The Autistic Traits You May Never Have Heard Of
A while back, I came across Tania A. Marshall’s list of autistic traits commonly seen in women (they can be experienced by other genders too). It was a turning point for me, because while I’d long suspected I might be autistic, I didn’t quite identify with most of the traits I’d read about online. But … Continue reading The Autistic Traits You May Never Have Heard Of
Why Autistic People Struggle With Change
One thing that many autistic people find extremely challenging is dealing with change. This topic is closely tied to my my previous post about why we love routines so much. To put it simply, we hate change for the same reason we seek out routines — we want things to be predictable, because we get … Continue reading Why Autistic People Struggle With Change
Alexithymia and Autism
Wikipedia defines alexithymia as “the subclinical inability to identify and describe emotions experienced by one’s self.” It’s estimated that 1 in 10 people suffer from it, but it’s much more common among autistic people. Symptoms include: Finding it hard to talk about your feelings. Not understanding other people’s feelings and thinking that they’re always overreacting. … Continue reading Alexithymia and Autism
My Autistic Traits as a Young Adult
This post is a follow-up to previous ones about my childhood and teenage autistic traits. It covers the traits I noticed in myself between the ages of 18 and 25 (my age at the time of writing). Let’s dive right in! Struggling with social norms By the time I was 18 or so, I was … Continue reading My Autistic Traits as a Young Adult
Why Do Autistic People Love Routines So Much?
When I was at university, I lived with a boyfriend who was almost certainly on the spectrum. We were very similar in many ways, but there were some things about him that infuriated me. One was his insistence on eating the same boring meal every day. He would boil up a huge pan of pasta, … Continue reading Why Do Autistic People Love Routines So Much?
My Favourite Stims As An Autistic Person
In her book Aspergirls, autistic writer Rudy Simone says she hates the word “stimming” because it sounds weird and creepy. She points out that it’s not even necessarily an accurate term — it’s short for “self-stimulatory behaviours”, but “self-soothing” may be closer to the truth. I happen to agree, and have never liked the word … Continue reading My Favourite Stims As An Autistic Person
Why I Wouldn’t Be Neurotypical Even If I Could
I spend a lot of time on this blog ranting about the struggles of being autistic — the meltdowns, shutdowns, anxiety, social problems, and so on. Most people, if they were to read it, would probably think that I wish I wasn’t autistic. However, nothing could be further from the truth — I wouldn’t choose … Continue reading Why I Wouldn’t Be Neurotypical Even If I Could
Autism and Sensory Issues — My Experience
When I first started reading about autism, I quickly found out that sensory processing issues are one of the main symptoms. At first, this made me think I wasn’t actually autistic. I was kind of confused by the concept of sensory issues and didn’t really think I suffered from them. But slowly, as I read … Continue reading Autism and Sensory Issues — My Experience
What Shutdowns Are Like For Me As An Autistic Woman
When I found out what a shutdown was, it was like a lightbulb moment. Have you ever been amazed to find out that there’s a name for something you’ve been experiencing your whole life, something you didn’t know happened to other people too? Well, I had one of those moments. I think it’s sometimes hard … Continue reading What Shutdowns Are Like For Me As An Autistic Woman
Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria and Autism
Recently, I learned that something I’ve struggled with my whole life has a name — Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria, or RSD. I think there must be a ton of people who struggle with this but have never been able to put a name to it, so I thought it could be helpful to write about it. … Continue reading Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria and Autism
Loading…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
Follow My Blog
Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
