NeurobeautifulTwo years ago, I was diagnosed as autistic. It seemed to explain all the mysteries of my life, and it helped me find better words to describe my experiences. Since then, many parents have told me that my writing helps them understand their kids better.
On the one hand, this encourages me a lot. Understanding …
I’ve written about how it can be challenging, and sometimes damaging, to camouflage autistic traits. But I want to clarify something.
Autistic camouflaging isn’t evil. It’s a language – a way to communicate.
Yes, it can feel stressful and unnatural to speak a new language. It requires extra concentration, and it’s easy to make mistakes. …
Do you try to look less autistic?
In my last post, I said that a questionnaire was recently created to identify autistic “camouflaging.”
Here are the questions it includes, if you’d like to try answering them! They were originally statements, but I’ve reworded them as questions.
If your answer is “sometimes,” then give yourself half …
When autistic people hide our true selves, what happens?
Recently, a scientific study tried to answer that question. The results were published in a paper, which you can read here: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3792-6
The paper is awesome, but it’s long and technical, so here’s a summary.
When we try to act less autistic in front of others, …
When I read advice for autistics, I notice that it’s often worded differently than the same advice for other people.
The rest of the world shares “life hacks” for “productivity.” Autistics share “coping strategies” for “executive functioning.”
Some examples:
“Tackle a big task by breaking it down into small parts” vs. “Make a checklist of …
I believe in the virtue of bravely and intentionally facing sensory discomfort – once in a while. Most of the time I try to minimize it, because for autistics, even little discomforts can add up to a lot of stress over time.
Today, while cringing at the thought of putting my cold groceries away in …