Trauma
It's no secret that the list of co-occurring traits and conditions that fall within the world of autism is exceptionally long. Autistic people tend to be multiply neurodivergent as well as having various health concerns. Despite this, there are certain aspects of Autistic experience that are not well
Addiction
Autism and ADHD are often reported to have vastly different relationships with regard to the smoking of cigarettes. Research suggests that among Autistic people, we see a reduced rate of smoking, while ADHDers generally report smoking more frequently (nearly half reported daily smoking by age 17). I believe, however, that
Neurodiversity
Autism and alexithymia are two things you might see discussed in tandem quite regularly. In fact, Vaiouli and Panayiotou (2021) found a strong postive correlation beween Autistic experience and alexithymia with Kinnaird et al (2019) finding a prevalence rate of nearly 50% among Autistic people. Considering the very high rates
Neurodiversity
It's no secret that I'm a recovering drug addict. It's certainly even less of a secret that I am also Autistic/multiply neurodivergent. When one considers the reality of meeting diagnostic criteria for autism, ADHD, and schizophrenia; It's easy to see how
Addiction
Today, I received my first 1 star review for one of my books on Amazon. Within the review, they stated that my 6 years of sobriety (it's actually 7 now) was merely a blip, and that I would not be sober until it was at least 60 years.
Society
The narratives around autism and addiction are both peculiar. Things are the same while appearing different. On the one hand, autism is viewed by wider society as something that happens to a child, as if an unseen force has stolen their humanity. On the other hand, addiction is seen as
Mental Health
"The first thing you need to understand about specialist mental health services in the UK is that they don't really use a prevention model for intervention. Instead, they use a crisis-driven intervention model that only begins work with you when you are deeply suffering. This was particularly proble
Addiction
I am really excited to tell you all that I ha e published a new book! Unusual Medicine: Essays on Autistic identity and drug addiction This book explores my personal experiences with being Autistic and addicted to drugs and alcohol. It considers my recovery and what was unique about my
Addiction
Today marked seven years of total sobriety for me. For seven years, I have been drug and alcohol free. While abstinence is not suitable for everyone, I decided, on April 7th, 2016, that the consumption of mind-altering substances was not safe for me. I will say I have never approached
Autistic Wellbeing
I don't talk about my childhood much. Partly because I don't want to upset my readers, but also because it is not my story alone to tell. The people who did so much harm to me as a child also caused harm to others that I
Neuroqueering
I have extensively explored my Autistic relationship with addiction thus far. I have considered and lamented the inappropriate treatment services, the suffering, and rejoiced in the moment that I came out the other side. I have listed numerous reasons that contributed to my active addiction, but what I have not
Addiction
When we consider harm reduction strategies for drug-users, we often think about education on the safer use of drugs. Things such as safer injection practices and "tasting the hit" to reduce accidental overdoses. While things such as safe consumption rooms and needle exchanges can reduce a lot of