Youtube Channel

[Ewoud]

I’ve started a youtube channel today and have gotten some very nice feed backs. This makes me think of making other videos on different topics. I wonder if there are topics that any one of you would be interested in? It can be anything dating or relationship-related or a more general autism related topic.

Any ideas?

New youtube channel – Meet your maker. 😉

[Wendin]

Good job, Douwe. It is a wonderful video.
I am interested in knowing…
How Aspies (who are over 30) deal with their social struggle in general. For example, if you can share some coping strategies or something you have learnt from others.
How to survive and thrive in a foreign land when you are on the Autism spectrum.
How to maintain mental health when the outside world feels too noisy and overwhelming

[Ewoud]

Hi Wendin!

Those are very nice points! Thank you. I can talk about these points by experience. I have some coping strategies for the last one too but they only extend the exposure tolerance. There is however always a point where the situation gets too overwhelming. But lasting longer is already a big plus. I can already tell that it is fairly simple. Noise canceling head phones and 4 supplements that help the dopamine levels, lower anxiety and heal the inflammation of the amygdala. L-Theanine, Butyric Acid, St. Johns wort (only when you aren’t asthmatic or on oral contraceptives) and Lactobacillus Reuteri. But I can talk more about that too. It helps really a lot. Also turmeric or other supplements that fight inflammations are helpful in situations that are overwhelming. This because of the amygdala and other brain regions being inflamed and extra sensitive. Another thing that helps is a pet or a lovely human that gives love… Oxytocin is one of the biggest healers… But those are all things that I can go into as youtube topics

Thanks again! D

[Anonymous]

I suggest videos on

-Dating tips
-Public speaking
-Overcoming social anxiety
-Aceing a job interview
-How to thrive in the workplace/ work culture

Have you heard of Aspie World? He’s a British Aspie Youtuber who covers a plethora of Aspie issues. You may want to collaborate with him

[Ewoud]

Thank you Joshua for your great ideas. All feel very important to me. So I really appreciate your input.

I’ve seen Aspie World. He indeed does a very good job. I first have to see if I can establish something myself but I am not against any kind of collaboration if it can help more people that way.

[mina]

great

[Anonymous]

Where did you get the keymaster title?

[Ewoud]

That is the result of being the owner 😉

[Anonymous]

You’re the owner of this website?

[Ewoud]

Indeed 🙂

[Brad]

I really enjoyed the video, great job, especially for a first one. That’s not easy to put out there. I actually learned a few things, especially the part about loyalty. I had no idea. Everything you had to say was relatable.

What really blew my mind, though, was how similar our communication and mannerisms are. The little laugh after certain sentences. I do the exact same thing, probably for the same reason, either to soften something that might sound too direct or to add context. You’re the first person I’ve ever seen who has that same trait. Experiencing that from a third-person perspective was a mirror. Honestly, it felt like a gift. Thanks Douwe!

Here are the content suggestions you asked for.

Review or top-10 list of user-submitted ideas.
It could give you a chance to talk about scope. What’s practical, what you enjoy, and what aligns with your direction. Plus, it helps users feel heard, and once their ideas are acknowledged, they’re less likely to keep repeating them.

Community story section
Ask for a story each week. We the users submit them. Examples. Best day, What are your special interests would be a huge hit I think. You pick the submissions you liked that week and read them as content. Also you could start with some of the existing forum content you might enjoy.

After you upload a few videos and there are no strikes or issues you can upload as long as you want and include more if you like.

Current projects / in development section.
Just a simple update area so we know what you’re working on and what’s coming next.

YouTube Success
If you can commit to at least one upload a week, that’s enough, it will grow. You monetize the video. It takes a long time to get Ad-sense verified before you can collect, but they hold on to the balance while you wait. Helps reimburse your out of pocket for the site and you can reinvest. It pays quite decent actually.

Suggest creating a playlist. One for personal life/update/interests, the other for site content. Gives people the option, retains more watchers. Also gives you more space to be creativity. Because it’s not about a site update now, it’s about you sharing something awesome, etc. But to be clear do both on the same channel.

Website Suggestion
Forum subject additions. General space, memes, funny, suggestions, special interests. More topics to engage in. There’s a bunch of things people would share, but don’t think it’s appropriate in that space. If there was a section for it, that’s the good stuff. There’s a lot of us behind keyboards at the ready. We need room to play!

Video on website
Integrate your videos, resize to show community engagement right on the first page.

Bonus Points: Make the video intro a dinosaur driving a train, with the autism creature as a bobble doll on the dash or hood. Have the train busting through or jumping the train over something in the most over dramatic way possible and your golden. That’s just how I roll, lol.

