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 …

Sleeplessness and Night-Time Anxiety

There are very few things that I'd change about myself. I'm pretty comfortable with myself. That is not the case, however, for my sleeping patterns. I have really really bad insomnia. It comes and goes, occasionally I'll have a few nights where I can sleep without any problems, but a lot of the time I …

One Year

The day this goes live is the one year anniversary of Speaking of Autism... One year ago when I created this blog, there's no way that I imagined it would have grown so much in only a year. I couldn't have imagined I would reach so many people. And the exciting thing is I still …

Sometimes my Heart Hurts for your Child

Ever since this blog started getting popular, I've had the opportunity and privilege to be able to become a resource for parents with autistic children. It makes me so happy that I can have this sort of influence, because I know that the more a parent understands about autism and the more positivity they have …

(Satire): An introduction to Allism

Few things irritate me more than the way autism is often written about on the internet, on pamphlets, and presented in news stories. These “introductions to autism” are frequently full of incomplete, outdated, or just plain wrong information on top of stereotypes and myths galore. They talk about autism as if it were some sort of disease that …

I am super excited for the upcoming short-film “Loop.”

I am very excited about the upcoming Pixar short-film called "Loop." So excited that I can't think about it without bouncing and skipping around. It makes me want to shed a tear or joy. It's another sign we might be turning the corner towards good autism representation in the media. "But wait..." you're probably wondering. …

Music of my Being

There's a misconception out there that music is something that should be listened to. Sure, music is sound and thus is heard, and I bet most people out there do only listen to music. However, I am strongly convinced that music is meant not just to be heard, but to be felt, and to be …

Understanding Shutdowns and Autism

Last month I posted a huge post all about meltdowns and autism. I talked about what a meltdown is and what it isn't, what meltdowns are like, and tips for how people can be helpful and supportive. You can read it by clicking here. In it, I also mentioned that I'd like to write a …