How do other #AllAutistics #ActuallyAutistic people deal with being patronised? I really hate it. It makes me disproportionately angry. I have a @Cambridge_Uni degree plus a couple of others yet people want to pat me on the head for doing my housework? Why? And what for? & grrr!!

Maybe they are trying to encourage me by praising me for doing something I’m admittedly incredibly rubbish at. But still. I need to manage this better because either I don’t react this way or I stop interacting with people so much and that’s far too dramatic.

I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 40; many girls aren’t picked up until adulthood. What I liked about uni was that it was accepted/ expected that our basic needs should be looked after. College made sure I was fed and my floor was vacuumed (once all my stuff was shoved on my bed!).

Does that mean I didn’t/ couldn’t/ shouldn’t learn for myself? No, course not. I’ve lived alone for 20 years & get by as well as most other people. Will I always struggle with organising objects & meals? Yes, probably. I cope ok but safety nets are important to reduce stress.

This thread seems to have turned from anger into how much I miss being an undergraduate at Cambridge! About the only time in my life I felt fairly ‘normal’; or at least just about as random as everyone else!