This is the landing page for informative blog posts for:

• Parents who have an autistic child and want to understand them better
• Teachers who want to understand autistic students better
• Researchers who want to understand autistic people better
• Professionals, such as speech and occupational therapists, who want to understand autistic people better
• Anyone who wants a better understanding of autistic people

Some of these blog posts are also applicable to anyone who wants to understand autistic adults better as well, though I would also recommend reading from the other categories listed in the menu, particularly articles from the Autistic Masking and Acceptance header.

If you are an autistic adult and want to better understand yourself, check out the extra resources on autism.

If you would like a list of all blog posts by category, click here.

To see most recent blog posts, click here.

Quick General Autism Info –

• The term “Aspergers” is the same as being autistic. “Autistic” should be used in place of “Aspergers.”
• Functioning labels are not helpful, relatively vague, and should not be used for autistic people.
  • “Severe autism” is not severe, it is a person being autistic who has other co-occurring conditions, such as intellectual disability, epilepsy, apraxia, dyspraxia, speech disabilities, etc.
• Autistic people need alternative ways to communicate besides speaking (Yes, even “highly verbal” autistic people often have difficulty expressing emotions to others through speaking and explaining everything they want to say through speaking.)
• Meltdowns are not a child “behaving badly” – a child having a meltdown needs to be supported through sensory supports and with compassion. It is not a “choice.”
• Sensory sensitivities cannot be “desensitized” – otherwise we wouldn’t have them in the first place, because we’d already be desensitized by just existing and experiencing outside stimuli. Support sensory sensitivities through sensory supports, such as headphones/earplugs/sunglasses/tinted glasses/weighted blanket.
• A lot of parents do not know they are autistic until their child is diagnosed as autistic and relate to their child’s experiences.
• Most autistic people prefer identity-first language (i.e. “autistic person,” not “person with autism” and not “person has autism”) because autism is how our brains are structured and how they work. Just like you wouldn’t say “person with gayness,” most autistic people do not like the term “person with autism” because autism is not separate from us.
• Autistic adults exist and are not going to tell you they’re autistic immediately. There is no specific “look” for being autistic. There is still a large stigma to disclosing being autistic and it can affect a person’s employment, healthcare, and many other aspects of their life.