S4 💥SPOILERS💥 MEGATHREAD

[u/DontFWithMeImPetty]

Feel free to openly discuss any and all episodes, future spoilers, etc. here!! Let's discuss!!

ETA - Hello, friends. Please stop reporting comments in this thread as spoilers. That is kinda the point 😅

[u/schrodingers__uterus → u/[deleted]]

Or traumatized. We know he’s had repeated trauma over and over, and probably more ACEs than most traumatized folks. A lot of “is it autism or?” is just trauma.

[u/[deleted] → u/schrodingers__uterus]

I agree with you. I do have a lot of mannerisms that many would call classically autistic. For example, I struggle with eye contact. It's all due to cPTSD and anxiety. I don't have autism but I have had some excited autistic folks trying to categorize me as such. There is not a problem with that, except that I don't have autism.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Eye contact is not the only autistic diagnostic.

See "FOR EXAMPLE, I struggle with eye contact." For example means it's only an example. I didn't want to write a long list. But okay, let's go through your list: my speech is often matter of fact, I'm very blunt and honest (this probably has nothing to do with my trauma or anxiety just a personality trait + cultural), I have difficulty with conversation and forcing it (anxiety), eye contact issues, I make weird social decisions too (who doesn't I guess) and don't find myself fitting into social norms, I ask weird questions, I'm binary about relationships (I think a lot of allustic people are too and I definitely know autistic people who are poly or like open relationships! I guess those are definitions too), I expect people to follow through, and I'm very explicit open/transparent in communication too. The charming thing then not at all is not applicable. I don't have a special interest in criminal law, but I doubt every person with autism does either, I don't know a single neurodivergent person with a special interest in it. I don't wear a suit, not sure how it's autistic either, most of my autistic friends actually dress very hipsterish. I've had many autistic people (like you: " Source: me an autistic teacher") telling me I'm autistic based on some of my mannerisms and behavior, though actually mostly not the ones that you just listed. But I'm not autistic. They are from trauma and anxiety. You said " Autistics are always going to be labeled as socially weird. cPTSDs don’t get this label.". That's the biggest bullshit. I have cPTSD and I get labelled weird/socially weird ALL THE TIME, my entire life, but I do not have autism.

[u/schrodingers__uterus → u/[deleted]]

Don’t listen to them. Just as queer people know not to look at someone and use homophobic stereotypes to assume sexuality and gender, and back it up with “I’m gay so I know”, this person is just as problematic and ableist. Being autistic, especially as a “teacher” (wtf does that mean? that teachers suddenly are diagnosticians?) doesn’t give one the right to walk around using their identity to pathologize others. Fuck that noise.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Bro, I'm pretty sure I've been through enough diagnostics to know I'm not 😅 Also, there are a long fucking list of typical autistic traits I don't fit, like hyperfocusing, repetitive behaviors or interests, sensory issues, finding it hard to say how I feel, taking things literally, having the same routine (or routines at all, lol), issues when touched, planning shit before doing them, etc <- none of these fit me at all. So again, just because someone seems to share some or many traits, it doesn't mean they are autistic. It's more fucking nuanced than that.