Sensory Eating is not Picky Eating

I want you to imagine that you are a kid once again, maybe ten or eleven years old. You are sitting down in the evening with your family for dinner. The table is set, and your parents bring out what will be tonight's entree: a cut of cold, raw chicken breast. It's slimy pink mass …

Task Initiation, Executive Functioning, and Autistic Inertia

Today I'd like to talk about something I've mentioned several times before but I feel deserves a blog post all on its own. I'd like to talk about why it is that many autistic people have trouble initiating new tasks, and also sometimes simply switching tasks. Task Initiation Task initiation is exactly what it sounds …

Coping with the COVID-19 Pandemic as an Autistic Person

How are measures to control the new coronavirus impacting autistic people?

Why I can’t remember your name as an autistic person.

"What's my name, Quincy?" ... "Come on, we're in the same English class, how can you not know who I am?" This has become a common interaction for me at school recently, ever since it became widespread knowledge that "Quincy can't remember anyone's name." I get stopped a lot with people asking me the same …

International Disability Day of Mourning 2020

I never like writing posts like this, but when I started this blog I determined it has to be done. Every year on March 1st I decided that, in concordance with the International Disability Day of Mourning, I would publish the list of names of the autistic people who were, over the last year, murdered …

Autistic Wandering and Bolting

"Not all those who wander are lost." - J.R.R. Tolkien That's the quote I wanted to use to begin this post because it's totally profound, and becomes even more so the more you think about it. Not only that, but it's totally true. Despite that though, I'll be totally honest with you, I do tend …

The Double Empathy Problem – A Paradigm Shift in Thinking About Autism

How many times have you heard something of the following sorts about autism? "People with autism lack social skills." "People with autism can't communicate appropriately." "Deficits in theory of mind is a core symptom of autism." "People with autism lack the ability to feel empathy." As you can tell from the person-first language, these statements …

The Autism “Elevator Pitch” and Other Thoughts On Talking About Autism

Have you ever heard of an elevator pitch? In the marketing world, an elevator pitch is how you would tell someone about your product or company or idea if you had to explain it to them while riding on an elevator, so within fifteen or twenty seconds or so. It's intended to give the listener …