it is full of people who are like me, or are otherwise able to relate to my experiences with higher support needs autism. Especially as every other sub often calls me a faker or tries to convince me that i'm not actually medium support needs as, according to them anyway, support needs fluctuate day to day while that has never be true nor will it never become true.

Hello, i'm Teagan and i'm sure some of you remember me from TikTok (ihaveautism1.2 or from Instagram, moderatelyautistic). I used to have another Reddit account but i deleted it, the name was Amber_Barrage23748.

I'm a semiverbal part time AAC user. I use two apps, of which are TD Talk and Proloquo2Go! I like using these two apps because of how personally easy it is for me to navigate through them, but i especially like TD Talk because it's textbased so it is very easy to use than Proloquo2Go is for me.

Anyway, how are we all doing?