Comfort Item - Tumblr Posts

Oh how much better life would be if I had the confidence to carry my tail around for emotional support, it’s literally one of my comfort items. My other ones are some of my dice and my collar which I can’t find right now and it’s annoying me :(

Neurodivergent culture is having a huge collection of stress toys because they make you so happy.

Disabled/neurodivergent people who take comforts in stuffed animals/dolls/action figures/toys, you are valid and you do not deserve to be made fun of, infantilized, or called "childish". If something helps you then it helps you, and you get to decide what helps you and what doesn't. You also have my blessing to throw rocks at ableists.

This is Rudy. He’s my comfort plushie.

I’ve only had him for two weeks now, but he is so important to me.

He comes everywhere with me. He brings me comfort and grounds me when I’m feeling overwhelmed. He reminds me to be my authentic autistic self. He’s really soft and good to stim with. He’s a dog, which are one of my special interests. Having Rudy means I can be myself and stay in overwhelming situations for longer.

But I get weird looks. I’m a near adult holding a plush toy. People stare on public transport. Other students stare at school. It makes me feel self conscious, like I have to go back to masking. Adults make comments that infantilise me for having a plushie.

I just want to be myself and be happy and safe. Why do other people have to ruin it?

Please normalise plushies! They’re for everyone, and especially important to a lot of autistic people, regardless of their age.

Why do autistic people like stuffies/plushies so much?🧸❤️

Support: Taking a stuffie/plushie with us when we go out in public (especially to potentially scary places like doctor’s offices or places with lots of sensory input like grocery stores and public transport) can help us feel safer. Basically, in any situation that could make us feel anxious, a stuffie/plushie can make us feel less anxious and more comfortable. 2. Collections: Autistic people often like to collect objects. A lot of us also love organizing, cataloging/categorizing our collection. (For example, I have an excel spreadsheet for my personal Jellycat collection and another one for Jellycats in general that has over 1700 Jellycats cataloged and organized in detail) Lining up our stuffies/plushies, for example lining them up neatly on shelves or reorganizing our shelves can bring us joy as well. 3. Sensory Joy/Stimming: Stuffies/plushies can bring us what’s called “sensory joy” as opposed to “sensory pain” caused by stimuli that feel overwhelming or painful to us. A lot of autistic people love soft things, whether it’s a soft blanket, a soft sweater or a soft and cuddly stuffie/plushie! We can stim with them in many ways, for example by petting them or brushing their fur. The way we stim with our stuffies/plushies can vary from person to person. Please don’t stop us from stimming with them. We are just trying to soothe ourselves and not harming anyone.

4. Social comfort/ A friend to talk to: Autistic people are often extremely lonely and fail to connect with people. A stuffie/plushie can be a real friend for us. We give them names, we create entire personalities for them, we ascribe them specific character traits. All of these things bring us comfort and joy and talking to and caring for our stuffie/plushie friends can ultimately help us feel less lonely. In a world where autistic people face rejection on a daily basis, it is a great comfort that they will never reject us and will always be there to listen to us no matter what.

5. Our inner child: A lot of autistic people have an inner child/ a child-like personality and stuffies/plushies appeal to them because of that. (and to anyone who has ever tried to steer an autistic person towards “more age-appropriate interests and behaviors”, you actually make things worse for us not better, please don’t do that)

Finally, this should go without saying, but if you see any of the above-mentioned behaviors especially in public, please be respectful. These things are part of what helps us cope with everyday life and may prevent sensory overload, shutdowns or meltdowns.

Note: This specifically refers to autistic adults who love stuffies/plushies, not autistic children!

In autistic children loving stuffies/plushies is seen as “normal” and “unproblematic” in most cases. In fact, autistic children that don’t like stuffies/plushies or don’t show an interest in them like their neurotypical peers are often perceived as odd.

Let me know in the comments or tags how your stuffies/plushies/whatever your preferred term for them is help you, and why you like them so much!

-Victor

Autism & Comfort Items

Lil Penguin Studios/Autism Happy Place

I need carrying around a stuffed animal friend to be normalized

old post still stands

So for some context:

Fynn is my boyfriend.

Fiona is my comfort stuffy.

And I'm at my problematic father's house against my will.