NeurobeautifulOne great thing about being a teacher assistant, instead of the main teacher of a subject, is that I get to spend time in different classes, seeing how kids on the autism spectrum react to different environments.
For example, one student focuses well in English class, but participates very little in music class. Another student …
I have a new job! Today will be my first day as a teacher assistant, working with mostly autistic students, at a wonderful school – with no seclusion, no restraint, and no ABA. Best of all, they specifically reward students for practicing self-advocacy!
I’m excited to be an example for these kids, and hopefully help …
Writing clarifies my thoughts. Talking feels messier.
When I’m drafting a post, I often ramble a bit before stumbling on the main idea. Then I delete the first half of the draft, move the last sentence to the beginning, make some final adjustments, and post it. I usually continue to tweak it even after it’s …
“Are you okay?”
Whenever a stranger asks me this, my brain silently says, “No, I’m not. You’ve caught me in a startled state, only halfway recovered from an overwhelming moment. I’m trying to regain my sense of balance, as if I was spinning and suddenly stopped. Finding words right now feels like dizzily trying to …
“Just pick up the phone, it’s so much more efficient!”
It’s true that phone calls are more efficient if you’re measuring from start time to finish time, since most people don’t reply immediately to email. But if you’re measuring by overall time spent, then phone calls take longer for me because of all the steps …
One of my deepest desires is to help autistic and non-autistic people understand one another better.
Most of the time, I try to do this directly, by sharing my own perspective and experiences. But today I hope to help facilitate it indirectly, by sharing some tips to have better, kinder, more enlightening conversations with someone …
I often come across stories of a stranger who went out of their way to help an autistic child make it through a meltdown. The parent posts the heroic and heartwarming tale on social media, and it goes viral.
But these stories frustrate me, because they usually miss why the child was having a meltdown …