the big lies

[kaberett]

Not-really-a-linkspam: How Autistics and Neurotypicals Experience Emotions Differently. I have a whole bunch of quibbles & criticisms, but I'm interested in the framework, the concept of experiencing "justice" and "mercy" and "work" as emotions -- for example (emphasis as in the original):

I have a close friend [...] She will show me something she has been working on, and my immediate response will be to correct the language which might not be as accurate or as thoughtful as it could be. I do this before telling her how proud I am for the Work she’s doing, before I tell her it’s well-written, and before I affirm for her that she is a good person doing a good thing. She does the same for me.

The reason is because if someone complimented me on Work I was doing, then I would feel they were implying that I was Laboring in the interest of self-promotion or validation-seeking. These aren’t spoken values, but something we feel innately. This is how I Labor with other autistics. We correct each other. We offer what expertise and insight we can to sharpen the other’s Work, to add volume and clarity to the other’s Love song.

I don't think the things the author talks about as Weird Neurotypical Habits -- gifts, cards, talking about the weather, asking "how are you?" -- are in any sense universally solely Weird Neurotypical Habits even though they don't work for her. "We don’t really congratulate each other, because that would be an invalidation of the Purpose." -- um, excuse me, no. (There's probably something here about autism and trauma, as previously discussed: it's taken me a while to learn that it's useful for me to note and recognise and praise effort, as well as outcomes and product, but it taking me a while to notice that, it not coming naturally to me, doesn't mean it's pointless or invalidating.)

But it still feels like there is Something In There, even if I've not managed to articulate it yet, so apparently that's what I'll be chewing over this afternoon.

Comments

[jedusor]

I currently have access to a whole lot of sensory, psychological, and neuroimaging data for autistic, SPD, and neurotypical kids, and sometime this month my lab will be meeting to discuss manuscript foci for it. Emotion and executive function are my primary interests; I don't know if I can spearhead a paper right now what with the entire (unrelated) study I'm in the middle of launching pretty much solo, along with the fact that I'm the new kid in the department, but I definitely want to dig into it when I can and hop onto whatever projects others are developing in the meantime. I would be very interested to hear more of your perspective on this kind of thing if and when you have more to say, and will also happily wander down rabbitholes of links if you or anyone else wants to share.

[jedusor]

Also if there's anything in particular that you (or other folks on the spectrum reading these comments) think has been overlooked or done wrong in the current literature on autism and SPD in kids, I can definitely holler on your behalf in the meetings and gdoc comments even if I'm not on those projects myself.