Thinking Person's Guide to Autism: Reminding you about one of our favorite recent autism research papers: Autistic adults often prefer to eat alone not because they are being awkward or antisocial, but because they prefer to have their meals in a more "peaceful space." www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1... #neurodiversity

Reminding you about one of our favorite recent autism research papers: Autistic adults often prefer to eat alone not because they are being awkward or antisocial, but because they prefer to have their meals in a more "peaceful space." www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1... #neurodiversity

Preference to Eat Alone: Autistic Adults' Desire for Freedom of Choice for a Peaceful Space | Autism in Adulthoodwww.liebertpub.com Backgrounds: Autistic adults tend to prefer eating alone, which may result in further social isolation. This study aims to understand contexts of challenges autistic adults face when eating with other...

And for me personally, I have sensory issues with the sound and sight of other people eating, so "peaceful space" involves NO FUCKING PEOPLE NEAR ME. (It's so weird and annoying. Why are sensory issues like this? Why does people masticating set me off like this???)

Also autistics often have food related trauma, being forced to eat or socialize or follow specific table manners, and meals are full of masking behaviors with others.

I relate to this so much! I was (violently) punished if I got table manners wrong and I was also bullied and humiliated based on what and how much I ate. I've always preferred eating alone. I developed disordered eating too, triggered by a parent food and body-shaming me. I seldom go out now.

This is why I love eating in my car. My car is my safe space where I can act however I want, control the temperature, sing, flap, lay down and take a nap, dissociate

also there's nothing more uncomfortable than sitting across from another person at a table.

I eat alone and always have

My solo lunch routine was a partial contributor to losing my last career. Would take longer than a skeet to explain the experiences around it, but the short answer: I was told it impeded my ability to sell myself thru socialization in a place where personality oft meant more than the work itself 🤷🏻‍♂️

The irony: it probably would sometimes, or often, hurt more than help if I'd chosen to eat with others in a work culture that was so hellbent on rooting out many kinds of diversity, especially those less understood.

That sucks and I'm sorry it happened to you.

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