-
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…
-
Child-centred play therapy for Autistic children and young people
Child-centred play therapy (CCPT) is a psychotherapeutic intervention used to support children to explore and express their thoughts, emotions and experiences through play. During these sessions, children are allowed to free-play with very few limits imposed upon them, allowing the therapist to observe the child’s decisions, choices and play style (Landreth, 2012). Play therapy is…
-
“You’re asking permission to be yourself”: Autistic adults’ experiences of accessing gender identity healthcare
Earlier today Steven Kapp shared this at the Spring Symposium of the University of Portsmouth’s Quality of Life, Health, and Well-Being Research Group. So, I thought I’d share it here too! (Especially as our full work is about to be published!) “You’re asking permission to be yourself”: Autistic adults’ experiences of accessing gender identity healthcareHarley Bruce, Katie…
-
My experience of Masking
-
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…
-
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…
-
What does the DSM say about autism?
CW: ableist terms and language, mention of mental health. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (the DSM) is published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and is used to classify cognitive differences. It covers many different neurotypes and mental health issues including schizophrenia, bi-polar, gender dysphoria, and autism. It is used across the USA…
-
Advice for a newly diagnosed Autistic person
Breathe. You have probably been sitting with this information for a while but it hits differently when it’s formally validated. All the feelings you are having about this are valid. Try to find Autistic community, either face to face or online. It’s nice to be around people who just ‘get it.’ This is a life…
-
The pain and the anguish of being an Autistic autism researcher
Reading through autism research as an Autistic student or researcher can be emotional and traumatic, especially when so many of us are encouraged to use research that doesn’t align with our lived experiences. Using the American Psychological Association’s framing of autistic embodiment, in particular, does not fit with how I know Autistic experience to be.…
-
Pushing the boulder up the hill: How Autistic advocates and academics are changing ‘autism’ research
Academia is being dragged up by autistic people not just within academia but also within social media. There are a growing number of Autistic led organisations which are involved in policy and educating Autistic and non-Autistic people, including Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN), NeuroClastic and Aucademy. Blog and article writing, activism and advocacy is just…