As another Autism Awareness month is over, I'm feeling silent. Acceptance or not, I shall carry on being here. Diagnosis or not, I shall carry on being who I am. Noticed or not, I shall still be. Wasn't it Descartes who said, "I think as an autistic, therefore I am an autistic"? Or something like … Continue reading Adieu Autism Awareness
Author: Rhi
My Autistic Physicality
I didn't know I used my muscles in strange ways until it was pointed out to me. I didn't know it was a thing. I hadn't seen it in the diagnostic criteria, though I may well have been asked about it. I would have answered that I move well, no issues. My reflexes are fast, … Continue reading My Autistic Physicality
Accessibility
I like to write about the good bits. I like to write about the joys that autism brings me. So much of the world wants me to focus on the bad bits. They want me to look at my deficits. No one can live like that. No one can live happily with someone pointing out … Continue reading Accessibility
Waves
https://youtu.be/1XJRhIzyU0o Waves Did you ever let the whole world in With a thought? Were you ever told that one wave on the beach Was the important one And though you tried to catch it It was drowned in the crashes and splashes All around? Autism isn't separate and distant, It's a connection to everything; The … Continue reading Waves
Autism’s Love
I am a hoarder. I should probably write a self-help book, but I'd just hoard that too. My parents were hoarders before me, so I can't just blame my neurotype. I was lucky enough to hear the wonderful Susan Kruse speak recently about her ideas on Autistics and Love. I'm going to paraphrase clumsily, but … Continue reading Autism’s Love
The Autistic
Written and performed by... well... me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvgeXCyifJQ&feature=share
Children and Adulting and Autisming
There is a freedom that comes with having children around. It starts with their lack of expectations. Those big, round eyes don't have an idea of who I should be, they haven't developed those advanced skills of pre-conceptions and pigeonholing. Children love it when you listen. They love it when you try to answer their … Continue reading Children and Adulting and Autisming
Autism Poetry
I always struggle to write poetry specifically about autism. How do you write about a process? You end up bogged down in the behaviours that result from it, instead of the thing you were trying to focus on. These are last night's headscribbles. I hope you enjoy them. When I try to write About the … Continue reading Autism Poetry
An Autistic Anniversary
I know I'm supposed to be ashamed. I know that. I know autism is supposed to be a loaded term, spoken in hushed whispers, a reassuring hand on a shoulder, a pitying frown. It's supposed to be "risk of" and "suffers from" and "unfortunately". I can't quite decide if it's my autism that keeps those … Continue reading An Autistic Anniversary
Autistic Voices: An Echo
I've been reading. That's not news really. I'm always reading. I used to read voraciously and quickly, but ten years ago I changed my style. Why would I rush through words that I love, when I can pause and savour them? Where's the logic in that. Sometimes my autism makes me repeat lines over and … Continue reading Autistic Voices: An Echo
Autism and Expectations 