Autistic and Living the Dream

Tag: Neurodivergent

  • Autistic and ADHD: Who’s driving this car!?

    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…

  • Hyper-organised or ADHD?

    Hyper-organised or ADHD?

    I always thought “there’s no way that I’m ADHD – I’m too organised!” I turn up on time for everything, actually I turn up early for everything (well I did the first 30 years of my life before having my son!). I’ve got everything written down. I’ve got lists about lists, post-its and planners. At…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Prosopagnosia – face blindness

    Prosopagnosia – face blindness

    Prosopagnosia  (face blindness) is the inability to recognise people’s faces. Some people with this neurodivergence cannot recognise family members, or even themselves in mirrors or photographs. Others can struggle with people with certain characteristics…

  • My reflections on our cancer service accessibility research

    My reflections on our cancer service accessibility research

    Earlier this week I did my  first session with a disability group for our cancer services access study (find out more about that here). Although I cannot share any of the people’s really powerful insights here I would like to share how I felt about the session. The start of the session was very ADHD…

  • Stories from across the “double rainbow”: trans and non-binary Autistic narratives [plain language summary]

    Stories from across the “double rainbow”: trans and non-binary Autistic narratives [plain language summary]

    In my research I spoke to 13 trans and / or non-binary Autistic people (people said to live under the double rainbow of neurodivergence and queerness). I wanted to know about their lives, what they thought about representation and their recommendations for double rainbow research. It was important for me to do this work as…

  • Navigating the Confusing PhD Application Process

    Navigating the Confusing PhD Application Process

    Navigating the PhD application process is convoluted, heavily reliant on administrative skills, and often leads to mismatched supervisory teams. The experience highlights systemic barriers, including racism and classism, that deter applicants, especially neurodiverse individuals. The author expresses frustration with the bureaucratic hurdles that hinder deserving candidates and emphasizes the need for inclusive research representation.

  • My on and off relationship with writing

    My on and off relationship with writing

    Writing has always been a part of my life in one way or another, I used to write poetry and short stories when I was younger and then lost the joy for writing during college and when I went into full time work. I had no energy and the creativity was crushed from me anyways.…

  • I won’t apologise for my neurotype

    I won’t apologise for my neurotype

    I will apologise for things I’ve done wrong and I’ll do my best to grow and change with whatever new information I’ve been graced with. I don’t know everything, I’m not perfect and life is bloody hard. So I try not to be so hard on myself. There is one thing I absolutely will not…