Here are 10 tips for anyone who is new to understanding autism and autistic people.
10 Tips for Parents New to Autism
Why Social Skills Training Does Not Help Autistic People
Here's the main reason why "social skills training" makes no sense to me: There is no neurotypical formula for social interaction.
Autistic Unmasking: How to Unlearn Trauma Responses
I've written about masking and sensory pain a lot. But there are still things I notice even years after recognizing that I'm autistic. Masking is Subconscious and Pervasive I've been wearing headphones around my neck everytime I go out, even just for in person meetings inside. Recently I was early for a meeting, someone came …
Continue reading "Autistic Unmasking: How to Unlearn Trauma Responses"
Autistic Burnout Is More Than Burnout
I think I just realized why autistic burnout is so bad. When autistic people reach their limits, they continue because they know they have to continue to be considered valuable.
What Autistic Advocacy Really Means
What I want to talk about is the lasting effects that occur when autistic people are used as a commodity, a political football, a theoretical argument, as exploitation, when autistic people have to witness the dehumanization and legal torture of autistic people.
The Advantage of Pauses
It is important to listen to AAC users and include them in conversations and really listen to what they have to say.
I am not an AAC user. I just have one experience of using AAC temporarily. The one time I had almost no misunderstandings with other people was when I had an issue with my vocal cords for about a month. The day after I stopped using text-to-speech apps and AAC apps, someone misinterpreted my words. And it was because I was physically speaking to them so I didn’t have time to state my thoughts.
If AAC was more generally accepted in society and accommodated by others, I would probably be a partial AAC user right now. However, that’s not the world we live in.
Please share the words of people who use AAC or other alternative communication methods. It’s really, really important. Physically speaking should not be seen as the only way of communicating. This needs to change.
Not long after I had posted about a cancer scare I was dealing with recently, I received a very interesting message from an SLP that I’ve been replaying in my head a lot.
“I don’t understand why you’re not verbal.”
They listed all the reasons why they thought I could be nonspeaking, and then asked if it was just because I was more comfortable communicating with a device – as if I needed to justify to a stranger why I use assistive technology.
[Friendly reminder once *again* that I use AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) primarily due to aphasia/brain damage and also autism.]
They then continued with “a device will never be as quick to communicate as a face-to-face conversation.”
At first, I brushed it off gently – thinking maybe I was more upset than usual due to being significantly stressed out.
But then I realized that this was an…
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Sensory Sensitivities Are Not Preferences, They’re Needs
I have a request for non-autistic people, and anyone who does not experience sensory sensitivities: Treat sensory sensitivities as disabilities and accommodate them as you would for any other person who is pain. Believe Them.
Autistic Hygiene
I explain why it can be so hard to do hygiene tasks, like brushing teeth or showering, as an autistic person.
Yes, It Really Is Legal to Electrically Shock Disabled Children in The US as Punishment #StopTheShock
Please help #StopTheShock - It is legal in the US to shock disabled people right now at the Judge Rotenberg Center. This is not okay.
Be Honest: Autistic vs Neurotypical Honesty
I’ve learned a lot recently after asking allistic people on twitter what they truly want to hear from other people when allistic people say “be honest.” Most of them want a very specific “type” of honesty. At least, neurotypical people may consider this honesty.
Autistic Science Person 