To the ‘Weird’ Girls Who Don’t Quite Fit In

I’ve been thinking a lot this month — about my past, my present, and specifically about my late diagnosis of autism at the age of 34. Looking back, I realized I first started considering the possibility that I could be on the autism spectrum after reading the stories of other women and girls with autism.

Geeky Stuff

This section of my website will be where I geek out over books, comics, movies, video games, cartoons, music, dinosaurs, superheroes, and all the other little things in life that make me happy (aka, my “special interests”). Stay tuned for more!

I Expected My Autism Diagnosis, but Not My Anxiety Disorder

Did you know you can have anxiety so severe it impairs your ability to concentrate and complete work? Here are some examples of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) at work: Procrastinating because you’re afraid you’ll do it wrong and screw up and everyone will hate you? Anxiety. Starting something and then getting distracted by some insignificant thing that doesn’t matter

Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism: New 1 in 59 CDC Autism Prevalence Rates Approach Reality

“What this report demonstrates most clearly is that ‘autistic people—of all ages, races, and genders–have always been here’; we just need to get better at finding them.” “When the United Kingdom conducted an adult prevalence study, it found the same rate of autism in adults as children, helping to debunk public hysteria over a so-called

The Real Reason You Don’t Believe I’m Autistic – The Autism Pastor

“Stereotypes, whether intentional or not, are the reason why I didn’t know I was autistic, and it’s the reason that most people don’t think I am autistic today. We have a lot of work to do to educate more people about autism. Autism can’t be reduced to how one externally functions in the eyes of

Autism Awareness Month Begins | Left Brain Right Brain

“One will read comments to the effect of ‘I didn’t see any autistics when I was a kid’. As in ‘autism is an epidemic! I didn’t see it when I was a kid’. Rather than take that on for the millionth time, let’s start autism awareness month with this: Thank you to those who changed

Autism Day

Today is World Autism Awareness Day – and it’s also my first Autism Day as an officially diagnosed autistic person. It took me a long time to get here. In elementary school, my parents had my hearing checked by an audiologist. I didn’t consistently respond to my own name. I didn’t talk as much as

What Do April Fools’ Day and Autism Awareness Month Have in Common? – Stars on the Spectrum

“Kids with autism tend to be very literal and jokes and pranks require a level of language sophistication that is not natural for them…. April Fools’ Day can be confusing and upsetting to many children on the spectrum.” – Deborah Griffith of “Stars on the Spectrum” I love this little write-up on April Fool’s Day

Social skills for autonomous people. — Social skills: noticing when repetition is communication

While we’re on the subject of nonverbal communication, I was reminded of this awesome little Tumblr post. via Social skills for autonomous people. — Social skills: noticing when repetition is communication

Teaching Learners with Multiple Special Needs: Accessible Communication Bill of Rights

“Let’s make a clear and meaningful Communication Bill of Rights, an Accessible Communication Bill of Rights. One that can be read by the average American, by the 1 in 5 Americans that read at or below a fifth grade level, by students from grade three and up. Let’s add symbols to support understanding for those

Quote of the Day

– Abed Nadir, “Community” Season 3, Episode 15 “Origins of Vampire Mythology”

What I Want People to Know This Autistic History Month

November is Autistic History Month — an event that is tailored to celebrate autistic history, culture and community, by sharing personal histories, art and creative writing about autism. Being recently diagnosed with autism myself, I thought I’d kick off the month by sharing a short history of autism, giving a quick rundown of what autism

The Surprising Childhood Event That Made Me Suspect I’m on the Autism Spectrum

I have been teaching special education for about four years now. When I first began my job, I was told that most of the students I would have in my class were on the autism spectrum. Eager to prepare myself for the challenge of teaching these kids, I became fixated on researching and reading all

What I Found Missing From ‘Atypical’ as an Autistic Viewer

Netflix recently premiered the first season of its new TV show “Atypical,” about a young man and his family dealing with his autism spectrum disorder. While the show is garnering favorable reviews from critics, it has been a very controversial topic in the autism community. To start, the show doesn’t seem to have any autistic