Trauma
"For as long as we've existed, psychological distress has been ignored in us. I often think of my own 14 year journey to get a schizophrenia diagnosis from psychiatrists who would tell me I was "just anxious" and that anxiety was "normal" in autism. Normal. Professionals have come to see our sufferi
Neuroqueer Theory
This article exists, in part, thanks to the ongoing discussions in my Discord server. You can join by clicking here. When considering the pervasiveness of neuronormativity, nowhere is it more visible and prevalent than in the education system. Educational institutions place a great deal of pressure on students to engage
philosophy
I have recently begun to explore the idea of the Autistic Rhizome as a futurist ideal of what the Autistic community could look like. In this concept, we explore communities that exist of networks with no single point of origin. They are interlinked but not dependent on one another for
disability
Challenging behaviour. It's a term we have likely all heard. It projects images of violent children, unruly and disruptive to the children who behave in the way expected of them. However, this particular term has been used to frame Autistic experience as an abberation of human expression and
Neuroqueering
"Mother is God in the eyes of a child" William Makepeace Tackery The above quote, whilst pertinent to this discussion, is only half of the picture. Adults control most aspects of a child's life, and whether or not we realise it, we do this by being
Society
Community is somewhat of an abstract concept. It is an adjective for a group that has a shared identity. It comes with rules and politics that dictate how one must carry themselves. There is a dichotomy of insider and outsider within communities, often dictated by agreement of the communities politics.
Neurodiversity
Before we start, I want to go over some terms that will be covered here. Neuro-anarchy: as conceptualised by Katie Munday, I use this to refer to to the decentralisation of hierarchy as it pertains to neurocultures such as that of the Autistic community. Munday and I co-authored an article
Neuroqueer Theory
In a previous article, I discussed the idea of verisimilitude. I discussed how we might never find an objective truth that explains neurodivergent experience. In fact, we might never find one for human experience on the whole. What we can do is seek a falsehood that is close enough to
Neurofuturism
Neuroqueer theory has been the single most important idea to emerge from the academic circles of neurodiversity into my own life. I say that with a hint of irony; neurodiversity is my life. It's all our lives. Neurodiversity is a fact of human existence. Yet, to not perform
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
Autistic Community
I have been active in the Autistic community now for over half of the past decade. Still, when we consider some of the greatest thought leaders within our community, I am aware that my time is a drop in the ocean. However, in my time I have seen a growing
Autistic Rights
What does it take to support Autistic people in a professional context? David and Tanya explore the concept of neurodivergence competency and invite you to join in the conversation.