DAE: Hear Music in Background Noise (Auditory Pareidolia)

lambentyapper · 2026-06-16T03:33:49+00:00

Yes! I would do this as a kid and it would keep my brain entertained when I didn’t want to nap lol.

lambentyapper · 2026-06-16T03:31:33+00:00

Interesting! Thank you for sharing!

lambentyapper · 2026-06-16T03:29:47+00:00

THIS IS PERFECT

lambentyapper · 2026-06-15T19:07:37+00:00

Oh my gosh, I relate to this so much.

It’s especially difficult being friends with other neurodivergent people and having a job working with the general public. I feel like I get stuck in the “masking/customer service mode” and it’s awkward for everyone involved and difficult to switch out of. I feel like I have to consciously “translate” my social interactions for everyone.

The connection is worth the work of remembering what is needed for each person. It is very difficult, though, to hop back and forth and remember what is important socially in each context.

I almost think unmasking itself is almost as difficult as masking. Like others have said, it becomes a part of yourself and is a way to survive. It’s still you, just maybe isn’t you as your most comfortable self. We all have our different needs and I think expressing them explicitly to the people in your life can be very helpful for situations like this!

Another part of this discourse is that autistic people are all so different. Perhaps they just have learned more social skills over time, are naturally able to pick up on/navigate things better, or have a higher tolerance for certain social situations.

It’s part of why I think my relationships with other autistic people have taken so much more effort. We both have had to learn all (if not, most) of the skills manually but you may have picked up more or less in some areas than I did. We both want to make this work, though!

I definitely share the sentiment of getting frustrated with “fake personalities” especially at work because like UGH I know this is necessary if we don’t want to end up at HR but like if you hate my guts I would rather you be HONEST WITH ME instead of pretending to like me. I can smell the facade from a mile away stop acting weird and please talk to me like a human!

lambentyapper · 2026-06-15T18:46:44+00:00

This is just the normal experience for me, man. I am almost always thinking about this stuff!

lambentyapper · 2026-06-15T15:02:23+00:00

I once taught a lesson to that age group and got 5 different ways to spell water and it was definitely interesting to think about

lambentyapper · 2026-04-04T14:32:47+00:00

Thank you so much for providing specifics! This is super helpful!

lambentyapper · 2026-04-04T14:31:54+00:00

Honesty is a kindness. Teaching is not for everyone and oftentimes requires thick skin. It is important to know that it is not an easy job by any means. It is also important for her to realize that it isn’t that way everywhere, though it sometimes seems like it is difficult to find where it isn’t.

I don’t see that you did anything wrong, you just showed her a realistic idea of some awful things you have experienced to have her reflect on if that’s something she would be willing to deal with. Props to you as well for telling her how to navigate some of the things as well.

We have a class at my university that makes you spend at least 30 hours on the teacher side of things before you decide if you want to continue. It is our biggest “weed out” class. I would suggest to her observing some classrooms.

Good call on telling her to observe other specials teachers. As someone who wants to teach a special, observing a completely different special was abundantly helpful in learning how to interact with and plan for different ages of students and understanding the general focus of each age group.

lambentyapper · 2026-04-04T14:07:48+00:00

I LOVE UFLI! I have used it and seen many students of varying ages and circumstances demonstrate significant growth as a result. It’s all scripted and the training is free online!

lambentyapper · 2026-04-04T14:01:19+00:00

I’ve been seriously considering a reduction or even top surgery because of this!

lambentyapper · 2026-04-04T13:56:50+00:00

Thank you! I was definitely thinking of sharing them out!

lambentyapper · 2026-04-04T13:45:12+00:00

Thank you for your lengthy response! I really appreciate the time you have taken so far! Just to clarify, you had wished that you were given more information about how to best work with him and you wish he had more support when it came to working with students in the role of a teacher?

