It’s so hard for me to read people, I know — i’ve written about this in the past, but it’s the truth.
I am vocal about being Autistic because my inability to connect with people is rooted in my neurodiversity. Now, i’m not saying it’s a bad thing (but it definitely can be).
I am still figuring out where my place is in the world and how I can integrate myself more seamlessly in to the environment around me and it’s not going well.
I don’t understand intent from others. I have been taken advantage of or put in situations that I believe will have a favourable outcome, but they don’t. It’s generally the other party who is interested and I go along with what is happening. I meet someone, spend time with them and then afterwards feel incredibly remorseful during my reflection of what just happened.
A lot of the time it can simply be the energy that I sense from others, i’ve been told before I am a “sensitive” and I don’t know the validity of that label, however what I do know is that I tend to repeat scenerios in my head. The more I seem to do this, the worse I feel. It’s the anxiety (once again) propelling me to a very dark place I didn’t want to go.
I have been getting back in to the dating pool and it has been incredibly draining for me. I don’t think i’m going to continue. I put my heart and soul in to everything I do and it tends to make me feel objectified. I am so eager to get to know people and learn their quirks, but I can’t say that it’s been easy trying to find people who understand me. They see me for one thing and that’s it. Also, identifying as non-binary puts a whole other wrench in to that situation because I am viewed as strictly female.
So, I deleted the dating apps and i’m done with that. I am not going to put myself through that hurt anymore. It’s time I focus on myself, my art, my writing, my advocacy work and OBVIOUSLY cats (because, hello, life is incomplete without them!)
Life always throws something my way, I feel like i’m always trying to decipher a code that I can’t crack.
He uses clickbait titles which plays off the very same theme, essentially taking Autism to a level where it becomes something fresh, new and exciting – at the expense of others. He also pairs up with other YouTube creators who have the same thing in mind. I recently heard that he made a point of insulting “negative” creators at an event tied to the creation of his videos.
2. Self fulfilling prophecy
He creates content to boost his ego. He can’t take critiques from anybody. If you tell him he’s doing something wrong, you’ll be blocked very quickly.
@theaspieworld is an egotistical liar who believes that success is YouTube subs and that perpetuating misinformation makes him some kind of deity. I know he said this about me based on the timeline. #ActuallyAutisticpic.twitter.com/YHGqLBsh7D
— Margaux // Retrophiliac (@artfulretro) July 9, 2019
There have been other people in the #ActuallyAutistic community who have called him out and some that have even taken the time to private message him to express their feelings about his content, only for it to fall through the cracks and be disregarded. He has also written a book about a religion (he may or may not) have created and he also promotes his merchandise through his videos.
Alex Watts is his producer and “community manager” who decided to send me this on twitter. It’s incredibly unfortunate that they will stoop to tactics like this as a means to communicate with me.
Compelling debates are reserved for folks who would benefit from a discussion – you're simply still hounding on Dan daily like it's your 9-5. Check yourself. Dan may be peace and love – but I'm the asshole who'll call your BS.
July 12th, still being heckled by Dan Jones “Community Manager”, who fails to uphold himself to any professional standards.
3. Misinformation
If you have the ability to watch my react videos, you’ll notice very quickly that he fails to cite sources for his information. When talking about Aspergers VS Autism, he prefaces it saying that it doesn’t apply to everyone, yet he makes generalizations. Autism absorbed Aspergers in 2015 — Four years before his video came out. He said he will be updating the video, but it’s not like he didn’t have the new information at the time of creation. I also am baffled at a lot of the things he says and he continues to perpetuate his information as fact. It’s not factual. If you can’t cite sources and you can’t show proof to people, you’re only as good as your word.
His videos are presented at different educational events which is a further way to perpetuate fiction.
He has also said that there is a lack of Autistic female youtube creators, which also is not true. Perhaps he said this because he’s not a fan of those who have challenged him and suggested that he change.
Emma Dalmayne created a video back in October of 2018 that I highly suggest you watch.
A vast majority of his audience seem to be Autism “Warrior” Moms. These are the type of people who generally won’t listen to #ActuallyAutistic adults in favour of people who are telling them what they want to hear. Daniel Jones has found that they are the perfect audience for him and he uses terms that are generally not well liked by our community like “WITH Autism”, “With Aspergers” — which I find a lot of these parents use. Plenty of them are Autism Speaks supporters as well and won’t hesitate to attach a shiny blue puzzle piece to their social media handles.
Mine has nothing to do with representing autism, it’s about representing my son and what he has had to go through. Nothing to do with his autism. I know there are people who don’t like the jigsaw piece, but it can represent for other things too. Thank you for your input.
If you’re not going to listen to the community you supposedly represent and are part of and you continue to promote yourself with the basis of your content being completely untruthful, manufactured, sensationalized and self-gratifying, you’re not helping anyone.
I also believe it’s so important to give a voice to my fellow Autistics and I have done so in this post. It’s not just me who is striving for change and proper representation. IF YOU HAVE AN AUDIENCE, DO SOMETHING GOOD WITH IT!
He's douch.
And supposedly he represents people here in North Wales i for one think of him as Creditinal Youtuber.
Sadly Autistic Kids have to be referred and preferenced to him from Martyrs.
I used to like his work, but then I seen through the cracks. It's all views and subs. Also, using people that are well known instead of actually going into the community, His advice is outdated. He should promote other autistic advocates out there. What a missed opportunity.
I thought he was alright at first, but it's all about YouTube hits to generate cash and sponsoring products. He's always say symptoms and tested, like it's a contagious disease. It's "assessed" they don't stick a needle in you. They're characteristics.
I'd be concerned about misinformation. I didn't live his style so haven't seen enough to know how accurate he is.
