Isolated. Hurting… Ashamed. I’ve spoken about the reasons I feel that Autistic overloads are not that different from overloads in non-autistics in the past (on multiple occasions). Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about how much more I’ve been asked to “put away” … Continue reading Shutdowns and Unspoken Pain: The Weight of Repressed Emotions and Unmet Needs
Though every single Autistic Person is different, many Autistic People make different noises, repeat sounds, or make other vocalizations. In today’s video, I’ll discuss three main types of Autistic vocalizations: echolalia, palilalia, speech loops, scripting, and verbal and vocal stimming.
Despite being 37, I still have all three of these (as well as several other) NeuroDivergent speech patterns.
First, I will define each item, then explain more about these experiences from a human perspective, starting with echolalia, the vocalization I experience the most. If you would like to know more, please stay tuned. Continue reading Autistic Speech Patterns – Autism and Echolalia, Palilalia, Scripting, Vocal and Verbal Stimming
What exactly is sensory processing? One might (falsely) think that every human on this earth experiences the world in the same way, that we all experience the sun’s brightness the same, or the level of sounds in the room the … Continue reading Autism NeuroDivergence & Sensory Processing – My Personal AuDHD (Autistic and ADHD) Experience
Being labeled ‘gifted’ can be a curse in disguise, hiding complexities and misconceptions that can shadow our experiences.
Continue reading Rethinking Giftedness: The Dark Side of “Gifted” Labels and “Superpower” Stereotypes – A Personal Perspective
Back in 2016 and 2017, when a person would Google Autism or Autistic People, the search results that would populate in response were pretty abysmal.
Continue reading What is #ActuallyAutistic (to me, a late identified Autistic Adult) – Finding Community in a Sea of Stigma
Embracing my Autism diagnosis was just the beginning. I soon realized that there were other aspects of my experience that couldn’t be explained by Autism alone. This realization ignited a continuous journey of self-discovery, filled with moments of clarity, understanding, and occasional confusion. Continue reading Is it Autism… or something else???
We often do a poor job of being kind and nurturing to people who are at the beginning stages of their learning journeys.
Continue reading We’re Pushing People Away, and We Need to Do Better.
My adult Autism diagnosis marked a pivotal moment in my life, altering my understanding of myself (and my path to personal growth).
Making sharp turns occasionally when faced with new information is necessary.
One of the traits that I find most attractive in people is their ability to adjust to new information (even if it takes them a while).
While some may need to slow down to navigate these ‘sharp turns,’ our ability to adapt and ‘swerve’ occasionally is crucial.
Our ability to change directions prevents us from crashing, enabling us to navigate life’s ever-changing circumstances.
Continue reading Breaking Free from the Need for Control: My Journey Towards Embracing Uncertainty
It has been years since Damian Milton rocked the world with the paper: On the ontological status of autism: the ‘double empathy problem.’
In Damian’s paper, the double empathy problem was defined as:
A disjuncture in reciprocity between two differently disposed social actors which becomes more marked the wider the disjuncture in dispositional perceptions of the lifeworld – perceived as a breach in the ‘natural attitude’ of what constitutes ‘social reality’ for ‘neuro-typical’ people and yet an everyday and often traumatic experience for ‘autistic people.’
What does that mean in more simple language? I will explain in this month’s video. Continue reading Autistic Empathy – Autism and the Double Empathy Problem
Sensory obstacles are one of the biggest hindrances to my ability to communicate and socialize with others. There are a few reasons for this.
One way sensory things create an obstacle for me is that most social events are sensory nightmares by design.
Put a bunch of people in one indoor space, and it is almost always going to be more than my brain can handle (or if I survive it, I will then be exhausted and hung over – without touching alcohol).
If I turn down an invitation, people often take it personally, thinking I don’t want to spend time with them. Continue reading Autism and “Social Difficulties” – How Sensory and Motor Control Differences Can Make Socializing Difficult for Me as an Autistic Person
