Between June 2020 – Feb 2021, I participated in over a dozen online surveys relating to adult autistic experience (more info here). Most were research projects focused on the very things I was living at the time – mental health & suicidality, autistic burnout, financial not-so-well-being, among others – and the surveys provided me a […]
Between June 2020 – Feb 2021, I participated in over a dozen online surveys relating to adult autistic experience (more info here). Most were research projects focused on the very things I was experiencing at the time – mental health & suicidality, autistic burnout, financial not-so-well-being, among others – and the surveys provided me a
Surveying The Terrain III: ARCAP Research Priorities of Autistic People Read More »
In my ‘Glossary Of Terms I Won’t Be Using’, I include ‘identifies as’ as a popular term I avoid in relation to my own autism; I also mention having a few ‘personal harumphs’ about the term, so I’ll attempt to explain my thinking a bit in this article. The notion of ‘identity’ itself is infinitely
Identity Beyond Autism Read More »
This is a question I’ve been interrogating since my self-assessment at 53 as apparently having an Aspergers-flavoured autistic neurology. I say ‘apparently’, not because I doubt it, but because it is still only one description of my experience, among many – or to paraphrase Dr. Stephen Shore: when you’ve met one description of reality, you’ve
Is My ‘Otherness’ Autistic? Read More »
Between June 2020 – Feb 2021, I participated in over a dozen online surveys relating to adult autistic experience (more info here). Most were research projects focused on the very things I was living at the time – mental health & suicidality, autistic burnout, financial not-so-well-being, among others – and the surveys provided me a
Surveying the Terrain II: The AQ Test Read More »
Between June 2020 – Feb 2021, I participated in over a dozen online surveys relating to adult autistic experience (more info here). Most were research projects focused on the very things I was living at the time – mental health & suicidality, autistic burnout, financial not-so-well-being, among others – and the surveys provided me a
Surveying the Terrain I: The EQ Test Read More »
NB – While much of this article is a criticism, I also want to acknowledge that some of the surveys I encountered were well-considered and designed with more care toward autistic processes. I will highlight these surveys later in this series as models of good practice. Researchers are often limited to using or adapting existing
Autism Surveys series: Intro Read More »
‘Aspergers have no empathy’. Of course, I understand this statement is an over-simplification of much data and some consistent patterns, and I use it here for dramatic affect. This dangerous statement has been reinforced in clinical diagnostic attitudes, misconstrued via public stupidity and perpetuated as meaning ‘All autistic people, especially those ‘with’ Aspergers, are insensitive,
How Do I Feel About Empathy? Read More »
I first self-assessed as having an Aspergers neurological profile in early 2018, using an online tool. I was just turning 53, and in the midst of a prolonged period of crisis involving, among other things, upheavals in the custody of my kids from a previous relationship, with the strain affecting every aspect of my life.
Aspergers: a new Map of Self Read More »
In other posts, I’ve touched on some of the different ways I experience my own ‘autistic attention’ – ranging from very helpful (eg heightened creative focus, problem-solving, mindful awareness) to hinderance (eg anxiety, depression, rumination). As described in Part I, regarding my years of obsessive drawing, when this hyperfocus is channelled into a particular topic,
Autistic attention IV: Specialised Interest vs Social Disinterest Read More »
Human brains, alike the brains housed in other animals, are intrinsically geared towards patternmaking as a fundamental survival function; via the interface of whatever senses are available to us, our brains (and nervous systems) are constantly scanning the environment, receiving sensory (and extra-sensory) signals, from which we unconsciously select, interpret, classify, and translate into smaller
Autistic attention III: Patternmaking & the Curse of the Million Bits Read More »
A feature of Aspergers I know I share in common with many other autistic people, is a pronounced sense of ‘authenticity’. Put another way, I have a kinaesthetic response of ‘wrongness’ if something seems inauthentic, fraudulent, pretentious, insincere, unjust, unethical or patently untrue. This trait is well-documented in research into Aspergers behaviours, and voiced in
Autistic attention II: Positive distraction vs denial Read More »
I’m feeling amused at myself, but hardly surprised. I’ve just spent a whole day writing a slab of something else entirely, intending it to be a brief and succinct introduction to this section. In doing so, I’ve been enacting exactly what I was intending to write about in this chapter: autistic attention. (The same autistic
Autistic attention I: Self-distractive behaviour Read More »
Don’t believe everything you think. Context is how us cuddly ol’ apes hold our notions of ‘reality’ together; context provides specific information to the brain as a container for any further information. To use a tired computer analogy, context is the brain setting up a folder in which to save related files. I also get
Putting context into context Read More »
There are a few autism-related terms that I tend to avoid as they are not good for my health. That is, they cause me various degrees of inflammation. I understand they’re ‘only’ words, but what I’m ‘lergic to is the cultural laziness (or absence of intelligence) that surrounds these words as they are often used
Glossary Of Terms I Won’t Be Using Read More »
