Autism and Animals (feat. my dog Moose)

[@pamelabrinkmeyer9931]

I love what you said about how we live in a similar world of just being like animals do and how animals may be giving us an image of what a healthy autistic person looks like. I know when I hang out with my horse that I feel so whole and complete and yet there is no need for words to be spoken between us. 💙

[@stefan1024]

I live in the city and we have kind of narrow side walks here. Whenever a person walking their dog crosses my way, I intuively arrange myself with the dog about where everybody has to walk to avoid collusion. I think that's because I find it easier to read the dogs body language, because there's no societal component to decipher. And I actually have the impression that many dogs react to me kind of in the same way. Since the person normally kind of follows their dog, this works quite well.

[@anhaicapitomaking8102]

Totally agree. Very proud of my not thinking in words, as thos also links you immediately to cultural constructs.

[@ZoyaStreet]

Yeah I agree a lot! I've learned so much from a dog friend of mine who has a lot of trauma - initially he helped me learn about my own trauma, but more recently I've enjoyed observing his approach to the world more generally, such as how he entertains himself with sensory things. Like, he just knows that he likes to feel tough, heavy sensations in his mouth, and he doesn't need a reason for it, he just has a lot of strategies for getting those mouth feelings that he likes. It's okay for that to be his whole focus for whatever period of time, there doesn't have to be an end to the means and an action doesn't have to be communicative, even though dogs are very social creatures. I'm trying to learn to treat my own stims like that, just noticing that I like a certain sensation and looking for more ways to explore it and play with it.

[@sarahcunniffe4678]

Distinct lack of research on the development of child born blind - elephant in the room!

[@magdalena-lisarobertson4143]

My boy (pictured) is a Husky-Lab mix 😊🦮 very happy to meet Moose! I relate better to animals than people and I like the idea of observing their behavior. I also agree with the confrontational aspect of eye contact and now I have a new way of relating how uncomfortable I feel and how it lines out with an animal kingdom response in a way. Thank you!

[@sarahcunniffe4678]

I don't understand this. Maybe it is my prejudice of dogs: they have an unpleasant smell, same for cats and horses. Bees are nice, I'll try to substitute in order to access your point.