Why is this ded T^T

Does anyone else here suffer from the phenomenon that is Visual Snow Syndrome? It's caused by hyperacitvity and hyper-excitability in the areas of the brain that process visual information.

It's... kind of hard to describe what it looks like lmao. It's a little like seeing a constant fuzzy filter over the world. For some, it's stronger and more noticable than others.

Until recently I honestly never knew what VSS was, or that it's actually really common among autistic individuals. Until, like, last week I thought everyone had the condition lmao

Mine is kind of faint and I can only really see it in normal lighting or during the day if I focus on it. But if close my eyes, or if I'm in poor lighting or during the night, it becomes a lot more obvious for me. It doesn't impair my vision completely, but it makes the world seem a lot more... alive? In a way? It can get distracting. Last night when I realised for the first time I had VSS, I couldn't sleep for ages because I thought it was beautiful. As in, like, this is me, and this is my vision, and,, uh, yeah. :')

But the fuzzy filter over the world isn't the only symptom of VSS. Palinopsia, photophobia, an increased/enhanced version of the ectopic phenomenon, seeing a glare/starburst/halo around lights, and seeing random flashes of light/colour are all symptoms too. Co-morbid migraines are common among individuals who have VSS too, but VSS is not the same as migraine aura.

I definitely feel as if I've discovered my autism all over again. It's much more than just, "I have no clue how to tell facial expressions apart". So much more.

I do not have that~

Okay, this sounds a tad odd but,,, does anyone else headcanon characters in shows/cartoons as autistic? There's hardly any representation of autism in the media and maybe I'm just desperate lmao. But if a fictional character in a show, or in a game, or something else exhibits common symptoms of autism I'm usually like,,,,,,, yo what if you had autism. Lmao

yES I do. Especially star from star vs the forces of evil

10000% percent!! <3

Especially lilo from lilo and stitch.

Abby from ncis.

That one single son on horton hears a who.

That one dude I forgot the name of on spies in disguise.

And many many more <3

Em, hey! So, nope I don't have autism :') Don't mind me quietly invading your chat, but I have a question! I'm so sorry if I come off as rude. Please virtually smack me if so.

Here goes nothing:

So, I'm pretty sure my brother is on the autism spectrum. He has a severe anxiety disorder, but the more I learn about autism, the more I come to realize that it may not be just his anxiety that sets him apart. I'm reaching out to ask you guy's opinions, and if you think he might have some form of autism.

I guess my first point would be that he's rather socially awkward. Not in a very noticable fashion, really - he has close friendships, is in that athletic, 'cool' friend group, etc. But he cannot identify emotion well at all. He has absolutely no concept of tone of voice, especially his own tone. It becomes an issue when he's with me, because I don't show emotion I don't wish to. I also tend to close off outwards facial expression when upset. He gets frustrated when he can't read me, then I get frustrated because he's angry at me, and then it spirals into that sibling argument type thing :') Although my brother is incredibly sweet and empathetic, he tends to completely miss soom seemingly obvious social cues. He pretty much failed the concussion baseline test because he couldn't work through the facial expression indentification section of the quiz well. So that's point one.

Point two is that, when really excited, he'll screw up his face (I'm not describing this in a mean way - he actually just really scruches/twists his face), then extends his arms downwards and wrings his hands together. A stimm, I think it might be called? So there's another point.

Third point: he has some issues with sensory stuff. I actually have no idea if this has anything to do with autism aha, but I might as well mention it. He's extremely sensitive to textures (mainly food-related), and does not do well with any sort of foreign texture he doesn't like. He can't have the food on his plate touching, or else it's too much mixed texture and taste for him. This goes to the extent that he really hates using the same fork for the different foods on his plates. As another comment on this, (a comment I'm not even sure is relevant), he panics in uncomfortable situations/ a sensory overload. I recall, once, when we were younger, we were swimming in an underground lake. I've swam about in a lake of melted snow, and it couldn't compare to the freezing temperatures in the underground one. I'm not sure if it was anxiety that triggered the panic attack, or a sensory overload, but he had a complete meltdown and had to be dragged out of the lake.

Almost forgot to mention this! He has these habits we've always called tics. Repetative, quiet cough type noises is his current tic. It only really ever happens when he's nervous. His past tics have varied from rapid blinking to finger tapping. I've pretty much always chalked his tics up to anxiety, which is a plausible explanation. But could it be an autism thing? No idea :') If anyone could let me know, that be great aha

So yup! If you guys could let me know what you think, that'd be awesome! Thanks in advance <3

I'm getting ready to log off, so I dont have to much time to write out a whole big response or anything lol. Buht form your description, it certainly does seem like he would fall under the criteria for an autism diagnosis. Alot of those things that you described, I have in common. Especially the scrunching of the face when excited or happy, and his specific sensory issues, like his food touching etc, and he does have some similarly described tics or vocal stimms as myself. I do make smol couching/grunting noises, rapidly blinking or tightening my eyes shut repeatedly without realizing it.

.

It might be a great idea to bring this up with your parents and possibly try to get him an autism assessment, this will greatly benefit him throughout life, and he wont be left wondering for many years why he is so different from others, etc.

Thank you so much for your input! ^^ I'll try talking to my parents, and go from there.

Yeah, I agree with LucidCry. What you're describing does seem like autism. The little cough or grunting noises could even be vocal stims! Stims aren't just hand-flapping. There are auditory, vocal, and visual stims too.

You should mention to your parents your suspicions as an autism diagnosis is often beneficial. He might be able to get extra support when needed and some places that are often busy, such as airports, usually give out a special band or lanyard for those with sensory issues.

I got my lanyard two years ago? And it definitely changed everything. We went to Norway in 2018, and instead of having to queue up for hours in a noisy crowd with screaming children and different sensory triggers we were fast-tracked. Of course, it was only for the airport in Ireland, so we weren't fast-tracked on the way home. But it did save a lot of suffering lmao

I remember we went to Lanzarote last year, and on the way home something I was wearing (or perhaps even the soap I had used to wash my hands with) triggered the walk-through metal detector thing. That scared me enough, but then one of the operators had to take swaps to my wrists and hips, and that was enough to cause me to meltdown. xD I tear up just thinking about it lol, I think that was my last real meltdown. I recall trying to keep the tears at bay, because big girls don't cry, and trying to answer the questions she asked without sobbing lmaooo.

Ugh. It was awful. :') I wish the world was more autism-accepting.