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One does not simply walk into the doctors
There are too many steps to take before Disabled people get through the door at doctors’ surgeries or hospitals. We must unravel our feelings and experiences from those of our usual symptoms of chronic illness. Then we must muster up the energy to book an appointment, if we use AAC this can be even more…
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Abnormality: The new normal?
‘Abnormal behaviour’ is socially constructed through culture- and context-embedded concepts of normativity; the extent to which behaviour is considered abnormal is often dependent on the perception and capacity of others (Emerson & Einfeld, 2011). The perceived characteristics of the individual may also define the extent to which their behaviour is considered abnormal. For example, differences…
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OCD in one word
I’ve been trying to write some poetry around the words you all gave myself and Autistic Realms about your experiences of OCD. My rewording couldn’t do justice to the powerful words you shared with us, so I created this instead. The other work in the Autistic Dream Realms project can be found here and here.…
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Where my OCD and Autism overlaps
It can be difficult to tell Autistic and OCD experiences apart! Some may wonder why this matters, but to manage OCD intrusive thoughts and compulsions it’s of utmost importance to understand how these two neurodivergences clash but also how they overlap. I have summarised my main experiences of being an Autistic OCDer: Autistic experiences:HyperfocusSensory differencesSocial…
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Autistic and OCD: left adrift
I started working with Autistic and otherwise neurodivergent and disabled young people when I was about 23. When I started doing home visits with families I kept thinking “I do that. I completely and utterly understand what you mean when you say something utterly outrageous, or what other people might see as peculiar.” And the…
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My experience of Masking
These are my experiences so they may not match yours, and that’s okay. There is this idea that we totally lose ourselves in our Autistic masking, as if the person we project is a falacy, a made-up persona that we wear often, and, for some of us, all of the time. Identity, for the most…
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Living with Seasonal Affective Disorder
Content warning: poor mental health. During the winter (which seems to be an ever-growing season in the UK) I am a husk of myself, a sad, low energy person who wants to crawl into a hole and sleep for a long time. I hate the darkness, the cold, the drab lifeless streets, the wind and…
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The chaotic mind
I am Autistic, Attention Hyperactive (see Ditching the Disorder and Deficit) and OCD, that means there is a lot of chaos within me. As an Autistic person I love routine, I thrive when I go to the same places, eat the same food and wear the same clothes. It erases so much anxiety around the unknown.…
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Autistic and ADHD: Who’s driving this car!?
Being Autistic and ADHD, I am in a constant struggle to keep both of these elements of myself content, and sometimes, under control. They’re like young siblings, sometimes they love each other and play along nicely, and the rest of the time it’s pure chaos. My Autistic self wants routine, to eat the same foods…
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Support needs are human needs
The use of special and additional needs when taking about Disabled people puts the burden of support on us. Special is not only infantalising, it also softens some serious support needs that so many of us have. Epilepsy medication and procedures are not special, they are life saving. So are many other of the medications…