Masks & Autism- Why & How ~ new from Autistamatic

[Autistamatic]

Hi Autistipeeps

New Autistamatic video available now, on the interwebs, for free!
I've even chucked in subtitles at no extra charge

This time it's the one I've wanted to do for ages on masking - describing some of the reasons we do it and the consequences it can have. This also marks a personal milestone because I've actually managed to crowbar the "Wilhelm Scream" into a video about autism, in context, a (silly) goal I set myself right at the start of this venture.

Can I also ask anybody who can and hasn't yet, to subscribe to the channel if you like what I do. More subscribers means higher rankings on the YouTube algorithms so more people get to see my/our work. There's a great deal of passion and hard work goes into every one (30+ hours of work for even a short one). I don't earn a penny from the channel so my only reward is views and the knowledge that some people have learned and/or been helped.

Enjoy -and as always - constructive criticism welcome...

Oh and @Fino "Every day can be..."

 

[Pats]

Another excellent video. Love the beginning with your acting award.

 

[Shamar]

Hi Autistipeeps

New Autistamatic video available now, on the interwebs, for free!
I've even chucked in subtitles at no extra charge

This time it's the one I've wanted to do for ages on masking - describing some of the reasons we do it and the consequences it can have. This also marks a personal milestone because I've actually managed to crowbar the "Wilhelm Scream" into a video about autism, in context, a (silly) goal I set myself right at the start of this venture.

Can I also ask anybody who can and hasn't yet, to subscribe to the channel if you like what I do. More subscribers means higher rankings on the YouTube algorithms so more people get to see my/our work. There's a great deal of passion and hard work goes into every one (30+ hours of work for even a short one). I don't earn a penny from the channel so my only reward is views and the knowledge that some people have learned and/or been helped.

Enjoy -and as always - constructive criticism welcome...

Oh and @Fino "Every day can be..."

Summed up nicely; mask or withdraw. I tried masking through college, and was wildly successful at failing socially. The need for social interaction and acceptance by others was overwhelming. After college as a field geologist, withdrawing seemed to be the answer. Not much social interaction in the deserts of Australia, Canadian Arctic in winter, jungle of Borneo, etc. Certainly easier, but still so much interaction was required that my career was much less than it should have been. Now I'm retired and just don't care what others think, which I should have started doing when I was about 6.

 

[Jeremiah]

Either my mask is rather minimal, or I've been wearing it so much even I don't know what I am under it.
It is actually kinda sad.

 

[Autistamatic]

Either my mask is rather minimal, or I've been wearing it so much even I don't know what I am under it.
It is actually kinda sad.

Many of us get to that point. I made the decision to drop the mask last year, but as I said in the video, old habits die hard and I find myself slipping back behind it without knowing sometimes.

 

[tducey]

I've masked before but it's not something I do that much. My autism is what makes me me. I accept it for what it is.

 

[unperson]

The background music track is too many sources of sound, I found myself listening to the music and not hearing what you were saying. Also sorry if this is offensive but the beard pony tail thing moves a lot and that gets distracting too.

Other than that you seem very personable! Hope I haven't offended you.

 

[Autistamatic]

Not offended.
The background music is there to help keep certain types of people engaged but there are also subtitles if you find that helps. I hope someone uses the captions - they take bloody hours to do!
The beads were on my beard that day (about a month ago - I filmed 2 on the same day) because the day before I made the mistake of trying some conditioner on it and ended up with a chin afro! It needed controlling it's not really long enough for beads right now.

 

[Fino]

Wow! It's genius!

I was confused for a second there and thought you used to be an actor.

And I made sure to watch the whole thing so I can properly hear the sign-off in its context. Yay! Thank you!

 

[Judge]

A source of frustration for me personally. With my very small social orbit, the only person I can and want to interact with occasionally doesn't handle my autistic traits and behaviors well at all.

It's good to have such a presentation for a non-autistic audience to see what masking means to so many of us, and that while it's a source of survival it is also a source of stress. Though I don't expect this to placate those like my cousin who for whatever reasons seem to have a "my way or the highway" mentality when interacting with autistic people.

Ironically when I do try to explain autistic behavior, she's always quick to respond, "But everyone is like that !" She doesn't get it. Worse still, she doesn't want to get it.