Thanks!
Brad

[Ewoud]

Hi! Thank you for your encouragement. I think I needed some. I like all your ideas and some like the forum ones we should do! Perfect… videos… maybe…

I am recovering from a severe burnout and have just gotten 100% disability. As I am a jack of all trades (and a master of none) I have many balls up in the air all the time and I personally need to take bite sizes I can swallow. So I think committing to making weekly video content would be great for the communion, because I have many ideas that come from lived experience with late diagnosed AuDHD, but my challenges are also what holds me back.

I think maybe step wise maybe. I will migrate this site to diverseconnections.club my plan was this year so I have a timeline. It won’t only “cater for autism but for neurodivergence and the focus is not dating but simply connection…

Ai that is in the pipeline. I just have to find the mental space to draw it into hyper focus.

Thank you for your great thoughts and with thinking along. It’s very appreciated!!!

[Brad]

You’re welcome, and thanks for putting so much time into giving us this space. I’m really glad you connected with some of the ideas. Sorry to hear you’re dealing with burnout. I’m just now coming out of a long one myself. Like you, I was only diagnosed a couple of years ago, so I’m still figuring things out as I go.

There are a few things I discovered on my own and wanted to compare notes with you.

When things get really bad, listening to music with no other stimulation has helped me a lot. Might be worth trying if you haven’t already. I’ve had days where I’d come home from work, put on music for five hours, skip dinner, and go straight to bed, but the next day I’d feel noticeably better. I even ended up losing 15 pounds from it recently, bonus!

During really stressful periods, taking a couple of days in a row just to listen helped me reset and keep myself steady. It made it easier to hold the line with masking and dealing with everyday interactions, even when I felt judged or misunderstood because of social cues or body language, eye contact etc.

There is a method behind this madness. Ruminating thoughts are tough to escape, and boredom is honestly the worst thing for me, it forces constant focus, which is basically the mask running nonstop. Making time to take the mask off ended up being everything. Letting my thoughts wander while listening to cinematic music pushes me into creative mode. The task, if you can call it that, is to imagine a space or story that fits the music. The music kind of writes the daydream for you.

Norway seems to be home to some of the best composers for that style, Tommee Profitt on YouTube is a great example. His covers are perfect for this.

The more I’ve done this over the years, the more vivid everything has become. I think it’s just how we’re wired. Now I can experience smell, touch, and sound in memory or daydreams, almost like I’m there in first-person. Total immersion, the world disappears, and I can live in that space with all the detail and clarity people like us tend to notice. If I’m unsure about something, I can “rewatch” it in my mind until I find the answer. While doing this work your taking a break from Special interests at the same time.

I get a lot of clarity and ideas in that space, things I completely missed during the real-life version of events. You probably already do something similar when trying to understand social context. I’ve developed a different approach for that. I try to stay stoic, make sure my principles are aligned (respect, morals, patience), and keep most of my opinions to myself. Less to analyze later. No performance necessary.
Used to depend on humor to carry me.

The source of humor was me repeating the context in which I see something, when I know I know its wrong but make light of it. People always loved that. *Crawl under a desk “Hey it’s dusty down here, OMG I just found Jimmy Hoffa” (referring to dust). Stuff like that, lol. Wondering if you do the same?

Also, at work I carry a legal pad and pen. I write down where I’m going, who I’m seeing next, why. Technical notes, pretty much everything. Now, you don’t have to remember. No tech, they have distractions. The task of opening a laptop and logging in, the information is gone already. I have to write it fast. Just pen and paper. Limited working memory.

Where I grew up, in the late 80s and 90s, being different got you sent away to the wrong kinds of programs. No support systems, just being lumped in with kids who had untreated behavioral issues, and you had to fight several times a day to protect yourself. They had no emotional intelligence or control. The movie The Principal (1987) portrays it on a light dose of the reality over here at the time. Only it was far more violent then that. Things changed in a big way over here now and there is support in place. When I went to school it was taboo and a teacher would be let go for suggestion the spectrum. It was viewed as your just lazy, “just focus, do the work” then they would get frustrated and punish you. Then send you away.

I’m wondering if you had similar experiences back then, over on your side of the pond? And I’d love to hear about any tools or strategies you’ve found that help you manage everything.

Thanks!
Brad

[DragonEmbers]

I will migrate this site to diverseconnections.club my plan was this year so I have a timeline. It won’t only “cater for autism but for neurodivergence and the focus is not dating but simply connection…

I wonder how much connection there will be among these different groups. They don’t necessarily have anything in common.

[Author]

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