“How do I get an autistic person to X?” – You’re asking the wrong question.

I remember my fourth grade year of school, when I was about ten years old, as being one of my most difficult years in school. I had just moved schools from my local public elementary school to a magnet school a bit farther away, as we thought it would fit me better. This new school …

Asking Direct Questions

I truly believe that one of the biggest reasons I have mega-anxiety about being approached by people is because they will inevitably ask me what is probably my least favorite question of all time: "How are you?" I cannot process this question. Or other questions like it, such as "how was your day?" or even …

Different social skills, not a lack thereof.

I'd like to preface today's post by introducing you to an in-real-life friend of mine named Chris. I've known Chris for quite a long time; we first met in first grade when we were just six years old. We were alright friends in early elementary school. I remember going to a few of his birthdays …

Autistic Pride Day 2019

Today, June 18th, is Autistic Pride Day. It's a day created by autistics and for autistics to stand in contrast against all of the negativity and stigma surrounding autism and celebrate our differences, neurodiversity, and awesome autistic uniqueness. It sounds awesome, and Autistic Pride Day is something I've supported for several years now. The only …

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 …

Yes, autism is a disability… and that’s OK!

Relatively recently, I was having a pretty basic discussion on Facebook about accessibility accommodations that can be useful for autistic kids, and those that have been useful for me. It was going alright, until someone who wasn't originally part of the discussion replied to me saying (this is a paraphrase, not an exact quote) "You …

Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2019

Today, Friday, May 17th, is the last day of Neurodiversity Celebration Week. This was an initiative created by award-winning autism advocate and online friend of mine Siena Castellon of Quantum Leap Mentoring. It is an initiative to hopefully get people to celebrate neurodiversity - the idea that variations in how people's brains are wired, like autism, ADHD, …

On Invisible Barriers – Perspective Matters

Too often, people make the mistake of underestimating how much a disability, and this is particularly true for hidden disabilities, actually impact a person's ability to do fairly basic everyday things. As part of this, it is often assumed that just because a person can do something, that this means they have no trouble with it and …