Tag: aspergers

Children & Families, Masking / Passing, SubstackLeave a comment
A black and white photo of two disabled children in strait jackets, chained to a radiator in a room with dirty walls and floors.

No, there aren’t suddenly ‘more Autistic people’ or ADHDers. We’ve always been here.

Lyric Holmans

It never fails, multiple times a week, when I share my experience of being Autistic or ADHD, some ignorant waffle feels the need to pop into my comments section with some sort of nonsense such as (but in no way limited to) “You’re not Autistic“ (or ADHD), “Everyone’s Autistic/ADHD or Neurodivergent these days“, “It’s all the chemicals in the food/air/water or the vaccines“. There is also the classic “We didn’t have so many people who are Autistic or ADHD in my day…. and none of it is true.

Just because you didn’t, personally, know any Neurodivergent people when you were growing up, it doesn’t mean we didn’t exist. Continue reading No, there aren’t suddenly ‘more Autistic people’ or ADHDers. We’ve always been here.

Uncategorized7 Comments
An article titled 'Uta Frith: why I no longer think autism is a spectrum,' featuring a digital illustration of a character expressing dismay, alongside a red 'X' mark over the title.

An Autistic Response to: Uta Frith’s “Why I no longer think autism is a spectrum.”

Lyric Holmans

“The autism spectrum has widened to the point of collapse, affecting how teachers should support autistic pupils in the classroom,” researcher Uta Frith tells Helen Amass in a recent interview, and my response as a late-diagnosed Autistic adult. Continue reading An Autistic Response to: Uta Frith’s “Why I no longer think autism is a spectrum.”

Masking / Passing, SubstackLeave a comment
An audio mixing board with multiple sliders.

Autism NeuroDivergence & Sensory Processing – My Personal AuDHD (Autistic and ADHD) Experience

Lyric Holmans

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

Masking / Passing, Substack, VideosLeave a comment

Autistic Empathy – Autism and the Double Empathy Problem

Lyric Holmans

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

Masking / Passing, SubstackLeave a comment
The unrealistic and unfair expectations that are placed on Autistic People, combined with pressure to blend in and camouflage one's Autistic traits and the fact that Autistic ways of resting and recharging are often seen as "taboo," leaves many of us teetering on a dangerous edge - spending our lives tip-toeing in and out (or on the edge of) burnout.

Teetering on the Edge of Burnout and Ideation – Is being able to Camouflage one’s NeuroDivergence a “privilege?”

Lyric Holmans

I have many things I want to write and do, but I often struggle to find the time and energy.

Like many Autistic People, I operate on a perilous edge, teetering between burnout and barely resting enough not to burn out.

This can happen to Autistic People for various reasons (but capitalism and societal expectations are a significant source of stress and burnout for many, possibly most, of us). Continue reading Teetering on the Edge of Burnout and Ideation – Is being able to Camouflage one’s NeuroDivergence a “privilege?”

Children & Families, Relationships / Bullies / Friendships, Videos2 Comments

Autism & “Age-Inappropriate Interests” – My Autistic Experience

Lyric Holmans

This week I’m going to be talking about some of my interests as an Autistic Person that were deemed air quotes “inappropriate” by adults around me.
If you’ve ever heard that sometimes Autistic children “may have interests that are not appropriate for their age or grade level.” This would be me sharing my experience of that. If you are at all curious, please do stay tuned. Continue reading Autism & “Age-Inappropriate Interests” – My Autistic Experience