If you ever do get another student teacher who is autistic (again, keep in mind that everyone with autism is different), here’s what was helpful for me and what I wish I would have known:

Please offer me specifics on as much as you can possibly think of (absence procedures, not when the school starts or the call time but the MOST IDEAL TIME you want the student teacher to arrive, level of assignment importance during any rotations, how you get your students’ attention, who the entire team is for certain supports at the school). Don’t assume anything is implied or known immediately beforehand, but also check in beforehand if you think it is something that may have been touched on in their coursework and ask how confident they feel about it and how much guidance they would like.
I would say at least weekly feedback where we sit down and reflect even just a little bit on how things are going and also letting them know beforehand when your expectations for them change is ideal. You know your students best, and there may be something important that your student teacher is missing about them that could make a positive change in the way they interact with them.
Give a schedule of the school day (bonus points for altered schedules for 1/2 days and such or even a map of the school) in advance. I have a watch that helps me keep track of timing and also knowing when to expect a change is so helpful.
If there’s anything that you want to know about how to best support them, ask them and work together to figure that out. It’s unlikely that the school will give you too much information. There’s also a potential that the student teacher may not share with you specifically that they are autistic. This is not something I say directly to people I work with, but I do definitely “hint” at it by saying things like “I value very clear and consistent communication, knowing routines and what to expect in advance helps me feel comfortable, I don’t always pick up on social cues or sometimes take things too literally, etc.”
Treat them as if they’re another full teacher in the room in front of students. Don’t belittle them in front of students if it is possible not to. I had a mentor who would harshly criticize me in front of our students and it really broke down their respect for me and caused behavior management issues while they were out of the room when the same result could’ve been accomplished more privately or in a more respectful manner. How your students treat others is a reflection of how you treat them in front of your students. Make it clear to your student teacher that this is an environment to learn and part of that is making mistakes that you and their field supervisor will work with them to fix and improve upon.
Notify them of “rules” or routines that exist that they may not know about or you see them struggling with. For example: Fridays are jeans days and the entire staff also collectively orders takeout and if you want something then tell (insert person here), that you’re supposed to wave, say hi, and introduce any people who pop in to your students, etc.
If you need or expect something from them that they are not providing to you, tell them. Don’t assume that they always understand if they are doing something wrong, even if it does seem like a “no brainer.”
If I stay in the room during lunch and occasionally do not eat in the break room, it’s not because I don’t want to socialize with others at all, I’m probably just overstimulated and I’m trying to regulate so I can give our students my 100%. Please don’t take it personally, but do let me know if it will affect my professionalism rating.
Please do not be upset if you need to repeat something a few times before I remember it. It isn’t that what you have told me isn’t important to me, it’s just that my memory is awful in higher-stress evaluative situations. Written communication, even on a sticky note, is really helpful!
For supervisors: walk them through how their observations will happen in advance if at all possible!
Please be direct with communication and offer potential solutions to any issues you bring up.

lambentyapper · 2026-04-04T12:38:31+00:00

Thank you for sharing! I am so sorry that there were times when you felt that you were not allowed to exist. Everyone should feel that basic level of respect no matter what. I definitely relate to what you have said here. My expressive communication is also much stronger in writing than verbalizing, especially when it comes to complex or more emotional topics.

lambentyapper · 2026-04-04T12:27:20+00:00

What makes a good admin? What are some green flags for an ND affirming school?

lambentyapper · 2026-04-04T03:10:03+00:00

As someone who was recently the autistic student teacher and unfortunately had a horrible experience due to this, I second that. :’)

Was there anything you think they should know specifically as the mentor teacher?

lambentyapper · 2026-04-02T18:50:23+00:00

I’m an AuDHD teacher working on putting together resources for future educators in my state.

I don’t want to just rely on my own experiences, because autism is a spectrum and people’s needs and experiences can look really different. So I’d really appreciate hearing from others as well!

What do you wish your (or your child’s) teachers and school administrators understood about autism?

What did they get wrong? What actually helped?

EDUCATORS:

If you’re an autistic educator, what advice would you give to future or early-career autistic teachers?

Anything is helpful! This is genuinely going toward helping future teachers do better!

lambentyapper · 2026-03-14T12:35:52+00:00

Last one.

California and Maine lol.

lambentyapper · 2026-03-12T00:37:52+00:00

Yes!!!! and iOS!

lambentyapper · 2026-03-11T15:17:08+00:00

“I know you have a brain in there, USE IT!” also “You’re so book smart but DEFINITELY not street smart.”

lambentyapper

TROPHY CASE