Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 15/10/2026"You don't look autistic" "I don't look autistic because the world has taught me that the only way to stay safe as an autistic person is to hide it from people." 211912 119
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 15/10/2026The internet is basically people saying stuff and other people arguing with them about things they never said and then creating entire fake stories about their villainous motivations for saying the things they literally never said 3334 33
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 14/10/2026The autistic experience of being actively hated by people you know would probably really like you if they actually knew you 3537 53
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 12/10/2026And if you're new to autism, whether you're autistic yourself, the parent of an autistic person, or in another support role, I would love to know if you found this explanation helpful. 4242 24
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 12/10/2026If you're autistic, especially if you have high masking, highly internalized autism... I hope you find this post validating. I know how frustrating the purity discourse around this topic can be in autism spaces ❤️ 2332 33
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 12/10/2026And I think it's important that people understand this. Because undiagnosed autistic people are just as autistic as diagnosed autistic people... and their lack of diagnosis doesn't magically make them not autistic. 1272 27
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 12/10/2026People whose autism is causing real and limiting challenges in their daily life that don't show up in a diagnostic context because they've learned to overcompensate for them (often to their extreme detriment). 1232 23
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 12/10/2026And unfortunately, there are many autistic people who remain undiagnosed and would likely not receive a diagnosis in a clinical context because of their masked/internalized autistic traits and needs. 1252 25
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 12/10/2026All this to say... it's absolutely true that the diagnostic criteria must be met for a person to receive a diagnosis... but it is *not* true that if a person doesn't meet the diagnostic criteria in a clinical setting, they are definitely not autistic. 1272 27
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 12/10/2026And this is explicitly stated in the diagnostic manual, particularly when it mentions masking/compensation strategies, which it does several times. 1262 26
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 12/10/2026But a person can have autistic brain wiring and not meet the criteria for autism in a clinical setting if an assessor is not able to observe how that person's autism shows up visibly. 1263 26
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 12/10/2026So when someone says "you need to meet the diagnostic criteria to be autistic" that's not actually true as stated. What IS true is that a person needs to meet the criteria to be *diagnosed* with autism. 1262 26
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 12/10/2026Autistic behaviors are not the autism... they are manifestations of it. Manifestations that often show up when autistic needs are not met. The diagnostic criteria do not describe or define what's happening in the brain itself. They help diagnosticians observe *manifestations* of autism. 1252 25
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 12/10/2026Too many people are confusing the autism diagnostic criteria for autism itself and I think this deserves a conversation. Autism is a brain wiring difference that creates significant barriers for autistic people in everyday life. 44912 49
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 11/10/2026I wonder how many autistic people relate to the feeling of being lonely in a very specific way that's not about having no one close to you but is more about not having a specific type of friend who you talk to regularly who gets you in all the ways that are important to you 111229 122
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 11/10/2026Research citation: 1. Premature mortality in autism spectrum disorder. Tatja Hirvikoski et al. Br J Psychiatry. 2016 Mar. 2273 27
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 11/10/2026I don't usually leave posts without a proposed solution, but I want us all to sit with the gravity of this for a moment, because I don't think enough people understand how serious the situation is for unsupported autistic people. 1315 31
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 11/10/2026And I am not overstating this. We are dying prematurely at disproportionate rates¹. And we need help. 1334 33
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 11/10/2026We're on the brink of drowning, anxiety-ridden over our circumstances as we pant for air and flail around, hoping and praying to stay alive long enough for help to finally arrive. 1294 29
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 11/10/2026We're pleading to be seen because we are not ok. We're desperately hoping for help to come as we try with all our might to stay alive. We're not entitled brats complaining that sufficient resources aren't enough... 1305 30
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 11/10/2026When autistic people talk about lack of support (or lack of sufficient support) we're not just whiny brats with a sense of entitlement complaining that we need more than we actually need. We're begging for help in a system that largely ignores us... 18219 82
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 10/10/2026"You are not autistic" Translation: Because you don't look autistic **to me** you can't possibly be autistic... even though I am not an autism assessor and know literally nothing about you 3665 66
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 10/10/2026Autistic people aren't stubborn, we are activated for survival because our nervous systems are detecting some sort of threat. If you see us being "stubborn" it's because being stubborn is getting a need met. Not because we just feel like being difficult. 1566 56
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 09/10/2026I hope you think about this the next time you feel compelled to accuse a community of disabled people of faking their disabilities. Thank you. 0210 21
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Which means that, according to your logic, no one who has a disability you can't personally see is telling the truth about having that disability. 1230 23
