World Suicide Prevention Day - Suicide Prevention, Autism, ADHD & Suicide, and a Message to You
Today, September 10th, is World Suicide Prevention Day. In 6 days, it will be 7 years since I was admitted to hospital for the first time. I was 16, had just started sixth form and the years of anxiety and OCD had become too much. I didn’t think I had a future. But I was wrong...
Authentically Emily Store - My Mindmaps
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Hello! A word of warning - this is less of a blog post and more of an update.
I now have a store on my website where you can buy the PDF downloads of my mindmaps. I have been asked so many times about making a way to buy these so I have finally...
You Are Allowed To Make Your Own Adjustments: How I Managed a Hen Do as an Autistic Person
It was my friend’s hen do recently and I was worried about how I would manage it. I struggle socialising in big groups, I don’t enjoy bars or clubs and there was lots of things that I felt anxious about, but I really wanted to go and celebrate my friend...
Autistic Masking
I was diagnosed with autism when I was 16. Like many autistic people (though not all), I grew up masking my autism. Doing my best to suppress parts of me I recognised seemed different to other people, parts I grew to be ashamed of as things happened which taught me I should be. I didn’t know that what I was doing was called masking…
The Misdiagnosis of Autistic Distress in the Mental Health System
When I am asked why I wrote Girl Unmasked, I say that I was angry. Which is true. I was angry at finding myself sectioned on a psychiatric unit at the age of 16, at the doctor there telling me I just had high social anxiety not autism, at the fact they described my autistic meltdowns as ‘hysteric attacks when she doesn’t get her own way’…
Challenges Autistic and ADHD People Face in Healthcare and What Can Help
Research tells us that there are a range of barriers to accessing and receiving healthcare for autistic and ADHD people, at all stages across an individual’s life (Malik-Soni et al., 2022; Young et al., 2021). Autism and ADHD are both associated with lower life expectancies…
Autism and Mental Health: Practical Advice for Managing Your Mental Health
Last month, I wrote a rather depressing but important blog post on why so many autistic people struggle with their mental health. Read it here. As promised, I’m back with some practical advice on managing mental health as an autistic person.
Firstly, I want to acknowledge that managing mental health is different…
Autistic Burnout: Your Brain’s Recovery Mode
As an autistic person, life can be a LOT. Research shows that our brains process more information at any one time than non-autistic people’s brains (Brinkert & Remington, 2020). Every day, we have to manage sensory discomfort, overwhelm, social challenges, executive dysfunction, exhaustion from masking, and the…
Autism and Mental Health: Why do so many autistic people struggle?
Research suggests that 80% of autistic people experience mental health problems throughout their life, and around 40% of suicides are estimated to be autistic people (Autistica, undated; Cassidy et al. 2022). This is incredibly sad.
There are a variety of reasons why this might be the case.
GIRL UNMASKED: Publication Week, Podcasts and Waterstones Event
The past couple of weeks have been the most surreal of my life. GIRL UNMASKED is officially out in the world, and I am filled with gratitude.
On Wednesday 27th March, I saw it in Waterstones for the first time (it was on the shelf a day early!). It’s fair to say that it was a very surreal experience, and one of those life moments that I’ll never ever forget.
GIRL UNMASKED: Q&A
GIRL UNMASKED is officially out in the world (and somehow at number 12 on the Amazon bestseller chart!?). It is an incredibly surreal experience!
Last week I did a Q&A on my Instagram story, which I thought I would pop into a blog post.
Challenges Autistic and ADHD People Face at Work and What Can Help
Autistic and ADHD people have long struggled in the workplace.
According to the Office for National Statistics, in 2021 only 29% of autistic people in the UK between 16-64 years old were employed (though of course, this is out of those recognised as autistic).
‘Anxiety Recovery’ whilst Autistic
I spent my teenage years chasing the idea of ‘anxiety recovery’ that I later discovered didn’t exist. I wanted a life without anxiety, because all I understood was that it was limiting, destructive, painful, and stole too much from me. I also thought that was what I was meant to want. At church, year after year, people prayed for my anxiety to go…
Autistic Joy: My Favourite Part of Autism
‘Autistic joy’ describes the all-encompassing, very intense feeling of joy and excitement that many autistic people experience. This may be over things which seem small to other people (but definitely aren’t small!). The joy completely absorbs us in that moment. It can feel…
Challenges Autistic and ADHD Children Face at School and What Can Help
There is a reason why 92.1% of children with school attendance difficulties are neurodivergent, with 83.5% being autistic (according to one sample by Connolly & Mullally, 2022). And why children with Special Educational Needs are 50% more likely to struggle with school attendance (Office for National Statistics, 2021). And why…
Book Announcement - ‘Girl Unmasked: How Uncovering My Autism Saved My Life’
I can’t believe I am FINALLY able to share this (believe me, it’s been a secret for a long time!!!). My book ‘Girl Unmasked: How Uncovering My Autism Saved My Life’ is out 28th March 2024 and is available NOW to pre-order!! Link here.
I feel like I’m dreaming. I spent most of my childhood with my head…
Challenges Autistic People and ADHDers Face in Therapy and What Can Help
I remember being fourteen, sat in a CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) session and being completely bewildered by what the lady was trying to teach me. I was having daily panic attacks - some of them more likely meltdowns - because I was so overwhelmed. I began describing how I didn’t want to go into the canteen because…
My Autism Survival Kit
There are lots of things we like to have in every-day life, right? But as an autistic person, there are some things I really struggle without.
This is my autism survival kit.
Emotionally-Based School Avoidance in Neurodivergent Children and The Discriminatory System of Prosecution
I was described as a child on the verge of school refusal. I ran away from school multiple times. I would hide in the toilets and have daily panic attacks. I would refuse to go to lessons, sitting in the library instead. The anxiety I felt every single day was monumental. It led to self-harm, depression and…
Why Travelling and Holidays Can Be Hard for Autistic People and What May Help
Travelling and holidays can be super fun, but they can be more challenging when you are autistic.
I find the number of steps in the process of travelling combined with the uncertainty of what to expect and sensory sensitivities is difficult…