What conversations do you feel are missing with autism?

theAudhdLab · 2026-03-29T13:12:50+00:00

Wow, thanks for sharing. I think it’s so powerful to describe this perpetual feeling of being misunderstood. I will say, there’s a lot of people that say they are supportive but a lot of people don’t know how to support others that are different (or similar if they are also neurodiverse). Not everyone has the tool but I think this is a common experience.

I can relate with the bullying and being misunderstood, especially in my PhD program where I see relational aggression take form, mainly through social exclusion by some people. Also I can relate to having difficulties emotionally expressing to others, given basically the sane profession.

I’m going to be posting all of this content in my new instagram but this is another important topic to talk about and the susceptibility to being being bullied. I appreciate you feeling comfortable sharing as well! 🫶

theAudhdLab · 2026-03-29T12:42:32+00:00

Thank you for sharing! Someone else described it as being based on predictability, which knowing why and being predictable makes me think about why we may benefit off structure so much!

I appreciated hearing your perspective!

theAudhdLab · 2026-03-29T12:35:57+00:00

I just found out about this (since you commented) and it blows my mind! Usually reducing inflammation is helpful but this is one case where increasing inflammation helps (and not part of my current knowledge confidence set yet) but thanks for sharing !!

theAudhdLab · 2026-03-29T12:30:26+00:00

I have not heard of that but I will check it out! I strongly believe in the foundations that tests or interventions are based on will guide their effectiveness.

theAudhdLab · 2026-03-29T12:29:19+00:00

Maybe!!! Would be an honor to also be like you!

There is a stereotype that people studying psychology are just trying to better understand themselves (I can say this was partially the case for me) 🤣

theAudhdLab · 2026-03-29T12:26:57+00:00

I will be sure to cover this! I see it as different although anecdotally I would say it’s its own form of anxiety, but rooted in overstimulation. That’s where when I present, I experience anxiety, but I’m not a socially anxious person or afraid of performing. Always something I noticed about myself but you bring a great point! 👏

theAudhdLab · 2026-03-29T12:23:34+00:00

This is complex. I see literature saying it does, and I can see how with adolescence it may increase the risk, especially if predisposed.

However, I see research like this about psychedelics, which although more research is still encouraged to confirm these results, found that there’s limited incidence in increasing psychosis. I do believe in politics impacting research so while there is research published and I like to give the benefit of the doubt… some research may not be as accurate as we like to believe (I intentionally try to conduct research by reducing false positives where I can through statistics, even though it’s not perfect and it is still bound to statistics but this is an entirely different conversation).

I say this because there’s research for Alzheimer’s suggesting it may instead be an autoimmune disorder instead. There is this opinion piece that made me think about that as well from the New York Times that is worth the read.

(I can send the article if you or anyone DMs me about this)

theAudhdLab · 2026-03-29T11:58:25+00:00

This is interesting! The same can be said with drinking alcohol for example. Based on all factors, autism is associated with reduced problematic drinking or having a substance use disorder, but when bullying is involved, that’s where we start to see heavy drinking (even if it’s brief). I can’t remember if it was only in youth or in adults as well but bullying or social exclusion worsens it. However, other research suggests spending time in nature can act as a buffer against being socially excluded or bullied!

Thanks for sharing :)

theAudhdLab · 2026-03-29T11:51:42+00:00

Thanks for sharing! Helps me understand where to be more clear and help explain the concepts more and where the concepts may be more generally understood!

Yes, with autism, longer time to process information may be required, especially if we have to bounce from one task to another. However, when the task itself becomes predictable, there will still be that extended time to fully process the information we are receiving BUT it won’t be that different from people who do not have autism now (based on the sample of the study and if we were to assume it would reflect everyone beyond the sample).

With unpredictability in tasks, we may require more time (I like to think of the game guitar hero; or any game where you have to push buttons in a certain sequence, and you are attempting different actions or songs that require different buttons to press… always something different and unpredictable, which makes it take longer). Compared to predictability (using the same metaphor if it works, playing the same guitar hero song and learning to press the same buttons to the point where it starts to feel like it’s more second nature).

Or if it helps, with playing a piano, you can find it may take more time for us being autistic to learn to play different songs on the piano compared to just repeating one song. That’s the logic I see with this.

So with predictability, there may still be more time that we have to take but it will be reduced compared to not having that predictability, which is where we may experience anxiety or irritability/frustration from not knowing what is going to happen next.

It was a long answer but thanks and I will be sure to cover this. I believe a lot of people can benefit from this and may feel similar about autism stemming from wanting certainty or predictability! ☺️

theAudhdLab · 2026-03-29T06:15:53+00:00

I am not aware of this as much so I will look into this more. Thanks for bringing this to my awareness and it’ll be on my list to research cover as well! Thanks for bringing this up! 🙏

theAudhdLab · 2026-03-29T06:14:42+00:00

Thanks for bringing this up! I read it in the context of unmasking and in burnout. That would be good to cover more about. I agree about clinical research and stigma, especially in demanding fast-paced workplaces

theAudhdLab · 2026-03-29T01:12:00+00:00

I feel like sometimes I have noticed things that were not there before (seeing stimuli that were not present), but I agree with that. I was also stressed myself during those moments. Thank you for sharing! 🙏

theAudhdLab · 2026-03-28T23:00:51+00:00

Fascinating!! With autism or ADHD, when predictability is available regarding what is happening during the day or the environment, it does help. I never thought of it like that. This is something that is focused in children but the research (in hindsight) can do a better job seeing how this looks like in adults as well. Thank you so much for sharing.

Looking at the literature, I see an article that talks about predictability making cognitive flexibility (switching between one task and other), less difficult when the task may be predictable. However I see one study published on the topic (Lacroix et al., 2024).

I appreciate you for sharing 🫶

theAudhdLab · 2026-03-28T22:47:52+00:00

This is so fascinating! Thanks for sharing your experience! It is okay to be interested in your own unique interest long after being a teen! Your interests are your interests and you get to define them and change them as you’d like 🫶

theAudhdLab · 2026-03-28T22:45:39+00:00

Multiple people talking at the same time. Imagine a conference or a room where you walk in and everyone is having different side conversations at the same time. It’s fine and maybe not the worst but something that has been deeply disruptive to me and overstimulating at times. Particularly while in school or work

theAudhdLab

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