Sensory Overload and Over-Stimulation
Although I KNOW that I experience sensory stimuli differently to a lot of people, I can’t comprehend how anyone else possibly experiences it differently.
Like, how does anybody focus on the task at hand when there is a beeping noise going on outside? How does anyone…
Things I Love About My Autism
1. Autistic joy. When I am captivated by joy and nothing else. It’s pure, it’s unfiltered and it’s wonderful.
2. My strong sense of justice. Other people often don’t seem to care when things are unfair. I do and I try to do what I can to change this.
Autistic Vulnerability - Am I More Vulnerable Because of My Autism?
I fundamentally believe that as a result of being autistic, I am a lot more vulnerable than if I wasn’t autistic.
I have heard some autistic people voice that saying we are vulnerable is a bad thing. I understand why. I think that there is a valid danger of non-autistic people seeing…
‘Autistic People Don’t Have Empathy’: A Look at Autism and Empathy
It is often said that autistic people lack empathy. Some autistic people are told that they can’t be autistic because they are too empathetic. Let’s explore what this means and why.
To begin with, let’s define empathy. “Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.”
An Autistic Person’s Concerns About Spectrum 10k
Hello, my name is Emily. I’m 20 years old and I’m autistic. So far, the news coverage on Spectrum 10k has been dominated by non-autistic parents of autistic children and professionals, with little voice being given to autistic people themselves. Here is my round-up of what I think we know so far…
Why Do So Many Autistic Girls and Autistic Women Go Undiagnosed?
Before we dive into the reasons why so many autistic girls and women go undiagnosed, we need to acknowledge that for many of the same reasons, autistic non-binary people, trans women and anyone who is not cis male often go undiagnosed. Gender bias in autism affects more people than…
Do Any Autistic Children Get Through School Untraumatised?
I don’t think any autistic children get through school untraumatised, and that makes me so incredibly sad.
Autistic children are much more likely to be bullied than non-autistic children. In-fact, I don’t think there are many autistic people who weren’t bullied at some stage. Other kids can tell we’re different, and that…
Am I Being Rude or Is My Autism Not Being Understood and Accommodated For?
Autistic people are often told that they are being rude. In my experience, this is often from people who don’t know that I am autistic, or those who do but who think that autism isn’t an ‘excuse’ for ‘rudeness’.
So, what exactly IS this so-called rudeness?
The History of Autism - A Brief Overview
The term ‘Autism’ was coined by Bleuler, a German psychiatrist, in 1908 to describe a symptom of Schizophrenia, where a person had childish desires to avoid reality through social withdrawal and engagement with fantasies, in an inner world that other people couldn’t see.
Feeling Ashamed of ‘The Autistic Side of Me’
I guess I have this deep-rooted fear that allowing people to see the ‘autistic side of me’ will make them run away. I try not to be ‘too much’, to not get ‘too excited’, to not shut-down or melt-down or pretend I’m not overwhelmed.
I remember what it felt like to be eight and be laughed at for…
What School Was Like as an (Undiagnosed) Autistic
School began as a sanctuary, a safe space. 5-year-old me loved the classroom, all the new books I was being introduced to, the stories I heard and the new things I was learning. I couldn’t believe my luck, that I could go to school every day and learn such fascinating things.
25 Things That I Wish I Had Known As An (Undiagnosed) Autistic Child
1. That when a teacher instructs you to “write as much as you can”, they don’t mean this literally. You don’t have to turn in 30 double sided pieces of A4. You can write two sides like everyone else.
2. Similarly, when a teacher tells you to “wait outside”, they don’t actually mean outside the building. They mean…
Alexithymia and Autism
Alexithymia, which translates to “no words for emotion” in Greek, is where someone has difficulty identifying and describing the emotions that they are experiencing.
Alexithymia is thought to affect 1 in 10 people, but is much more common amongst autistic people.
Interoceptive Awareness in Autism and ADHD
Interoception is the ability to identify, understand and respond to the state of the inside of our body. This is something that many autistic people and those with ADHD struggle with.
Interoceptive awareness allows us to feel things like hunger, thirst, whether we are hot or cold, if we need…
What I Want Non-Autistic People To Know
Dear non-autistic people,
I want you to know that:
1. Autism isn’t an illness. It is a neurodevelopmental condition. This means different things for different autistic people.
What I Would Say To My Undiagnosed Autistic Self
To my undiagnosed autistic self…
I would love to tell you that you are autistic, because knowing that about yourself would take so much of your guilt and shame away. Unfortunately you won’t know that for years, so for now I will tell you these things instead.
Let’s Talk About Autism and Periods
Let’s talk about autism and periods.
There is little research on the experiences of autistic people and periods, likely due to the narrative of autism still being heavily focused on cis autistic boys and autistic men. However, we know that periods can be harder for autistic people, so…
Receiving An Autism Diagnosis Was The Most Liberating Feeling In The World
Receiving an autism diagnosis was the most liberating feeling in the world.
I don’t know how old I was when I realised that I was different. Perhaps it was when I realised that I had no interest in the things other kids in my class cared about. Perhaps it was when I…
To The Person Who Thinks That They Might Be Autistic
To the person who thinks that they might be autistic,
I imagine you have gone your entire life wondering why you are different, why you can’t seem to understand things the way that others can and why everything just seems so hard for you. I’m proud of you for getting this far.
Ways That Autistic People Might Find Comfort
The things which comfort us help us to feel safer in a world which is so far away from being comforting. They help us to make sense of a world in which it feels like everyone speaks a different language to us. They help us to cope with a life which is constantly overwhelming.