However, I wouldn't begrudge him simply for trying to pay the bills via informative YouTube videos about his condition. I appreciate a few who do this.
— Autistic Priest⛪ (FrMatthewLC) (@AutisticPriest) July 6, 2019
He’s been giving tips on what the difference between autism and Aspergers is and won’t listen to people telling him there is none. He blocked me for doing so even though he lives locally to me
I have never liked him because he’s using being autistic to make money, and also spreads so much misinformation and is a terrible representation of autistic people. Glad to see there are others who agree.
I watched a few of his videos and got off vibes. It was like some of his content didn’t really seem that genuine. I’m glad it’s not just me who thinks so
I no longer utilize the term Aspergers in reference to myself as it is harmful terminology. I am maintaining the Aspergers tag on 3 of my posts so they are easily searchable, however I am not condoning the use of this language.
I believe in the power of words. Whether it’s for good or bad, words linger. The power you can have over someone else’s emotions and personal strength is more impactful then you probably realize. That being said, tomorrow is my birthday and today I feel a bit crestfallen.
15 years, 20 years or 25 years, does the timeline really matter if you still feel the same way that you did when that person said or did that hurtful thing to you? Does time invalidate the pain or the ability to make things right with someone who you may have said incredibly distressing things to? No. Never.
You have time to make things right; time to heal those who you have wounded.
I feel like a fool sometimes for reaching out to those people and try to give them a chance to make amends, clear the air and have a positive interaction with me — but some of those people would rather make it seem like I am the one at fault; like I deserved it.
Reliving these terrible instances is a horrible way to live. Oh, and not only live, but sleep, dream or even have nightmares about it. Why are some worthy of respect from these individuals, even friends of mine, and yet I’m not? I don’t know if it’s because I’m wired differently, because I’m neurodiverse or because my skin isn’t as thick as it could be. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I spent so many years crying and being ‘beat up’ emotionally by those around me, including a family member who should have set a good example. The term “emotional punching bag” comes to mind.
If someone gives you the chance to make things right, please don’t insinuate that the victim is the one to blame when given the chance to make things right:
“I am sorry you harboured this feeling for so long. i’m not sure if I can give you the response that you wanted – but I do hope you can mend that hole.”
In conclusion:
Please make amends with those you may have hurt.
Your words are more powerful than you realize.
Be kind.
I’ve been a Vegetarian for roughly 15 years, so naturally i’ve wanted to go to VegExpo. It was incredibly busy! You had to push past part of the crowds to get anywhere so that was a bit tedious. The fact I had the chance to connect with brands that I already love, taste delicious new treats and be immersed in a space with likeminded people made it completely worth it. They had over 200 vendors. The location was the Vancouver Convention Centre and it ran from 10 until 5pm. We got there at around 10:15, waited in line for about 15 minutes and got in at 10:30. We stayed for 3 hours and I’m really happy we went early. As the day went on it just kept getting busier. It’s really nice to see something of this calibre be such a success.
Back when I was employed in the retail health food sector, I had the privilege of going to CHFA. This, being a show open to the public and not just exclusive to retailers and wholesalers, was, well, very different: The demographic and the approach by companies was more tailored to their customer base. It was interesting to compare and contrast.
I was really happy that I was able to talk a bit about my story and connect with brands that seem to align with my vision and values. I hope this gives me some opportunities for some great taste test videos (did you see this one?)!
Here are the brands/companies/associations that I mention in my video above:
I’m almost gritting my teeth as I write this. It’s always experiences that prompt me to go on these informative rants (if you want to call it that) and let it all flow.
I was recently contacted by someone who runs a charity event to benefit a local Autism Centre. She asked me if there was any way I wanted to be involved and immediately I got quite defensive and a bit angry. I should have controlled my emotions a bit better but it was seemingly obvious that she had not viewed any of my content prior to contacting me.
She told me they raised over 200,000 in the past for this centre with their different events. That’s all well and good until you see who one of the main sponsors is for the centre.
AUTISM SPEAKS CANADA.
Anyone who knows me or has viewed my content has probably seen how outspoken I am against them. Just look up “Boycott Autism Speaks” on google and you’ll yield 266,000 results! There are plenty of reasons as to why I will not be involved in ANYTHING that is remotely linked to them. I have values and self-respect.
The conversation went like this:
Do you really want to help the Autistic community? I’m always quite disheartened by the fact that so many of these opportunities are laden with no information OR misinformation. It makes getting the message of advocacy/activism/equality/rights much harder to convey.
If you want to donate funds, here’s some things you can do:
Contact your local Autistic Meetup group and ask what they need
Support Autistic individuals by purchasing their art or offerings
Happy Valentines Day! A Chewigem Review for the Miller Heart is so fitting.
I am so lucky to be a Chewigem Ambassador and here are my thoughts on the Miller Heart in “Love” Product can be found here: https://chewigemcanada.myshopify.com/
I tweeted this out yesterday and I am still feeling the same way today.
Explaining it to people is devastatingly hard. I commend the attempt at understanding but unless you’ve experienced it yourself, you never know. For me, the exhaustion kicks in, both mentally and physically. The light sensitivity happens and being able to see gets increasingly difficult. Trying to be social is virtually impossible and continues to drain energy that is barely left. I get goosebumps, I physically look ‘drained’. My attempt at tasks that require my fine motor skills becomes a course in ‘how many times can I fail?’
Autistic burnout isn’t a made up thing- I just wish it was easier to explain to people. It’s not an excuse and it’s not like I consciously (or unconsciously) decided to be perceived as lazy or unreliable. There’s such thing as ‘too much’ and I feel as though that’s where i’m at.
This happens to me, and i’ve documented it before:
Navigating Life 