Autistic and Living the Dream

Tag: Ableism

  • Unusual Medicines by David Gray-Hammond: book review

    Unusual Medicines by David Gray-Hammond: book review

    When I first heard that David Gray-Hammond was releasing a new book: Unusual medicine: Essays on Autistic identity and drug addiction, I knew it was going to be an important and affirming read. David’s previous writing is powerful and meaningful to me and many other Autistic people who have experienced addiction and substance use.  …

  • My experience of Masking

    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…

  • Tired but not broken

    Tired but not broken

    I asked the community: If you could let people know one thing about being Autistic what would it be? This blog is based off your amazing answers. Anyone of any identity, culture or heritage can be Autistic so we obviously aren’t all the same! However, we do seem to experience similar things across cultures, namely…

  • Stop the shock: An update before the next protest

    Stop the shock: An update before the next protest

    Due to the organisation of Stop the Shock Protest and Hill Day, on May 22nd (12-5 PM) on Boston Commons, adjacent Park Street Station. I thought I would reshare the hideous atrocities within the Judge Rotenberg Center. Content warning: abuse, neglect, ableism, death, and systemic rascism. The Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC), in Canton, Massachusetts, is…

  • Lateral ableism in the Autistic community

    Lateral ableism in the Autistic community

    When I got my formal diagnosis (see my diagnosis story) I could not wait to tell the members of the Autistic groups I was in on Facebook. I made a joke about leveling up because I got a ‘level one’ diagnosis. Some people received that well, there were even a few laughing reacts, but there…

  • A short Q&A for Autism Acceptance Month

    A short Q&A for Autism Acceptance Month

    I was asked these questions as part of a bigger project and thought I would share here too. How has being diagnosed as autistic impacted on your life? Being formally diagnosed has allowed me to understand myself and to put into place things which help me. It has given me the validation and permission I…

  • Knocking over the gaslight

    Knocking over the gaslight

    Autistic people are constantly being gaslit by others, we are constantly being told what we think or feel is incorrect: “It’s not too loud” “It doesn’t hurt” “Don’t be so sensitive” Or we are made to feel like a burden when we no longer can eat our safe foods or same routines. From a young…

  • My thoughts on Christine McGuinness: Unmasking My Autism

    My thoughts on Christine McGuinness: Unmasking My Autism

    Content warning: eating disorder, mental health, sexual abuse, rape, self harm, suicide ideation, institutionalisation and ableism. Christine McGuinness shares an intimate look at her journey to Autistic realisation and the wider implications for Autistic women and girls who are going under the radar. She said she: “was really nervous about doing a documentary that was…

  • When living authentically isn’t safe: Autistic, trans and OCD

    When living authentically isn’t safe: Autistic, trans and OCD

    This is the transcript from my OCD Family Podcast: When living authentically isn’t safe. Listen to S1E30 Part IV here. Nicole: Whoa, welcome back to the OCD family podcast and I am just so excited to introduce our guest today Katie Munday, they are late diagnosed autistic person with OCD and ADHD. You can catch…

  • The New Normal audiobook review

    The New Normal audiobook review

    I have had the pleasure to listen to Emergent Divergence audiobook The New Normal: Autistic musings on the threat of a broken society. It is perhaps more poignant and powerful when listened to than simply read. The narrator Christopher Harper-Cox brings something to the reading with his deep resonance. The audio version brings to life…