Asking because my gf has ADHD and she told me that, the first time she took ritalin (methylphenidate), she thought to herself “So this is what it feels like to not have ADHD?”
That got me thinking, is there a drug that has a similar effect on autists, that allows them to experience what is it like to “not have autism”?
If there was, they’d already have us on it from childhood.
I recommend psilocybin mushrooms.
I appreciate that from the responses here, it seems that a lot the autistic community views normal people as the equivalent of just being drunk or high. In other words, raw autism is like being extra sober.
I agree (moreso THC for me personally), but I also think it’s really funny.
I suspect that the usual alcohol/weed choices don’t actually change anything. They just deaden our ability to care as much about not messing up and whatever the current sensory shit is doing. So, less autism, but only because it’s less of our experience as a whole.
@DaGeek247 @paultimate14 @ICastFist This.
A lot of us autistic people tend to look down on allistics. Sometimes it’s a coping strategy to deal with the judgements levied against us, sometimes it’s a refusal to see our own flaws.
… and it’s not without value sometimes, because there are sometimes the allistics just suck… (see Identity Theory of Autism that highlights how we’re morally much more consistent than them)
I’ve got ADHD and stimulant meds help me get distracted less, but they don’t do much to help me focus on the right things sadly. Still definitely helpful though.
But no, I (a complete amateur with zero qualifications) highly doubt such a drug is possible, and if there were one it’d be kinda uncomfortable to ponder the very concept of making neurodivergent brains work like neurotypical brains at some point.
Like, why should we have to change when it’s society that sucks, not us?
@ICastFist Not really, with ADHD it’s primarily a chemical imbalance which means like 90% of the issues can be cleared chemically (ie. medication). It’s not exactly a “normal” experience, but it’s way closer than it was.
Autism on the other hand is broad and neurological, so much of it has to do with the actual physical structures of our brains (like density of nerve clusters), and there’s nothing that can be done about that.
I’ve tried Escitalopram, Paroxetine, and Foquest… I’m not “normal”, per se, but I’m not freaking out as much as I am when I’m not on something…
That said, I feel “normal” after having a couple of drinks, or having some thc+cbd… obviously not a great idea to rely on either.
I’ve heads that the regions autists need help with chemically is a different region and chemical than regular adhd members. I don’t remember the exact chemical imbalance, something similar to SISG or something… not SISS. Hmmm…
I’ll try to find the science paper I read about it.
Please update if you do, I always like reading about that kind of thing.
My bad. It was something different, but it felt like something that might affect similarly.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/11/251110021114.htm
Cocaine?
IIRC cocaine functions as a reuptake inhibitor for dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, while things like SSRIs and SNRIs inhibit the reuptake of just serotonin, or serotonin and norepinephrine. Clinical trails on coke could be interesting but id expect it more to target things like depression or maybe anxiety, which I know a lot of us develop trying to cope with the tism.
@nondescripthandle @AllNewTypeFace we pretty much have the data there, all that could separate are minor side effect differences… but it’s all overshadowed by the severe addiction side effect of cocaine.
A lot of people with ADHD have cocaine habits because, being a major stimulant, it helps with ADHD symptoms… plus cocaine is often easier to get ahold of than ritalin/adderall despite the latter being safer.
Do we have less data on drugs like Ketamine or MDMA? I’ve seen fairly recent tatgeted clinical trials for those for things likes PTSD and MDD. I just assumed no one tried to study cocaine in those types of settings yet.
Yeah mushrooms
Yummy champignons
That’s not how that works
i always feel like i act more like a normie when i’m a bit drunk. have you tried that?
I get a lot more talkative, like stupid chatty drunk, but my faulty social filters end up failing more often, so I don’t think that could be considered a “normie experience”. If I go a bit overboard with alcohol, I get super depressed.
Feel “normal”? Yes, the drug that works. (High dose of cbd for me, a little alcohol can also work in a social setting)
Actual Neurotypical experience? Biologically impossible.
Your neurodivergent self is your real “normal”.
But when you no longer experience symptoms that cause the everyday problems you struggle with and feel like you just function optimal… that’s an amazing feeling allright. But it can almost feel like a high in contrast. Its definitely not what “neurotypicals feel like all the time”
They have their own days that they struggle or function more optimal.
The main difference is that there struggles are “normal” ones that “everyone has” and “understands” (y)ours are different and can cause social strife, exclusion.
Its possible that while your symptoms are gone you fit in better amongst neurotypicals and this sense of belonging is a big part of the neurotypical experience, but your brain is still a neurodivergent one at its core, with all the good and bad that goes on in it.
I have both, and I feel like Vyvanse helps against both.
Op, you should talk with your doc about starting Spravato. It’s an outpatient medicine assisted therapy using es-ketamine and it’s literally changed (and saved) my life