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 09/10/2026And your accusations are telling the disabled people doing the exact thing they need to do to inform you of their disability... that because you personally can't see it, they must be lying. 1190 19
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Your accusations don't leave room for that possibility. Because the only way you can possibly know if a person with an invisible disability is truly disabled is if they tell you. 1180 18
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 09/10/2026Because your statements presume that if you can't personally see someone's disability, it must mean they're faking. But then how do you tell if someone isn't faking? 1210 21
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 09/10/2026To anyone making sweeping statements about people online faking their disabilities, what you're actually saying is that it's impossible for a person to have a disability you can't see... 3499 49
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Research citations: 1. Perceived misdiagnosis of psychiatric conditions in autistic adults. Vasiliki Kentrou et al. EClinicalMedicine. 2024. 2. Association of Amygdala Development With Different Forms of Anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Derek Sayre Andrews et al. Biol Psychiatry. 2022 0131 13
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 06/10/2026There are 3 catalogs in there with a total of 10 articles (though I frequently add new content). If you do access the content, I sincerely hope you find it valuable. 🙏🏻 1110 11
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 06/10/2026How to access the distinct anxiety article library... On my website (link in bio), in the Learning Library / Article Library there is a section titled "Autistic (Distinct) Anxiety." 190 9
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I also have a library of content on this topic on my website. I'll share information for how to find it below. I'll also share my research citations. 190 9
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 06/10/2026(I sometimes call it autistic anxiety, because I feel that's the most clear and direct term for the thing it's describing.) Let me know if you'd like me to do a refresher on how it can look. 4190 19
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 06/10/2026In other words... autism is frequently missed because it's being diagnosed as anxiety disorders instead of autism¹. Researchers have referred to this type of autism-specific anxiety as "autism distinct anxiety²." 1161 16
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Did you know there's a type of anxiety specific to autism that isn't explained by any other existing anxiety disorder currently outlined in the DSM... and that it's often misdiagnosed as clinical anxiety? 1345 34
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Autistic meltdowns are not attention seeking, they are HELP seeking Autistic meltdowns are not attention seeking, they are HELP seeking Autistic meltdowns are not attention seeking, they are HELP seeking Autistic meltdowns are not attention seeking, they are HELP seeking 221142230 1.1K
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 03/10/2026Autistic masking is overcompensating for your challenges by channeling all the energy you would normally be putting towards other things into the thing you struggle with so people can't tell you're struggling, while nonautistic people do those things without even thinking. 1876 87
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Being autistic in a conversation your brain *does* jive with is like running down a hill that has the perfect decline in 70 degree weather. Easy, comfortable, relaxing. Time disappears and when you're done you feel amazing. 0334 33
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 01/10/2026You can do it with a ridiculous amount of effort, it's painful, you feel every second of it, and when you're done, you collapse to the ground in a puddle. 1293 29
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 01/10/2026Being autistic in a conversation your brain doesn't jive with... but masking well enough to sound interested and not rude... is like running up a steep hill in 100 degree weather... 2577 57
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 29/09/2026All the while being told that life would be better if you just tried harder. 1425 42
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 29/09/2026Being an unsupported autistic person (with any level of support needs) often means living in a constant state of urgent survival, relying on strategies that keep you alive but don't actually help you find peace, comfort, fulfillment, and happiness... 2667 66
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 25/09/2026And this feels particularly intense for me right now being a person with multiple marginalized identities living in the US in 2026. 😫 Please tell me some of you relate... 3270 27
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 25/09/2026So, I often end up feeling philosophically, intellectually, and politically homeless... and sharing my views about anything of importance to me often ends up feeling emotionally dangerous. 2260 26
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 25/09/2026(Religion and politics are the most obvious examples, but this is also the case within the autistic community, which I find especially destabilizing as a vocal advocate.) 2180 18
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 25/09/2026And what's worse is that my beliefs don't align with any single identity group. So even when I find a group that I align with on many things, there are still many I have completely opposing beliefs about. 1190 19
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 25/09/2026But then... on a very regular basis (mainly thanks to social media) I'm exposed to what seems like 50% of the world holding the exact opposite beliefs. This is across literally every single belief I hold that I consider extremely important to me. 1220 22
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 25/09/2026I spend so much mental energy trying to see the truth of what's in front of me, and I form relatively stable conclusions of what I believe after deep thought and consideration, sometimes over the course of years... 1210 21
Nicole Filippone, Autistic Advocate & Author @nicolefilippone.bsky.social · 25/09/2026Being autistic is extremely destabilizing for me cognitively... especially in a world full of extremely conflicting information... 4444 44