SpIn sharing is an integral part of autistic communication — and I will take every opportunity to share. I’m writing an article for Autism Spectrum News titled “Autistic Endurance: What Ultra Running Has Taught Me About Regulation and Belonging.” Running has been a SpIn of mine for a while, but I only started racing in September. For years, I avoided races. Too many people. Too many unwritten rules. Too much to figure out. Where do I stand? When do I start? What if I do somet

As a late-diagnosed autistic person, as well as the parent of two autistic children who have had a variety of assessments, services, etc., I have interfaced with A LOT of professionals over the years. Not only personally, but professionally, as someone who specializes in working exclusively with autistic people. . Unfortunately, every single slide is a quote I have heard recently from a professional about an autistic person. .

After almost 2 decades of working with people with OCD and anxiety “disorders”, I always felt uneasy about how the DSM delineates between what is a “disorder” vs non-disordered human conditions. Who gets to decide this? And then we have so much training and modalities based on the foundational belief that there is disorder within an individual that needs to be treated. ⠀ I am not saying that I don’t believe in mental illness, because I most definitely do believe that humans c

When we peel back all the layers, here’s the real issue: ⠀ When I speak, I am relying on the actual definitions — like dictionary definitions — of my literal words to communicate what I want them to communicate. ⠀ The majority of the human race, however, communicates using much more than literal definitions of words. They seek meaning through facial expression, body language, tone, and other social signals. ⠀ What they find must be confusing, because as an autistic person....