Autistic and Living the Dream

Category: Autism

  • Alexithymia and interoception: What the Hell is going on!?

    Alexithymia and interoception: What the Hell is going on!?

    Alexithymia is a condition or difference, which roughly translates in ancient Greek as “no words for emotions.” People who experience alexithymia can have difficulty identifying feelings, describing feelings to others and distinguishing between feelings and the bodily sensations of emotional arousal. Alexithymia is a common experience for us Autistic folk – I have issues with…

  • Why youth work gives me Autistic joy

    Why youth work gives me Autistic joy

    As a Neurodivergent and Disabled youth worker I learn so much from the Disabled kids I work with. I realised I was Autistic after doing home visits and writing kids paperwork which could have come straight from my own childhood – the anxiety, the need for sensory input, the inability to be quiet or sit…

  • Do all Autistic people have ‘special interests’?

    Do all Autistic people have ‘special interests’?

    We don’t all have special interests and that’s fine! Some Autists know everything about their favourite subject. Special / focused interests can be based around stats, dates, facts and figures. Special interests on history, people, places, animals can come with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the subject. My special interests are more complex because I’m…

  • Autistic inertia

    Autistic inertia

    A lot of us Autistic people struggle with switching from one activity to the next, and we often need a lot of prompts and reminders to finish what we are doing to start something else. Personally, I like to have a similar routine every week so I know what my expectations are on any given…

  • Why I struggle with demands

    Why I struggle with demands

    Many of us Autists struggle with every day demands including making choices about what to do, where to go and what to eat. Some demands are avoided due to extreme anxiety, sometimes I go into shutdown when being told what to do if it is new or confusing. This is also due to processing verbal…

  • Autistic listening: no eye contact please!

    Autistic listening: no eye contact please!

    Eye contact can be an issue for a lot of us Autists. Looking at someone’s eyes when you talk to them is such a strange concept but in a lot of cultures it is considered rude not to use eye contact.  Personally, I find it difficult to listen to what is being said if I…

  • Doing gender the Autistic way

    Doing gender the Autistic way

    Gender is tricky – it is reliant on the complex interweaving of cultural and social factors, including race, class and disability – for many Autistic people this means our gender is inextricable from our neurology (see Autigender: is autism and gender entwined?). Gender norms are influenced by culturally specific expectations, attitudes and norms, modelled to…