disability
Much of western society is predicated on the idea that knowledge consists of a variety of objective truths. When we hear the word "disability" or "autism" we are guided to understand the word in a particular way. This unfortunately fails to capture the dynamic and highly
Trauma
I was recently sent a BBC article regarding multiple deaths of Autistic young people occurring despite coroners issuing "prevention of future death" (PFD) notices. These notices are only issued when a person's death is the result of systemic failings and are issued when changes need to
disability
When we seek to describe our Autistic and otherwise neurodivergent selves, we tend towards discrete categories and observable definitions of what we mean. However, to be Autistic is more than a diagnostic category; while Autism is a defining part of my experience, I also enact neurodivergence. My embodiment gives definition
Autistic Rights
In my day job, I talk to a lot of Autistic people. I mean a lot of Autistic people. One of the most common questions I am asked is how to better account for limited reserves of energy and cognitive resources. The answer sounds deceptively simple, but in reality, it
philosophy
Within the Autistic community, there is theory that we speak about as though it is commonplace in human lives. In part, this is the double empathy problem in practice. However, not all theory that we speak of is known by wider society. Thus, it is my intention to demystify a
Autism
To speak against self-diagnosis is to parade one's own ignorance for all to see.
disability
I have written before about how How the shame cycle barricades us from recovery in terms of addiction. In particular, here, I think about people who are AuDHD. If you exist at that particular intersection of experience, there is an increased likelihood that you use substances to improve your own
Mental Health Treatment Rights
If you believe that there are no issues with the way that Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) treats UK Autistic children and young people, I would direct you to take a look at the ongoing petition that has over 200,000 signatures. That's a fifth of
Psychosis
When we think of stigma, we often think of awareness campaigns and personal disclosure of our struggles. On the face of it, these appear to be helpful in stigma reduction. However, as with all things like this, it is not nearly as simple as that. Autism has been the focus
Neurodiversity
Autistic burnout can present itself in many different ways, not just the depressive state that observational models have taught us to expect. Despite assertions to the contrary, sometimes burnout is more than a need to withdraw. Conceptualising Autistic Burnout One might describe burnout as "Having All of Your Internal
Autism
In my book The New Normal: Autistic musings on the threat of a broken society I have a chapter about Autistic social nature. Autistic people have widely been represented as being asocial, which is patently absurd. Autistic people have a rich and diverse social culture that has been ignored for
Neurodiversity
Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) have, for a long time, failed to provide support to Autistic children and young people. When it comes to autism, there is perhaps no service more infamous for it's failures than CAMHS. Despite this, every year more and more Autistic people