Sharing: Look me in the eye: on different kinds of expertise

On By VisualVoxIn Autism

When I first plucked up the courage to talk to my GP about whether I might be autistic, he listened to my account, agreed that the case history sounded right, and then asked what I wanted to do next

Read the rest of this great piece here: Look me in the eye: on different kinds of expertise

13 thoughts on “Sharing: Look me in the eye: on different kinds of expertise”

  1. and that frog story in the testi g they use for white upper middle class boys is one if the reasons i stay wary of the testi g things for adults.
    fortunately there are so many of the online tests out there now.

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    1. VisualVox

      Sheesh – I know, right? A friend of mine actually was assessed with the childhood tests. It really messed with her mind. She’s still shaken by it.

      We need better tests – I’m going to create a new one that’s more inclusive. Based on the RAADS and the AQ and other tests, but combine them and also include features not accounted for — like when sensory-seeking autistic people who are really into theater prefer to go to the theater, versus a library. That question is completely wrong — not ’cause the preferences are wrong for everyone, but because they stupidly screen out the sensory-seeking autistics, complicating things needlessly and forcing us to explain sh*t to them that should be self-evident.

      That’s a new thing I woke up wanting to do today. Or did I go to sleep last night, wanting to do it? I’ve lost track. But I’m doing it, nonetheless.

      😀

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      1. i’ll want to read it 🙂
        another thing with those stupid tests for children is that most adults, especially those who were diagnosed with femaleness when they were born, have been so shamed to do the eye contact dance they can usually appear to pass as NT with that. heck, even blind kids get taught to fake it. if someone is talking, i can hear where they are so of course i will reply to that direction.
        if i were doing that stupid test for white boys, i’d wear my darkest shades during it. as in, no eye contact, no light perception… so could ask someone to describe those frog pictures to me first. hah.

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      3. hah. if i end up going to do that test some day, maybe i’ll also set my twitter or facebook or youtube to stream it from my phone. volume down or in my headphones, and screen off so the test givers wouldn’t even notice the streaming part. plus i’d love figuring how long it’d take them to notice i don’t see a thing with my shades.
        seriously, that test should be in online accessible format and not rely on paper and people staring at where you stare at while being tested

        Liked by 1 person

      5. I also need audio as half of the time can’t figure what I’m looking at, and another of my print disabilities includes dyslexia (preferring braille over print could be another). So :p getting audio formats of anything I ask would fall under the “reasonable accommodations” thing

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      6. VisualVox

        Yep, that too. The more I think about it, the more amazed I am at what a multi-sensory experience my life HAS to be, in order to navigate. Watching lips move, observing body language, sensing the mood, detecting how close or far I am from people/things, etc. It’s very … involved.

        Like

      7. i studied body language from books as a kid, like a foreign language. and it’s always constant troubleshooting around people.
        and it’s so weird how uncomfortable most NTs are when you describe the compensatory things you might use to compensate for sight details (or i imagine hearing)

        Liked by 1 person

      8. VisualVox

        Oh, I know! Anytime I mention (nonchalantly) what I do to compensate for things like balance issues (just hold onto something and focus my vision on a single point) … or noise (turn my head away, so the sound isn’t going RIGHT INTO MY EARS)… or not having any clue what someone just said to me (nod and smile and echo what they said, so they think I’m listening and understanding)… or being face-blind (again, smile and nod, and behave like I know them as well as they seem to know me)… it Freaks . Them . Out.

        Like, dude, you have your own issues, and that’s fine. Let me have mine. At least I’ve figgered out what to do about it!

        Liked by 1 person

    1. VisualVox

      We do, indeed. Honestly, it’s like certain people don’t even realize that autistic folks are capable of learning… or what all that entails. I’d hazard to say, we’re even more adept at learning than the rest of the world. I really dislike being regulated by people who lag behind our capabilities.

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