Things That A Lot of Autistic People Are Fed Up of Hearing
1. You don’t look autistic. What exactly is an autistic person meant to look like? Do enlighten me. Because you can never tell if someone is autistic just by looking at them.
2. You’re not like my [nephew/son/cousin/friend etc] who has autism. And you’re not like…
What IS Autism?
It is hard to sum up autism in a sentence when autistic people are all different. But, if I had to, I would say that autism is a neurodevelopmental condition which affects the way I see, interact, experience and respond to the world around me. Autism is not an illness, a disease, or something which…
Autistic Imposter Syndrome
Imposter syndrome was a term coined by Pauline Clance and Suzanne Imes in 1978. It refers to an individual having persistent self-doubt about their achievements, place in the world or role, despite evidence which says otherwise. Basically, believing that…
Constantly Confused - Life as an Autistic Person
Being autistic in this world can result in feeling constantly confused. Let’s talk about what that can be like.
This confusion is present in many parts of my daily life. Mainly when interacting with other people, which is something which tends to be unavoidable, of course…
Autistic Masking
Masking is a survival strategy for many autistic people. Let’s talk about it.
Whenever the topic of masking comes up, there is usually the reply, "But doesn't everyone mask to some degree?". And yes, most people do put on a mask at work or when…
The War In My Mind: Fighting Anxiety
Anxiety is not just an emotion for me. It's a daily state of being. It's a feeling that lives within me that I can't quite describe. It never goes away. I don't know what life is like without anxiety as a companion. I don't know what it's like to not be at war with my mind.
Why Autistic People Can Struggle With Instructions
Being given an instruction instantly doubles my anxiety level. It doesn’t matter what it is. It could be really simple. The simple act of my brain registering that an instruction has been given to me and then having to process this is a BIG deal. To begin with…
Growing Up With Undiagnosed Autism
I spent nearly 17 years of my life with no idea that I had a completely different neurotype to the majority of people around me. I thought my brain was ‘typical’. After all, I seemed to blend in with my peers.
Growing up undiagnosed meant that I had to hide the fact I found a lot of things difficult, because I thought it was my fault that…