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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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Technological capitalism trundles on
I’ve now been asked to make a profile / have an app for my dentist, GP and Pharmacy. I don’t understand how to do this and I don’t want to. I used to have a GP online portal thing and then it changed and I got locked out. Back to phoning my GP 82 times…
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Autistic parenthood: inertia – my get-up-and-go got up and left
The lack of sleep, inconsistency in sleep and the constant change in hormones has done a number on my energy levels. I no longer have energy for the most trivial of tasks, cleaning, house work, cooking and self care. These are all things I struggled with before having a baby and now they are seemingly…
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Attention hyperactivity: ditching the ‘disorder’ and ‘deficit’
I only recently came to the conclusion that I am ADHD. There are so many reasons why this has only occurred to me at the blessed age of 31, and most of them are due to word usage. Attention deficit: I only experience a deficit of attention when something is particularly boring! I am noinattentive…
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Autistic parenthood: where has my self-care gone?
I have always struggled with self-care, both physical and emotional, and I still often forget and avoid things which would actively make me feel better: showers, tooth brushing, haircuts, down time, relaxing (what’s that!?). They have always been tasks that I’ve struggled with due to inertia (see Autistic Inertia) and my skipping delightfully around demands…
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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…
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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…
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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…