It's Monday. The sky is a wrinkled sheet of grey. The dawn chorus is chiding me for staying beneath my duvet just a little longer. Just as I brace myself for a change in texture, from brushed cotton to cold clothing, the rain starts to patter and I falter. Today I have made space to … Continue reading Duvets and Bears
Tag: asd
Feelings ARE Thoughts
I've been thinking about thoughts and I've been thinking about feelings. For years I've wrongly categorised those two things. I've always seen them as two separate entities controlled by two different systems. I'm adjusting my thinking. 'Thoughts' is the umbrella term for the movement of ideas and actions around my head. Feelings I often associated … Continue reading Feelings ARE Thoughts
Red Kites and Autism
There are a pair of Red Kites that circle the skies outside my window. They flit in and out of view throughout the day, flashing their red at me, rolling in and out of air currents splendiferously. Home is where the Red Kites roll, and rock, and roll again. Thirty years ago they were a … Continue reading Red Kites and 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?
Putting the Me in Social Media
I'm not good at this. I'm putting that out there. I'm not good at social media. I'd like to blame the period I grew up in. Just before social media was huge, but not so long before, that I get a free pass from understanding it all. I love technology. I love computers. I love … Continue reading Putting the Me in Social Media
Risks, Rules and Relationships
Looking back, with the illuminating force of my diagnosis, I can see a huge gap between what I thought was happening in my relationships, and the reality of it all. Although the following advice is universal, it's something that needs clearly stating for young people on the spectrum. Autistic people tend towards black and white … Continue reading Risks, Rules and Relationships
Social exhaustion
Today I am disjointed. I wanted to write about spoon theory and explain my day, but it slipped away from me. I wanted to write about interviews and work, but the words wouldn't come. Today I am a disjointed person. I have done too much. I have used up my spoons. I am flat and … Continue reading Social exhaustion
Parenting and Autisming
There are many articles about parenting a child with autism, but what about parenting when you're the autistic one? I've read a couple of articles that suggested that autism couldn't be an evolutionary step or a genetic trait, because autistic people don't like relationships and so wouldn't produce children. I should probably let all the … Continue reading Parenting and Autisming
Awareness is dead. Long live Awareness
So it's over. April and Awareness and Autism are long gone. We've all grown as people and now we can get on with our lives, safe in the knowledge that we have done our duty and made the world a better place. This was my first Autism Awareness day/week/month as a diagnosed autistic person. That's … Continue reading Awareness is dead. Long live Awareness
Making adjustments for autism can be as easy as honesty
Lots of autistic people are already making many adjustments to fit in with the rest of you. To stop you from feeling uncomfortable. To stop you from noticing us. To keep us all safe from the shadow of "difference". Why are we the ones making adjustments? Because majority defines normality. That's the only reason. It's … Continue reading Making adjustments for autism can be as easy as honesty
Autism and Expectations 