Accessible Autism

Access to services doesn't just mean that services need to exist, it means we need to be able to access them. I'm not good at contacting people. That is an enormous under-exaggeration. I am terrible at contacting people. If it needs to be done by face or by phone, I may never do it at … Continue reading Accessible Autism

Overcoming autism?

I often read this narrative online, "So-and-so overcame their autism and succeeded at something." It makes me feel uncomfortable. It makes me worry that one day someone might say, "Rhi overcame her autism to write", which would be to fundamentally misunderstand both me and my autism. One of the positives of autism can be … Continue reading Overcoming autism?

Gaslighting

Being an undiagnosed autistic has many challenges. When you compare your reactions to things with other people's, you feel like you're getting it wrong. When other people take things in their stride, and your brain feels like it's expanding inside your skull to the point you can't think, then you feel like you're overreacting. And … Continue reading Gaslighting

Neurotypical Awareness

Being diagnosed late in life has meant that I've needed to learn a lot about a new subject that I didn't know applied to me. I've read personal accounts written by autistic people, I've read research papers, I've looked into coping mechanisms - and mostly found that I've built my own solutions over the years … Continue reading Neurotypical Awareness

Labelling

This morning my car wasn't happy, so I took my son's go-kart-in-car's-clothing on the school run. He's not passed his test yet, so it has Learner Plates on it. And oh how they make a difference to how other drivers behave around you. Most people give you a bit more space, just in case … Continue reading Labelling

I wanted to be good

That rule-following little girl, she really wanted to be good. She wanted to be able to eat all the food on her plate, even though the textures made her gag. She wanted to not shudder and press her ears to each shoulder in turn, every time you scraped your plate and it made that sound … Continue reading I wanted to be good

From Brilliant to Mediocre

I used to be special. I used to be an interesting neurotypical and now I'm an everyday autistic. I'm not original after all. All those actions. All those ways of being that marked me as an oddity. All those things that both attracted and repelled people in equal measure. All those idiosyncrasies, all my inspiration, … Continue reading From Brilliant to Mediocre

Autistic Connundrums: Humans and interaction

In some ways I may come across as a bit inside out. It's not that I don't like human interaction. This is something that is often misconstrued. Even amongst us autistics we are all individuals. What I don't like is meaningless interaction. There should be a purpose to everything. Often when I've made mistakes … Continue reading Autistic Connundrums: Humans and interaction

“I do that too” The great miscommunication

A lot of people have contacted me to say that they've struggled with well-meaning people saying, "I have that too", when they've tried to explain what it's like to be autistic. And it's not just autistic people, but people with other hidden disabilities too. The problem that we have when people say it, is that … Continue reading “I do that too” The great miscommunication

I’m a Bloody Bunyip! (You may have to bear with me for this one)

When I was little I had a book about a Bunyip. It was a wonderfully illustrated book about this strange feathered and furred creature, that emerged from a muddy Billabong one night and went around asking everyone it could find, "What am I? What am I?" It wandered, shunned and alone. Told it was a … Continue reading I’m a Bloody Bunyip! (You may have to bear with me for this one)