philosophy
Spirituality and my Autistic experience
A discussion of what spirituality looks like for me as an Autistic individual, and why it does not fit into the objective boxes of traditional religion.
Society
Mental Health Treatment Rights
The Mental Health Act (1983) explained
This article briefly walks through the most commonly encountered parts of the mental health act and what they mean for an individual.
Neurodiversity
The tin can conundrum: the problem with "labels"
What is the tin can conundrum? If autism isn't a label, what is it? is diagnosis necessary? this article aims to answer these questions, and considers the nature of our current system and the structural oppression of neurodivergent people.
Addiction
Addiction doesn't strip us of our humanity
Why are addicts stripped of their humanity by society at large? What can we do about it? Are cultural attitudes towards addicts understandable? This article attempts to answer these in brief.
Autistic Rights
Neuroqueer: An introduction to theory
This article was Co-Authored by David Gray-Hammond, Katie Munday, and Tanya Adkin The emergence and popularisation of Neuroqueer theory in the contemporary disability rights discourse and Autistic rights movement represents a significant step forward. Not only does it encourage pride in ones true self, but it emancipates the Neurologically Queer
Neuroqueering
Autism "cure" culture and normative violence
TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains detailed discussion of harmful "cures". It also mentions ABA, MMS, Chelation, and has in depth discussion around normative society and the murder of Autistic people. For as long as I have been an advocate, many of my fellow Autistics have spoken out against
Neuroqueer Theory
ABA: Essentialism in practice
For as long as I have been part of the online Autistic community, we have spoken out against and educated on the topic of the harms of Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA). While I could discuss the real world trauma and attitudes that proceed and preceed ABA respectively, today I'
Autism
Neuroqueer theory and the Self
When considering our potential, we often think in finite terms. Normativity has dictated that which a human can be. We are also bound, in principle, by the finite nature of our mortality. Thus, we are limited by both cultural and biological variables. However, the limits of what a human, a
Autistic Community
More on Zeno's Paradoxes and the issues with Autistic to non-Autistic communication
As you may have noticed from my most recent blog post, I am somewhat down a rabbit hole at the moment. In my previous article I discussed Zeno's paradox of plurality and how it applies to the dehumanisation of Autistic people and the double empathy problem. Today I
disability
The Zeno paradox of autism: Is this the root of the double empathy problem?
This was inspired by the book "Authoring Autism: On Rhetoric and Neurological Queerness" by Remi Yergeau. The double empathy problem, so named, is the title given to the seeming appearance of deficits in communication in Autistic people. The double empathy problem states that Autistic people do not have
Society
Reflection on Texas school shooting from my Autistic perspective
Trigger warning: mass shooting, school shooting, murder, death of children and adults. Today I woke up to the news that 19 children and two adults had been murdered in cold blood. This grotesque reality is a fear that parents in the US live with every single day. Every time they
Neurodiversity
Creating Autistic Suffering: Professionals, why don't they know?
This article was co-authored by David Gray-Hammond and Tanya Adkin Trigger Warning: Injustice, professionals, Autistic suffering, mentions of theory of mind, weak central coherence, and older autism theory. We often sit and have conversations about our work. We never cease to be astounded at the lack of basic autism knowledge