Neurobeautiful“If autism is a spectrum, where do you draw the line between autistic and non-autistic?”
“Spectrum” doesn’t actually mean a scale from autistic to not – it means the broad and colorful variety of ways that autism can appear in different people. Still, the question remains: Are some people “more autistic” or “less autistic”?
I’m …
“What does it look like for autistics and non-autistics to show love to one another in situations where their needs conflict?”
This is a tough question, but I believe awareness is the foundation of kindness. It’s hard for autistics to be kind when we don’t understand the effect of our actions, and it’s hard for …
“How did your family react?”
My close family could see how happy I was to finally understand myself, and they celebrated that with me. But they also cautioned me against sharing my excitement too widely, because they didn’t want me to be hurt by negative stereotypes that people have about autism. So I decided that …
“How did your diagnosis affect you?”
The diagnosis itself didn’t impact me much – it only affirmed what I already knew. I mostly wanted a diagnosis so that when I talk to people about autism, I can spend less of that time convincing them I’m actually autistic.
What really affected me was learning that I’m …
“Why is neurodiversity important to autistics in particular?”
Many of the problems faced by autistics spring less from our autism, and more from how others react to it. We live in a world where other people make the rules for “normal” behavior, so it can create tension when we break those rules by accident, or …
“What is autism?”
Autistic people process information differently. Some things feel really intense, taking up a lot of our attention. Because of that, we pay less attention to other things.
This can affect our social interactions, communication style, relationships, physical movements, habits, interests, and sensory experiences. Autism is called a “spectrum” because of its unique …
“What is neurodiversity?”
It’s the variety of ways that human minds work. No two people think exactly alike, in how we perceive the world and process that information. But there’s a range that’s considered “typical,” and minds that fall outside that range sometimes get a label for what makes them unique. One of those labels …
Last week I led a discussion group on “Autism & Neurodiversity.” It was an incredible experience, because by the end of the evening, I felt like everyone there totally got what neurodiversity means, and why it matters. And they made me feel like I had done something beautiful and important by sharing it with them. …